Who We Are

Terry & Jill Eckersley

Founding Senior Leaders & Pastors of River Network Church

TERRY

One of the UK’s most loved and popular evangelists, Terry has been described as a tonic: humorous, high energy, yet still vulnerable and relational. Using the strong gift of encouragement placed in him, Terry shares the full Gospel message that has so radically changed him: a miraculous testimony of healing and total redemption from brokenness, severe drug addiction & crime.

This transformation has seen him become a graduate of and speaker at two bible colleges, further rising to become a CEO within the Christian charity and media sector, influencing and helping thousands worldwide.

Terry is a creative communicator with an instant appeal that transcends all cultures, people groups & denominations. His much-appreciated art of motivational faith, coupled with deep insight, helps people to discover (or rediscover) their God-given purpose and spiritual vitality! His manner is at once humorous, friendly & and deeply impacting – and opens the door to life, salvation and healing, in a demonstration of the incredible power of the Spirit. He is also an Ambassador for Compassion UK.

JILL

Terry’s wife and partner in life, Jill, is a source of strength and inspiration to all Terry is and has accomplished, and she often sings when accompanying Terry on speaking engagements. They come as a great team! Jill loves chocolate, music, and fashion – working as a stylist for some of the world’s leading brands, dressing the housewife to the celebrity! She is also an accomplished worship leader, singer, song-writer and author. Alongside Terry’s testimony of complete transformation, Jill has her own, different testimony. Having watched her parents’ heartache as her older brother suffered tragically under the effects of extreme bullying from a young age, and the dependency that this created in him, Jill determined early in life to be completely independent – a burden to no one and reliant on nobody. This led to unrealistic perfectionistic tendencies and incredible pressure during her twenties. It was not until Jill was in her thirties that she was able to make the paradigm shift to be free of the intensity of perfectionism, leaning into the wisdom of Psalm 138:

Psalm 138:8 (AMPC)

8 The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, endure forever—forsake not the works of Your own hands.

What a relief it is to realise that it is the Lord who perfects, not us!!! We can only truly please God by having faith in Him, not by how perfect we try to be. Jesus finished all, accomplished all, at the cross, so that now, as the writer of Hebrews declared, we can “fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favour to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].” (Hebrews 4:16Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)) 

Both Terry & Jill are ordained by RMI and hold RMI Ministerial Association.

In 2018 both Terry & Jill received Honorary PhD Doctorates in Christian Ministry from Excel Christian University for over 20 years of Ministry, Leadership, Service & authoring many books & musical publications.

One of the UK’s most loved and popular evangelists, Terry has been described as a tonic: humorous, high energy, yet still vulnerable and relational. Using the strong gift of encouragement placed in him, Terry shares the full Gospel message that has so radically changed him: a miraculous testimony of healing and total redemption from brokenness, severe drug addiction & crime.

This transformation has seen him become a graduate of and speaker at two bible colleges, further rising to become a CEO within the Christian charity and media sector, influencing and helping thousands worldwide.

Terry is a creative communicator with an instant appeal that transcends all cultures, people groups & denominations. His much-appreciated art of motivational faith, coupled with deep insight, helps people to discover (or rediscover) their God-given purpose and spiritual vitality! His manner is at once humorous, friendly & and deeply impacting – and opens the door to life, salvation and healing, in a demonstration of the incredible power of the Spirit. He is also an Ambassador for Compassion UK.