You can also listen to a podcast kindly provided by Mantra Media Mark Madeley - Mantra Media (mantrahq.com)
Revd Mark Madeley was born in Kent, but grew up in Yorkshire. Educatred at Bradford Grammar School, he then moved for a few years in life assurance and pensions, later specialising in mortgages, before becoming a lay assistant to St James, Alperton, a job taken to help discren his calling to Church ministry.
Following 3 years at Oak Hill College, London, he was ordained in June 1993 and served his title at All Saints, Mickleover (Derby) and was seconded to The Walbrook Epiphany Team in Derby.
He moved to the United Benefice of CHarleswith with Gamesley and DInting Vale (near Glossop in the Diocese of Derby) where he served from 1996 to to 1999. Here he met his wife, Caroline, who was working as a teacher in London, but was visiting friends.
It was in 1999 that Mark stepped aside from ordained ministry and became a chaplain to Christian Tours (UK) Ltd. He took groups to Israel regularly and helped churches prepare for their tours. This interest in Israel grew out of a first visit to Israel in 1995 where Mark fell in lvoe with the country and decided to take tours, the first tour he led being in 1996. He had Permission to Officiate in Wakefield Diocese during this time.
He returned to full time Church of England ministry in June 2000 becoming Vicar of St John the Baptist, Coley in the Diocese of Wakefield. Whilst here he married Caroline who moved from London and began teaching in Halifax. Their daughter, Rachel, was born in 2005 and Benjamin followed in 2008.
Despite returing to the Church of England, his love of Israel was still strong and following a revelation from the Lord, Madeley's Israel & Beyond (trading as MIB Travel) was born in November 2001. The company has remained a family concern offering a personal, bespoke service, but has grown substantially offering tours for churches, schools or any group wanting to go to Israel. It also caters for individuals or small groups of people who want to go on their own or join another group.
Mark, Caroline, Rachel & Benjamin moved to Somerset in 2012 when Mark was appointed Rector of St Nicholas with St Barnabas, Weston-super-Mare (Diocese of Bath & Wells). Naturally the business came with them and grew still more. Now Rachel is much older, she helps out with the administration and when we are pushed to make sure packages of information and so on go out, Benjamin also lends a hand. It really is a family firm.
Although MIB is a family firm, do not understimate it. Mark has bast knowledge of Israel and can guide people on sites for faith visits, holidays, desert experiences, coral reefs and just about everything Israel has to offer. Israel is his greatest passion besides the Gospel of the Lord Jesus.
One thing Mark had never expected to discover was when the Lord revealed to him his Jewish ancestry whilst Mark was visiting the Nazi death camp, Auschwitz Birkenau in 2009. Mark was on his own and was overwhelmed by a sense of loss whilst at the site where Hungarian Jews waited when the crematoria were broken. Knowing he had Hungarian roots, he began research on his return home and through conversations with family and online, he discovered his maternal grandfather was the son of an Orthodox Hungarian Jew from Budapest. He had escaped the Nazis by marrying a concert pianist and eventually settling in Yorkshire. The rest of the Jewish famliy were deported to Auschwitz Birkenau and were murdered there.
Mark is a recognised speaker on all matters Israel which led to him ebing approached in 2006 to form Christian Friends of Magen David Adom - the Israel Ambulance Service. He is President of that in the UK and so far his charity has raised enough money to donate to Israel 8 ambulances, 2 lorries used for collecting blood donations, 4 emergency paramedic motorcycles and it paid for the refurbishment of a small A&E room in northern Israel at Kiryat Shmona.
The mission of MIB Travel is to promote Israel and ensure it is properly understood on the world stage. It also seeks to educate the Church about its true Jewish roots and why working with Jewish People is an essential part of God's plans (see Romans 9-11!).
Whilst it is a famliy business from which no one draws a salary, do not underestimate its professionalism, personal attention, knowledge and committment to your tour. Furthermore, we are proud to be a retail agent of Superstar Holidays, which belongs to El Al Israel Airlines, thus ensuring you have ATOL cover for your tour. Superstar is also a member of ABTA.
Your wish is our command, your tour our opportunity to serve.