Stew is the Vision, Leadership and Community Pastor at SCPC.
By Vision Stew provides annual reflections to our team of elders before their weekend of planning in Term 4 each year, it is then reflected upon by our Vision Coordinators, staff team and Committee of Management Exec before bringing the fruit of that thinking to Vision Sunday each year in November, he finds this part of his role difficult, demanding, draining, yet exciting and has described it like “riding a lion!”
By Leadership, Stew chairs the following: our elders’ Leadership Team (Session), our staff team and our Committee of Management. A great deal of Stew’s time is spent in leading these behind the scenes teams, but is thoroughly grateful for these teams of humble and hungry leaders, that serve in soooo many unidentified ways.
By Community Stew has sought to distill the learning from his Masters he completed between 2018-2024 in Christian leadership and mentoring, to resource and bless the leaders of our intergenerational communities, called Gospel Communities. Through his broad contact network, he has allowed our leaders to be extended in a number of ways by gifted Christian leaders across Australia. He also provides training once a term for our staff and our Gospel Community Leadership Groups.
Stew also oversees MTS recruitment, CMS summer party, Equip nights and is involved with onboarding and missional programs like Hope Explored. He is our sole member of the Northern Rivers Presbytery and NSW General Assembly and Moderates Bangalow Presbyterian Church.
Stew enjoys modelling intergenerational discipleship in his Gospel Community (GC) and would love to have a part of helping the next generation in his GC see how BIG the God we serve is.
Stew is married to Susan who is ridiculously wise and he also has three teenage children that can be embarrassed by their Dad and the ridiculous things he can do to show his support of things that enthuse him – like sport, sport and well… sport! Even though a sports lover, you will also find his lounge covered with books he is reading. In his Christian life Stew has been powerfully influenced by his pastoral supervisors, Tim Chester and also Tim Keller who was profoundly impacted by CS Lewis. So 2026 is proving to be Stew’s year with CS Lewis having started two biographies and his provocative work The Screwtape Letters.
Ritchie leads our preaching ministry and Sunday gatherings. He longs to see people grow in their love for God as they hear, and are nourished by his word. Ritchie is also passionate about our church reaching people with the good news of Jesus, and he oversees our local and global mission strategy.
Ritchie has had his life turned upside down by the glory of God displayed in Jesus Christ – yet too often his vision is filled with lesser things. He needs to be continually reminded of, and refreshed by Jesus, the crucified Lord of life. He also deeply treasures Christian relationships and the way that being part of a Gospel Community impacts his own life and grows his love for Jesus.
His favourite Christian author is Michael Reeves, and he loves the way Reeves’ books have helped him genuinely know and enjoy God better.
Ritchie is married to Jasmin and they have two young kids who are a source of much joy and fun. Ritchie likes cricket, touch footy, novels, learning guitar and historical documentaries on YouTube. He is also a very keen (and very ordinary) surfer.
Merhawi is moving into his second year as the Next Generation Pastor at Southern Cross, and he’s eager to trade his “L plates” for a better life-on-life discipleship that sits at the heart of his role. He’s aiming to bring his 2025 learnings into a sustainable and effective rhythm of ministry.
His focus remains growing the next generation as disciples of Jesus by equipping the leaders who disciple the next generation.
Merhawi is married to Ami – Ami is a Sydney girl, Merhawi is a nomad. He was born in Eritrea, moved to Australia as a teenager and lived in Brisbane throughout high school before moving to Sydney for Uni. He then moved to Canberra for work and then back to Sydney to study Masters of Divinity at the Sydney Missionary and Bible College. And now he’s in Lismore!
God has given Ami and Merhawi two boys. Their first starts school this year. They aren’t sure who is more excited for the routine – him, or his tired parents. Look at us go!
Merhawi looks forward to being captivated by the bigness of God in 2026. He sees God’s intense holiness as the fuel for the praise of God and a motive for serving Jesus’ cause. He longs for the reality of God’s presence to be the heartbeat of his life and ministry.
Merhawi has been influenced by David Polson and Paul Tripp’s ministry and books. Over the summer, he was won over by a new author he’s just read: David Gibson on Psalm 23. N D Wilson’s Death By Living continues to be simultaneously challenging, encouraging and a joy to read as it is beautifully written.
For a fiction fix, Lewis, N.D. Wilson, and Tolkien are Merhawi’s go-to authors. He is currently deep in Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy, so he may require some assistance with galaxial travel as he explores the bigness of God’s creation both in and out of the stars.
Peita serves as our Ministry Coordinator, supporting staff and ministry teams across SCPC. Over the years, she has discovered a deep joy in working behind the scenes. She loves solving problems, planning creatively, designing systems, and supporting others as they grow disciples of Jesus. Her role weaves through much of the practical life of the church, helping to build the spaces, publications, and communications that allow gospel work to flourish. She sees her role as add-MINISTRY: reflecting God’s order, care, and provision so His people can get on with excellent gospel work.
This year Peita is looking forward to growing her vision of our God through his word. She is deeply encouraged and strengthened by the women in her Gospel Community, meeting weekly for DNA, and counts it a great joy to learn and grow alongside these faithful women.
Peita also serves our church family as Music Ministry Leader and has a deep love for seeing the message of Christ dwell richly in God’s people through song. Singing is one of the key ways she turns her eyes to Jesus, and she finds great encouragement in raising her voice together with God’s people. Peita has been enjoying Sovereign Grace Music’s Turn Your Eyes, and one of her prayers for this year is that all the things of earth would grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
Away from the office, Peita keeps busy trying to keep track of her precious and very active family — her husband Scott and their three teenage sons. Peita delights in God’s good gifts of plants, flowers, sunshine and friends, enjoys the therapeutic benefits of embroidery, and has recently taken up pickleball — loving both the game and the friendships that are growing with women from her Gospel Community as they play.
Jillian works at SCPC as an Administration Assistant on Wednesday afternoons and Fridays. In her role at SCPC, Jillian predominantly provides administration assistance to Stew in his role as our Leadership, Vision and Community Pastor at SCPC, and also assists our Treasurers with finance tasks, and organises church events, as well as other administrative tasks.
Jillian is married to Ian, and they have three school-aged children. Jillian and Ian lead one of our Gospel Communities and try to encourage their GC members to have a big vision for our town by meeting together in weekly DNA groups to study the bible and pray for one another, and gathering together for meals or fun activities to build relationships and engage in missional opportunities together. Jillian is deeply encouraged by the cross-generational relationships that continue to form and grow within their GC.
Jillian has recently been influenced by Alistair Begg and Dane Ortlund and finds refreshment and joy in returning to God’s word again and again, resting in and being reminded of the faithful promises God has made, and his gracious love for her.
To find rest and refreshment, Jillian enjoys reading, listening to music & singing, and tending to her indoor plants. Jillian loves spending time with people and enjoys cooking and baking to share meals with others.
Jericho is undertaking an MTS apprenticeship (2026-27), where she will be working alongside the Next Generation Pastor Merhawi in an assisting role. She will also continue to lead at Youth, run the set-up team, and meet up one-on-one with some of her youth girls, as well as taking on the role of 7/9C (teenage group) on Sunday mornings.
During her apprenticeship she will be studying a certificate in theology through The Timothy Partnership. She hopes to enhance her knowledge of the Bible and be able to understand and teach it more clearly. She hopes to spend these two years honouring and serving God in this unique opportunity, and making the most of her time in this role, while expanding her vision all the more.
She is a member of the Ritchie Gospel Community, and a part of their leadership group as the Kids, Youth and Young Adults Coordinator. She enjoys attending GC events and mingling with them at church and DNA during the week.
On her days off, Jericho enjoys spending time in nature, listening to music and spending quality time with others – although she also needs alone time to recharge.
She has been greatly encouraged by her fellow staff, her trainer Merhawi, and her mentor Laura H, who have all urged her on in faith, challenging her and helping her grow in her vision of God.
Having survived his two years as a ministry apprentice, Steve has now set his eyes on 3 days a week as an engineer and Wednesday in a volunteer and study capacity.
Steve will continue his ongoing care of his Gospel Community (GC) as he facilitates the little group of leaders, loving and serving a somewhat large and diverse group of people.
Steve’s primary ministries within Southern Cross will be welcoming and newcomer integration, as well as his role as Session Clerk. He will also serve in ministries outside of Southern Cross, such as primary school scripture and prison ministry.
In the background, Steve intends to complete his Graduate Diploma of Divinity, majoring in Christian Mentoring, and is excited to grow disciples of Christ through mentoring others.
Steve is a Puritan at heart and loves the work and writings of John Bunyan, C.S. Lewis, and others of a similar ilk. He appreciates the work of Christians in the mental health space, such as Dan Allander, Jeff Van Vonderan and John Warlow, but has primarily been influenced and encouraged by Mike and Cathy S (previous members of our church family), who lived a marriage of gospel unity, shared their lives deeply and invested in others with reckless intention.
In considering the theme for 2026, the BIGness of God, as well as Dallas Willard’s “Renovation of the Heart”. Steve has been challenged about the power and influence of our thought life and has been challenged to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
God calls the leaders of local churches to humbly, lovingly, wisely and courageously grow disciples of Jesus taking into account their particular context and the gifts and opportunities they’ve been given. This “contextualisation” means that while the mission is fixed, the method is flexible insofar as it remains consistent with the gospel itself.
At Southern Cross we love to “have our cake and eat it too”. Our method aims to make the most of the benefits that both Big Church & Small Church bring to the mission of growing disciples of Jesus.
We believe that God has blessed us with a thriving extended church family and when we all gather together we love to celebrate the gospel unity that God’s given to such an outwardly diverse group of people.
Stew is the Vision, Leadership and Community Pastor at SCPC.
By Vision Stew provides annual reflections to our team of elders before their weekend of planning in Term 4 each year, it is then reflected upon by our Vision Coordinators, staff team and Committee of Management Exec before bringing the fruit of that thinking to Vision Sunday each year in November, he finds this part of his role difficult, demanding, draining, yet exciting and has described it like “riding a lion!”
By Leadership, Stew chairs the following: our elders’ Leadership Team (Session), our staff team and our Committee of Management. A great deal of Stew’s time is spent in leading these behind the scenes teams, but is thoroughly grateful for these teams of humble and hungry leaders, that serve in soooo many unidentified ways.
By Community Stew has sought to distill the learning from his Masters he completed between 2018-2024 in Christian leadership and mentoring, to resource and bless the leaders of our intergenerational communities, called Gospel Communities. Through his broad contact network, he has allowed our leaders to be extended in a number of ways by gifted Christian leaders across Australia. He also provides training once a term for our staff and our Gospel Community Leadership Groups.
Stew also oversees MTS recruitment, CMS summer party, Equip nights and is involved with onboarding and missional programs like Hope Explored. He is our sole member of the Northern Rivers Presbytery and NSW General Assembly and Moderates Bangalow Presbyterian Church.
Stew enjoys modelling intergenerational discipleship in his Gospel Community (GC) and would love to have a part of helping the next generation in his GC see how BIG the God we serve is.
Stew is married to Susan who is ridiculously wise and he also has three teenage children that can be embarrassed by their Dad and the ridiculous things he can do to show his support of things that enthuse him – like sport, sport and well… sport! Even though a sports lover, you will also find his lounge covered with books he is reading. In his Christian life Stew has been powerfully influenced by his pastoral supervisors, Tim Chester and also Tim Keller who was profoundly impacted by CS Lewis. So 2026 is proving to be Stew’s year with CS Lewis having started two biographies and his provocative work The Screwtape Letters.
Ritchie leads our preaching ministry and Sunday gatherings. He longs to see people grow in their love for God as they hear, and are nourished by his word. Ritchie is also passionate about our church reaching people with the good news of Jesus, and he oversees our local and global mission strategy.
Ritchie has had his life turned upside down by the glory of God displayed in Jesus Christ – yet too often his vision is filled with lesser things. He needs to be continually reminded of, and refreshed by Jesus, the crucified Lord of life. He also deeply treasures Christian relationships and the way that being part of a Gospel Community impacts his own life and grows his love for Jesus.
His favourite Christian author is Michael Reeves, and he loves the way Reeves’ books have helped him genuinely know and enjoy God better.
Ritchie is married to Jasmin and they have two young kids who are a source of much joy and fun. Ritchie likes cricket, touch footy, novels, learning guitar and historical documentaries on YouTube. He is also a very keen (and very ordinary) surfer.
Merhawi is moving into his second year as the Next Generation Pastor at Southern Cross, and he’s eager to trade his “L plates” for a better life-on-life discipleship that sits at the heart of his role. He’s aiming to bring his 2025 learnings into a sustainable and effective rhythm of ministry.
His focus remains growing the next generation as disciples of Jesus by equipping the leaders who disciple the next generation.
Merhawi is married to Ami – Ami is a Sydney girl, Merhawi is a nomad. He was born in Eritrea, moved to Australia as a teenager and lived in Brisbane throughout high school before moving to Sydney for Uni. He then moved to Canberra for work and then back to Sydney to study Masters of Divinity at the Sydney Missionary and Bible College. And now he’s in Lismore!
God has given Ami and Merhawi two boys. Their first starts school this year. They aren’t sure who is more excited for the routine – him, or his tired parents. Look at us go!
Merhawi looks forward to being captivated by the bigness of God in 2026. He sees God’s intense holiness as the fuel for the praise of God and a motive for serving Jesus’ cause. He longs for the reality of God’s presence to be the heartbeat of his life and ministry.
Merhawi has been influenced by David Polson and Paul Tripp’s ministry and books. Over the summer, he was won over by a new author he’s just read: David Gibson on Psalm 23. N D Wilson’s Death By Living continues to be simultaneously challenging, encouraging and a joy to read as it is beautifully written.
For a fiction fix, Lewis, N.D. Wilson, and Tolkien are Merhawi’s go-to authors. He is currently deep in Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy, so he may require some assistance with galaxial travel as he explores the bigness of God’s creation both in and out of the stars.
Peita serves as our Ministry Coordinator, supporting staff and ministry teams across SCPC. Over the years, she has discovered a deep joy in working behind the scenes. She loves solving problems, planning creatively, designing systems, and supporting others as they grow disciples of Jesus. Her role weaves through much of the practical life of the church, helping to build the spaces, publications, and communications that allow gospel work to flourish. She sees her role as add-MINISTRY: reflecting God’s order, care, and provision so His people can get on with excellent gospel work.
This year Peita is looking forward to growing her vision of our God through his word. She is deeply encouraged and strengthened by the women in her Gospel Community, meeting weekly for DNA, and counts it a great joy to learn and grow alongside these faithful women.
Peita also serves our church family as Music Ministry Leader and has a deep love for seeing the message of Christ dwell richly in God’s people through song. Singing is one of the key ways she turns her eyes to Jesus, and she finds great encouragement in raising her voice together with God’s people. Peita has been enjoying Sovereign Grace Music’s Turn Your Eyes, and one of her prayers for this year is that all the things of earth would grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
Away from the office, Peita keeps busy trying to keep track of her precious and very active family — her husband Scott and their three teenage sons. Peita delights in God’s good gifts of plants, flowers, sunshine and friends, enjoys the therapeutic benefits of embroidery, and has recently taken up pickleball — loving both the game and the friendships that are growing with women from her Gospel Community as they play.
Jillian works at SCPC as an Administration Assistant on Wednesday afternoons and Fridays. In her role at SCPC, Jillian predominantly provides administration assistance to Stew in his role as our Leadership, Vision and Community Pastor at SCPC, and also assists our Treasurers with finance tasks, and organises church events, as well as other administrative tasks.
Jillian is married to Ian, and they have three school-aged children. Jillian and Ian lead one of our Gospel Communities and try to encourage their GC members to have a big vision for our town by meeting together in weekly DNA groups to study the bible and pray for one another, and gathering together for meals or fun activities to build relationships and engage in missional opportunities together. Jillian is deeply encouraged by the cross-generational relationships that continue to form and grow within their GC.
Jillian has recently been influenced by Alistair Begg and Dane Ortlund and finds refreshment and joy in returning to God’s word again and again, resting in and being reminded of the faithful promises God has made, and his gracious love for her.
To find rest and refreshment, Jillian enjoys reading, listening to music & singing, and tending to her indoor plants. Jillian loves spending time with people and enjoys cooking and baking to share meals with others.
Jericho is undertaking an MTS apprenticeship (2026-27), where she will be working alongside the Next Generation Pastor Merhawi in an assisting role. She will also continue to lead at Youth, run the set-up team, and meet up one-on-one with some of her youth girls, as well as taking on the role of 7/9C (teenage group) on Sunday mornings.
During her apprenticeship she will be studying a certificate in theology through The Timothy Partnership. She hopes to enhance her knowledge of the Bible and be able to understand and teach it more clearly. She hopes to spend these two years honouring and serving God in this unique opportunity, and making the most of her time in this role, while expanding her vision all the more.
She is a member of the Ritchie Gospel Community, and a part of their leadership group as the Kids, Youth and Young Adults Coordinator. She enjoys attending GC events and mingling with them at church and DNA during the week.
On her days off, Jericho enjoys spending time in nature, listening to music and spending quality time with others – although she also needs alone time to recharge.
She has been greatly encouraged by her fellow staff, her trainer Merhawi, and her mentor Laura H, who have all urged her on in faith, challenging her and helping her grow in her vision of God.
Having survived his two years as a ministry apprentice, Steve has now set his eyes on 3 days a week as an engineer and Wednesday in a volunteer and study capacity.
Steve will continue his ongoing care of his Gospel Community (GC) as he facilitates the little group of leaders, loving and serving a somewhat large and diverse group of people.
Steve’s primary ministries within Southern Cross will be welcoming and newcomer integration, as well as his role as Session Clerk. He will also serve in ministries outside of Southern Cross, such as primary school scripture and prison ministry.
In the background, Steve intends to complete his Graduate Diploma of Divinity, majoring in Christian Mentoring, and is excited to grow disciples of Christ through mentoring others.
Steve is a Puritan at heart and loves the work and writings of John Bunyan, C.S. Lewis, and others of a similar ilk. He appreciates the work of Christians in the mental health space, such as Dan Allander, Jeff Van Vonderan and John Warlow, but has primarily been influenced and encouraged by Mike and Cathy S (previous members of our church family), who lived a marriage of gospel unity, shared their lives deeply and invested in others with reckless intention.
In considering the theme for 2026, the BIGness of God, as well as Dallas Willard’s “Renovation of the Heart”. Steve has been challenged about the power and influence of our thought life and has been challenged to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
God calls the leaders of local churches to humbly, lovingly, wisely and courageously grow disciples of Jesus taking into account their particular context and the gifts and opportunities they’ve been given. This “contextualisation” means that while the mission is fixed, the method is flexible insofar as it remains consistent with the gospel itself.
At Southern Cross we love to “have our cake and eat it too”. Our method aims to make the most of the benefits that both Big Church & Small Church bring to the mission of growing disciples of Jesus.
We believe that God has blessed us with a thriving extended church family and when we all gather together we love to celebrate the gospel unity that God’s given to such an outwardly diverse group of people.