HE is used to being behind the scenes – but Nathan Hamilton will need to get used to being upfront.

Nathan trained as a theatre technician, and worked for a theatre and for churches as a sound engineer, as well as on stage management, lighting and livestreaming.

But when God called him into church leadership, he found himself leaving his PA desk and coming to the front for prayer. It was a symbolic step out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

He has been training at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford for the past three years, and will be ordained as a deacon in Portsmouth Cathedral in June. He’ll serve as a curate in Ryde.

“I was working for Holy Trinity Brompton, and we happened to be on a student weekend away,” he said. “I was doing the sound desk, as normal, but there was an altar call for anyone who felt God was calling them into leadership. I found myself standing up and leaving the faders behind as I went forward for prayer.

“When you are actually employed by a church, you feel a professional obligation to make sure everything happens the way it’s supposed to. So to find yourself stepping forward like that is scary. I’m glad I didn’t really think too much about it, just responded to the call.

“It will be odd to be upfront in a church as a curate. I’ve never been hugely comfortable with being so visible, but part of being ordained is about living your whole life as a witness.”

Nathan’s degree was in technical theatre, and then he worked for a theatre in Essex, and freelanced too. He started working for Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) at a point when his faith was beginning to drift. But his time there was a healing experience.

“I actually got to see a lot of people at HTB who were working really hard to communicate God’s love to those people in front of them,” he said. “It felt like a safe place, where I felt I could take a step forward in faith.

“One of the things about living in London and working in the theatre industry is that people are quite image-conscious. And in Oxford, it is quite academic.

“So when we visited the Isle of Wight, it was refreshing and freeing not to feel judged, but to be welcomed as the person you actually are.

“There was a definite sense of peace about being in that place and with those people.”

Nathan and his wife Alys have recently had their first child, Betsy, who will shortly be celebrating her first birthday. Alys is currently still on maternity leave.