The Rollett family will soon be swapping life in the Diocese of Leicester for East Africa, where they will walk alongside local Christians and help them work together to be a loving witness to their neighbours of other faiths.
Revd Dave and Tricia are Church Mission Society’s newest mission partners. Their forthcoming placement will see them living and ministering predominantly on the coast of Tanzania, based in the Zanzibar archipelago.
They’ll be working to equip and encourage where followers of Jesus are in a minority.
Revd Dave joined the Diocese of Leicester as a Resourcing Church Associate Minister in 2019, arriving from Tanzania where he and Tricia had served as missionaries in the Diocese of Ruaha.
“I was excited to learn about our links with Tanzania and when we moved to Loughborough for my curacy in 2023 the time seemed right to get involved with our links with the dioceses of Mount Kilimanjaro and Kiteto,” explains Revd Dave.
“Tricia and I have been praying about whether God was calling us back into overseas ministry. We were open handed as to where that might be. Despite our clear call to serve with the Diocese of Leicester leaving our home in Tanzania had been difficult so we dared not think we might return.”
In 2024, Revd Dave took his eldest son, Titus, along with him to visit our link dioceses with a view to strengthening our diocesan links and considering how we might bring a team to visit in a learning exchange. In March 2025, he returned, this time for the consecration of Bishop Bethuel in Kiteto.
“While I was there, I opened my heart to the possibility of returning, wanting to listen to God and to others about it,” he says. “My colleagues noticed how at home I was and during a time of Swahili praise and worship (while waiting for a delayed Bishop Martyn to open the dispensary!) I was overcome with joy and emotion. Returning felt right.”
Along with David and Sarah Shepherd, he had already begun preparing for a diocese team visit in September 2025 and was delighted to return again. The relationships with the link had become significant. By this time Tricia and Revd Dave were in the process of discerning their call with Church Mission Society.
Talking about how they might continue in their links with the Diocese of Leicester, Revd Dave says: “I’m hopeful of being able to visit DMK and Kiteto from time to time and serving in whatever way I can. I’m also keen to support diocesan teams, where possible and have no doubt that some people will want to come and visit us on Zanzibar! We are so grateful that the Diocese would like to see our relationship continue and work together in God’s mission.”
Sharing their hopes for the roles and what they’re both looking forward to as they move to Zanzibar, Revd Dave says: “We are looking forward to getting alongside the Zanzibari Church and serving them to see flourishing discipleship. I will be drawing from the learning and experience I have in mission and ministry and Tricia will be drawing on her experience in evaluation and learning. I know this will be challenging, but I hope that there will be much to learn and share together, particularly as we partner with a numerically small but diverse group of ministry partners.
“Please be praying for us, as there are so many unknowns. We are waiting on God’s guidance and provision and asking the body of Christ to stand with us.”
You can join Revd Dave and Tricia, along with Bishop Martyn and the Church Mission Society, at Tea for Tanzania on Saturday 16 May, 1pm at St Martins House, Leicester. An afternoon of stirring stories, a slice of mission life and inspiring conversations over a cuppa or two. Tickets are free. Book online here.
If you’d like to communicate directly with Dave you can email him at DaveRollett@gmail.com