Tim Hancock’s latest career move has made him feel like his life has gone full circle. Moving to work for the church he was raised attending and where his father once served as vicar, has taken him out of the fast-paced world of corporate sales, to a role rooted in community, purpose and faith. Funded by the national church he is now serving as Operations Manager for our Renewal projects at Holy Trinity Old Hill and The Forge Group (Netherton, Dudley Wood and Darby End), bringing all he’s learned from his commercial experience to a much more personal mission: helping to shape the future of the church that helped shape him.
Raised in a Christian family, Tim studied theology at university but left unsure of his direction — only that it should involve one of his passions. Following his passion for music brought Tim into a career in sales in the Hi-fi and audio-visual industry. He spent seven years with Yamaha and most recently held a national role at AV.Com, owned by Gear4Music.
Tim said:
“Being in sales, I’ve lived on the road for years — always driving, always in hotels. The work was rewarding, and Hi-fis and AV are such a passion of mine, but I missed a lot of family life, so to be working just 10 minutes from where I live is fantastic! I’ve got my evenings back, and that’s allowed me to rebuild my prayer and spiritual life, which can so easily slide when you’re in a high-pressured corporate environment. It’s not just a job change, it’s a life change and I’m reaping the benefits of that.”
He added:
“I really felt God was steering me toward this role. As my contract wound down, I waited to see what doors might open. I’d just begun wondering if I could work in a different field when this Operations Manager role came up. When my wife got a promotion at her work this role became a viable prospect for me, and there’s no higher honour than working for the glory of God. That’s of course my real passion!”
Tim admits it’s been a steep learning curve.
“If you told me to launch a Hi-Fi brand in the UK, I’d know exactly what to do, but getting a church building project off the ground — that’s been new territory and quite humbling. The clergy, Rich Hackett and Nick Gowers, have been so kind and supportive though and thankfully, many of my Commercial Director skills are transferable. In any organisation, it comes down to people, how you engage and communicate and try to be a positive force.”
One early success was launching an Instagram account for Holy Trinity. Tim has also rolled out the same church project management and accounting software (‘Asana’ and ‘My fund accounting’) across all four churches and has been tightening up budgeting and employment processes, and policies, including a new Health and Safety policy for the churches.
“I’ve found that much of what’s out there is written for large scale organisations or businesses, and it doesn’t always translate to churches. I’m finding the Parishes Resources website very good though and also church trainer John Truscott’s website. He has loads of free resources about running a church.”
Tim is exploring net-zero heating for one of the Forge Group churches.
“I’ve had great support from the diocesan church buildings team — Mark, Hannah, and Lee — and we also visited St Germain’s in Birmingham. They use a heat pump and over-head infra-red panels, so it was great to experience that in person.”
Tim would like to connect with other new Operations Managers in the Diocese, recognising they likely have similar challenges and could learn from each other. He shared that the diocesan Transformation Support Hub is helping set up a WhatsApp group to aid collaboration.
Tim’s mindful of leaving a lasting impact. He said:
“Since I’m on a fixed-term contract, I’m always thinking about what will benefit the church long-term. Future volunteers will need access and continuity, so we’re making sure everyone has a church email address, and logins are stored centrally.”
He concluded:
“It’s such an honour to work for the church I’ve been part of my whole life and volunteered in for so many years. Holy Trinity was built 149 years ago, and now I get to help shape its future. Whatever happens after this role, this will always be my church. I look forward to sitting in our new seats, enjoying our underfloor heating, and feeling proud that I was a part of it.”
