Joel Edwards (Evangelical Alliance)
Joel Edwards was the General Director of the Evangelical Alliance from 1997 until 2009.
Prior to taking on this role, he was working as a probation officer alongside service as a church pastor, and general secretary of the African & Caribbean Evangelical Alliance.
He is now International Director for Micah Challenge and is also a Commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. He has presented on the BBC Radio 4 feature of The Today programme, Thought for the Day.
When Edwards left the Evangelical Alliance, he made public statements stating that he was unhappy with the focus by the media on the "eccentric fringe" of British evangelical Christianity, specifically the frequent remarks of Stephen Green from Christian Voice, whom Edwards considers an "extremist", and the "naïve and controversial" Andrea Minichiello Williams of Christian Concern.
In 2016, he was awarded the Langton Award for Community Service by the Archbishop of Canterbury "for his unique contribution in uniting evangelical Christians across the UK in challenging global injustice".