Faculty & Staff

Jonathan McClaughlin
Principal & Lecturer in Pastoral Theology
Jonathan McClaughlin
Principal & Lecturer in Pastoral Theology
BA MDiv DMin
Jonathan is married to Jenny and has three children. He has been Pastor at Hamilton Road Baptist Church in Bangor since 2010 and is one of the co-founders of the Irish Men's Convention. He serves the College as Principal and teaches Biblical Theology, Theology of Worship, Homiletics and Pastoral Studies. His desire is to see men and women equipped to serve the Lord with passion in this contemporary world.

Davy Ellison
Director of Training and Lecturer in Biblical Studies (Old Testament).
Davy Ellison
Director of Training and Lecturer in Biblical Studies (Old Testament).
BSc BD MTh PhD
Davy graduated with BD, MTh and PhD degrees from the College (in addition to a BSc in Geography from Queen's University, Belfast). Prior to his appointment as Director of Training in 2019 Davy served as Interim Coordinator for Baptist Youth and ministered in a few pastoral roles in Association churches. He serves as an elder in the Antrim church. In addition to leadership responsibilities as the Director of Training, Davy teaches Biblical Hebrew and Old Testament. He loves the Old Testament and desires to help the church reclaim it as Christian Scripture. He is the author of The Holy One of Israel: Exploring Isaiah (Independent, 2019), Five: The Solas of the Reformation (Tulip Publishing, 2020), Meekness and Majesty (H&E, 2024), Raised According to the Scriptures: Easter in the Old Testament (Wipf & Stock, 2024), Hope for a New David in the Psalter’s Narrative Impulse: Reading the Psalms as Utopian Literature (Bloomsbury/Fortress Academic, 2025) and study notes on Deuteronomy, Job and Psalms for an ESV Study Bible due to be released in 2026. He has also been published in Themelios, Midwestern Journal of Theology, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, European Journal of Theology and Old Testament Essays. Additionally, Davy writes for The Gospel Coalition, For The Church, and 9 Marks.

David Ball
College Management Director
David Ball
College Management Director
BEd PQH
David is married to Liz and has three children. David is an elder in Ballykeel Baptist Church. David is also on the Child Evangelism Fellowship European Education Advisory Committee. Before joining the Irish Baptist College in the summer of 2025 David was a primary school principal.

David Luke
Postgraduate Director & Lecturer in Historical Theology
David Luke
Postgraduate Director & Lecturer in Historical Theology
BA BD PhD FHEA
David served as pastor of Gilnahirk Baptist in Belfast for 15 years. He joined the full-time teaching staff in September 2013. David also teaches on Cornhill Belfast. He teaches Historical Theology, Apologetics, Baptist Ecclesiology and Baptist History. David has contributed to Treasures of Irish Christianity (Veritas, 2015), A Collection of Essays on Jonathan Edwards (JE Society Press, 2016), A Jonathan Edwards Encyclopaedia (Eerdmans, 2017), and The Miscellanies Companion (JE Society Press, 2018). He is the author of Meeting Christ at His Table: Jonathan Edwards and the Lord’s Supper (JE Society Press, 2023). He is also published in Journal of the Irish Baptist Historical Society, Reformed Theological Journal, Semanatorul, Journal of European Baptist Studies and Southern Baptist Journal of Theology.

Peter Firth
Lecturer in Biblical Studies (New Testament)
Peter Firth
Lecturer in Biblical Studies (New Testament)
BD PhD
After some 25 years of pastoral experience in Ireland and Scotland including a period at Charlotte Chapel Edinburgh, Peter joined the College staff in August 2010. His main responsibilities are teaching New Testament and Biblical Languages. Peter has been published in the Journal of the Irish Baptist Historical Society and Semanatorul.

Lynette Simpson
Registrar
Lynette Simpson
Registrar
BSc
Lynette joined the College staff team as Registrar in June 2018. Originally from Belfast, she moved to Coleraine to study Social Psychology & Sociology and later worked in business for a number of years. She lives in Belfast with her husband Paul. Church, family, friends & travel keep Lynette busy outside of IBC.

Debbie McLaughlin
Academic Administrator
Debbie McLaughlin
Academic Administrator
BSc PGCE
Debbie joined the College part-time in 2023 after previously working as a PE teacher. She also works part-time for Newtownards Baptist as Church Administrator as well as co-ordinating the Children's and Youth work. Debbie is a member of the Baptist Youth Management Committee.