Ritchie, great to have you on this ZOOM room as we consider the families pastor role for 2022. Tell us what have you and Jasmin been up to since you left SCPC in 2014?
A lot can happen in seven years! We’ve got two kids now, Rosie (4 years) and Reuben (21 months). After Lismore we moved to Brisbane. I studied for four years at Queensland Theological College and Jasmin joined in for one year. I was also a student minister at Ann Street Presbyterian Church in the heart of Brisbane CBD. We loved our time in Brisbane and particularly at Ann Street. It was a super diverse church, there were heaps of surprising ministry opportunities and it was great to work under David Jones, the minister there at the time. We were there until the end of 2018.
At the beginning of 2019 we moved to Tassie to be at St John’s Presbyterian Church in Hobart It’s certainly been a big adventure. It’s a beautiful (and very cold) place. We’ve had lots of fun exploring it. The church we’re part of has a real gospel passion and clear desire to reach the lost with the message of Jesus. We’ve slotted in really well.
My role is the Equip Pastor. I’m responsible for overseeing our 0-21’s ministries (crèche, kids, youth, transition to uni), our connect groups (a little like gospel communities) and connect group leaders, our ministry teams (eg welcoming, hospitality, music) and team leaders, church wide equipping and I’m regularly involved in preaching and Sunday gatherings.
While it’s been a good three years we’ve also felt very far from family, particularly with COVID and border closures.
After your time in Tassie you guys were interested in heading back to the Northern Rivers. If you feel comfortable to, could you share why that is the case?
There’s a couple of things. Earlier this year Jasmin’s mum was diagnosed with cancer. That’s something really big to process and we’ve wanted to move closer so we can care for her better.
That’s one factor in us considering the Northern Rivers. The other thing is that we’re Northern Rivers people. We understand the culture. We love the people, so it’d be a great place for us to do ministry.
Now you rang me earlier this year to enquire about anything I knew in the Northern Rivers Presbytery that may be vacant. There were a couple of things that were floating around the area. You were also looking at positions in SEQ too. Could you share what sort of thing you had been thinking for 2022?
We’d been thinking either a role with me as a solo pastor or as part of a ministry team. I thought that both of them could’ve been a good fit. We wanted something that would maximise our gospel impact, yet also where we’d have good support and could be within striking distance of Jasmin’s mum who is in Beaudesert at the moment.
In August following the news that Tim was stepping down from the families pastor role at SCPC, you got a call from me with an invitation from Leadership Team at Southern Cross to consider a contingency of filling the families pastor role at SCPC in 2022 (pending endorsement by NRP and financial approval from SCPC). What was yours and Jasmin’s response to that call?
To be honest, we were surprised, even shocked! We had a few other options on the table and SCPC was something we’d obviously never thought was an option. It took us a while to even wrap our heads around what it might mean.
As we’ve had time to process and have some solid discussions, we’re really excited about the prospect of ministry at SCPC. Its a church full of people we love and trust. It’s a church so clearly committed to the priority of the gospel. It’s a church that’s also had a massive impact on both our lives and who we are as people today. I came to know Jesus through the church in 2006 and Jasmin joined in 2009 as a new Christian, so we spent our formative years as Christians there.
As people will have heard in my Pastors’ Post today (Part 1), a few things need to take place before a potential start date in 2022, but if those things are to be approved, firstly how do you finish well in Tassie and secondly what would a smooth start look like for you at SCPC?
Good question. I think finishing well here is about training and getting the right people in place leave the ministries we’re leading in good shape for next year. It’s saying goodbyes and encouraging people to keep on going in the gospel.
Provided it’s approved, a smooth start would firstly look like finding a place to live where we can raise our family plus be a hub for hospitality and relationships and community. After that I think it will probably take some time to settle back in. We’ve changed and I’m sure the church family has changed a lot in the past seven years and it’ll take some time to understand each other well. We’ll need to go slow at first and listen to people well.
You have done an MTS apprenticeship at SCPC and then served for an additional year as a youth ministry worker at Southern Cross. What did you remember fondly about investing in youth at SCPC and how would you like to cultivate that in 2022?
I loved being involved in Youth ministry at SCPC. I was a youth leader there for almost 9 years. In particular I valued the relational nature of the ministry. It was built around discipleship relationships and that’s something I’d love to keep fostering and encouraging. Building rich healthy gospel centred relationships especially between the youth and Jesus but also between leaders and youth, youth and youth, leaders and leaders, leaders and parents, youth and GCs etc etc etc. This web of relationships that are really key to youth growing up and being discipled, and going on to trust in Jesus and live for Jesus for the rest of their lives.
Finally our vision at SCPC is to grow followers of Jesus, by Growing in love for God: WORSHIP; Growing love for each other: COMMUNITY & Growing in love for the world: MISSION. What excites you about the prospect of reconnecting at SCPC and for you, Jasmin, Rosie and Reuben to give yourself to that vision?
If we do return, I think, we’re really excited about being part of a church family that is deeply committed to one another and also deeply committed to seeing the gospel of Jesus spread through Lismore and it’d be really exciting, a thrill even, to be giving ourselves to that vision, not by ourselves, but along with the community and the church family.
Excellent. Thanks for your time Ritchie we look forward to communicating further as the year comes to a close and we entrust ourselves to our Father God who weaves our story through these coming months. Thanks so much for coming on this Zoom room today Ritchie.
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