Stew is the Vision, Leadership and Community Pastor at Southern Cross Presbyterian Church. His position involves him chairing our team of elders, staff and Committee of Management. He is ably assisted by Jillian, our admin assistant, to help fulfill the vision he leads our church family in (particularly around training and events). Over the last five years, through his Master’s and Reach Australia consultancy, he has aspired to think purposefully through how administration can ‘add-ministry’. He is the Interim Moderator of Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Wollongbar and a member of the Pathways Committee for the Presbyterian Church of NSW.
Stew was an avid sports lover as a child and teenager and enjoys the freedom that physical activity brings. He notices that in order to seek first the kingdom, he needs to keep his sporting desires at bay and be cautious about walking into a sports store and overspending!
With his wife Susan, they are the Vision Coordinators of the Gospel Community they lead. In 2025, he is hoping to lead the community in the knowledge that God works powerfully through His word.
In his ministry life Stew has been enriched through the life and influence of the English evangelical Christopher Ash, he finds some of John Ortberg’s works fascinating and is interested to explore the life of Elizabeth Elliot in 2025.
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 knows that life is about seeking first God’s kingdom not his own, but too often he ends up with a self-seeking mindset. He needs to be continually reminded of, and refocused on, Jesus the king of the kingdom. 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 and His kingdom.
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 and historical documentaries on YouTube. He is also a very keen (and very ordinary) surfer.
Merhawi is the Next Generation Pastor at Southern Cross Presbyterian Church.
As the newbie in the role and SCPC, he’s got his metaphorical ‘L plates’ on with most of his attention directed to getting to know the kids and youth leaders, and the kids and young people of our church and their parents. He’s so eager to lead and serve alongside others and grow in loving God and his world.
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 blessed Ami and Merhawi with two boys. They definitely bring them joy, keep them active, tired and sometimes sleepless!
Merhawi is seeking the kingdom by seeking the triune God and communing with him for 2 hours every week for most weeks. This is not time to pray for himself or others. This is a time to only adore God in his manifold character. He aims to make this a life habit that, with the Spirit’s blessing over time, changes him into the character God wants him to be in His redemption story.
Merhawi has been influenced by David Powlison and Paul Tripp’s ministry and books. He also loves N D Wilson’s children’s fiction books but his non-fiction, Death By Living, is a particular beauty! It is simultaneously challenging, encouraging and a joy to read as it is beautifully written.
Just so you don’t think he does not read English authors, he is a fan of C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (though having read the latter twice, he is still wandering AND lost in middle earth unlike Frodo and Aragorn). And there are others, but he won’t bore you any further…
Peita is our Ministry Coordinator and you can find her doing all sorts of tasks to support our staff and ministry teams, prepare for gatherings and events, facilitate the use of our Park Ave premises, ensure we’re upholding our safe ministry practices, has lots of opportunity to find creative solutions to a wide range of challenges, and does whatever else needs doing to keep everything running as smoothly as possible. She’s still waiting for the (ever elusive) ‘normal’ week to come!
In her life, Peita is learning more and more to rely on God’s help to seek first His Kingdom in all the situations and decisions she faces each day. She is spurred on and strengthened by the women in her Gospel Community as they meet for DNA each week, and it’s a great joy for her to seek God’s kingdom with these faithful women.
Peita serves our church family as the 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 ways she loves to express Kingdom truths and finds such encouragement in joining with God’s people in song!
There is usually a song in Peita’s head just bursting to come out and she (not so secretly) loves singing 90’s classics loudly. Peita tries to keep up with her precious and very active family – husband Scott and three teenage sons (and for those following along at home, she actually DID go camping with them)! She enjoys God’s good gifts of plants and flowers, loves spending time in the sunshine and floating in her pool, and has recently been learning hand embroidery (and benefiting from its therapeutic qualities).
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 also works two days a week as an Early Childhood Teacher. Jillian and Ian lead one of our Gospel Communities and try to encourage their GC members to seek first the kingdom of God 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 Elisabeth Elliot, Michael Reeves, Peter Orr and Dane Ortlund. She 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.
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 facilitates the Sunday Logistics at our gatherings, which means she will often be found floating around the back of the hall (usually surrounded by a swarm of Youth) but always ready to answer any questions you might have related to our gathering.
She is studying a Bachelor of Digital Media at SCU and hoping to find inspiration into what path she should follow, while keeping in mind that God’s got everything planned out. She enjoys listening to music and spending time in nature, and is more than happy to share those joys with anyone who will join her.
She is a member of the Ritchie Gospel Community, and a part of their leadership group as the Kids, Youth and Young Adults Coordinator.
The Christian Leaders which influence her are her prior Pastor Darrel P, and her GC Leaders Jasmin and James R, along with numerous youth leaders from her teen years.
What makes her heart beat is serving as a Youth Leader and supporting her youth in their lives and especially their growth in Christ. She also loves spending time in community with fellow Christians (either in Young Adult or GC settings).
Steve is going into his second year as a ministry apprentice. With a year of study, ministry and all things ‘trainee’ under his belt, he is ready to tackle a whole host of challenges in 2025.
Among his areas of responsibility will be the 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 vision for his GC comes from Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23…
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Under the guidance of our pastors, he will also pick up the baton of facilitating newcomers and making some ground on clear and helpful pathways to engage, inform and connect people. Otherwise, the day-to-day bread and butter of Sunday preparations, leading, occasional preaching and the like will fill his days.
The other sphere of his ministry is undertaking his Graduate Diploma of Divinity. This entails four intensives in Sydney and a plethora of assessments on Christian Mentoring, as well as the exciting prospect of putting his learning into practice as he takes on a few mentees of his own.
Steve is a Puritan at heart and loves the work and writings of John Bunyan, C.S. Lewis and others of that ilk. He appreciates the work of Christians in the mental health space such as Dan Allander and Jeff Van Vonderan, 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. Steve’s first year of college has also added invaluable learning and understanding into the mental health and pastoral care space as he studied ‘The Christian Wholeness Framework’ under Dr John Warlow and Karen Nivala.
With the challenge to “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” Steve has started the year with a great purge. Simplifying his circumstances and purging the fruitless things in his life, he is seeking to reinforce and maintain all things that see Jesus at the centre of his vision. He is also excited to lean into the memory verse space and loves the prospect of spurring on others (especially the youngins) to do likewise.
Amelia is in her second year of a ministry apprenticeship. Throughout 2024 Amelia began her apprenticeship, completed her Diploma of Theology, co-ordinated Young Adults with her husband James, led a Gospel Community, led at youth and in preschool kids. This year Amelia will continue in these roles as well as beginning to study Christian Mentoring. She hopes the coming year will continue to involve lots of encouraging conversations with her youth girls on Friday nights, cups of tea and chats with young adult women, and the opportunity to share the gospel with non-Christian friends.
Amelia desires to ‘seek first His kingdom’, throughout 2025 and beyond. She is hoping to dig deeper into God’s word this year whilst reading the bible in a year. She is also excited about the prospect of ‘seeking first His kingdom’ relationally as she begins her journey in a mentoring space.
Amelia loves all things crafty, from quilting and sewing to crochet, paper making and knitting. When she isn’t outside in her garden with her chooks, or reading a book in her hammock, she can be found buried under piles of fabric and yarn in her sewing room. Amelia and James spend time navigating a spinal cord injury (James) and finding ways to push the limits and be vessels for God even within their limitations. Their latest joy (and blessing) has been cooking up a storm on their adapted BBQ and sharing an outdoor meal together or with friends.
During Amelia’s walk with Christ, she has been influenced by Christian leaders such as Nancy Gutherie, Joni Eareckson Tada and Paul David Tripp.
James has a unique role in the staff team as he is doing a ‘lite’ version of a ministry apprenticeship while being mentored by Stew. He will also help lead young adults alongside his wife Amelia whilst continuing to lead 7/9C and youth. James’ challenge this year is to seek first His kingdom as he has set himself the task of completing the bible in a year .
James is in the Murphy/Mison GC where he is encouraged and spurred on by his Christian brothers and sisters to seek first God’s kingdom . Some leaders who have shaped James’ Christian walk are James R, Simon A, Peter Y, David K , Paul Tripp and Stew.
James lives in Goonellabah with his wife Amelia, bunny Poppy and their chickens. A big part of life is living with a spinal cord injury and all the challenges involved with that. However, he tries not to let this stop him from getting out and enjoying life. James likes to get out on his adaptive mountain bike, go for road trips or have a quiet night of playing games with friends.
God calls the leaders of local churches to humbly, lovingly, wisely and courageously grow followers 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 followers 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 Southern Cross Presbyterian Church. His position involves him chairing our team of elders, staff and Committee of Management. He is ably assisted by Jillian, our admin assistant, to help fulfill the vision he leads our church family in (particularly around training and events). Over the last five years, through his Master’s and Reach Australia consultancy, he has aspired to think purposefully through how administration can ‘add-ministry’. He is the Interim Moderator of Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Wollongbar and a member of the Pathways Committee for the Presbyterian Church of NSW.
Stew was an avid sports lover as a child and teenager and enjoys the freedom that physical activity brings. He notices that in order to seek first the kingdom, he needs to keep his sporting desires at bay and be cautious about walking into a sports store and overspending!
With his wife Susan, they are the Vision Coordinators of the Gospel Community they lead. In 2025, he is hoping to lead the community in the knowledge that God works powerfully through His word.
In his ministry life Stew has been enriched through the life and influence of the English evangelical Christopher Ash, he finds some of John Ortberg’s works fascinating and is interested to explore the life of Elizabeth Elliot in 2025.
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 knows that life is about seeking first God’s kingdom not his own, but too often he ends up with a self-seeking mindset. He needs to be continually reminded of, and refocused on, Jesus the king of the kingdom. 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 and His kingdom.
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 and historical documentaries on YouTube. He is also a very keen (and very ordinary) surfer.
Merhawi is the Next Generation Pastor at Southern Cross Presbyterian Church.
As the newbie in the role and SCPC, he’s got his metaphorical ‘L plates’ on with most of his attention directed to getting to know the kids and youth leaders, and the kids and young people of our church and their parents. He’s so eager to lead and serve alongside others and grow in loving God and his world.
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 blessed Ami and Merhawi with two boys. They definitely bring them joy, keep them active, tired and sometimes sleepless!
Merhawi is seeking the kingdom by seeking the triune God and communing with him for 2 hours every week for most weeks. This is not time to pray for himself or others. This is a time to only adore God in his manifold character. He aims to make this a life habit that, with the Spirit’s blessing over time, changes him into the character God wants him to be in His redemption story.
Merhawi has been influenced by David Powlison and Paul Tripp’s ministry and books. He also loves N D Wilson’s children’s fiction books but his non-fiction, Death By Living, is a particular beauty! It is simultaneously challenging, encouraging and a joy to read as it is beautifully written.
Just so you don’t think he does not read English authors, he is a fan of C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (though having read the latter twice, he is still wandering AND lost in middle earth unlike Frodo and Aragorn). And there are others, but he won’t bore you any further…
Peita is our Ministry Coordinator and you can find her doing all sorts of tasks to support our staff and ministry teams, prepare for gatherings and events, facilitate the use of our Park Ave premises, ensure we’re upholding our safe ministry practices, has lots of opportunity to find creative solutions to a wide range of challenges, and does whatever else needs doing to keep everything running as smoothly as possible. She’s still waiting for the (ever elusive) ‘normal’ week to come!
In her life, Peita is learning more and more to rely on God’s help to seek first His Kingdom in all the situations and decisions she faces each day. She is spurred on and strengthened by the women in her Gospel Community as they meet for DNA each week, and it’s a great joy for her to seek God’s kingdom with these faithful women.
Peita serves our church family as the 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 ways she loves to express Kingdom truths and finds such encouragement in joining with God’s people in song!
There is usually a song in Peita’s head just bursting to come out and she (not so secretly) loves singing 90’s classics loudly. Peita tries to keep up with her precious and very active family – husband Scott and three teenage sons (and for those following along at home, she actually DID go camping with them)! She enjoys God’s good gifts of plants and flowers, loves spending time in the sunshine and floating in her pool, and has recently been learning hand embroidery (and benefiting from its therapeutic qualities).
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 also works two days a week as an Early Childhood Teacher. Jillian and Ian lead one of our Gospel Communities and try to encourage their GC members to seek first the kingdom of God 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 Elisabeth Elliot, Michael Reeves, Peter Orr and Dane Ortlund. She 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.
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 facilitates the Sunday Logistics at our gatherings, which means she will often be found floating around the back of the hall (usually surrounded by a swarm of Youth) but always ready to answer any questions you might have related to our gathering.
She is studying a Bachelor of Digital Media at SCU and hoping to find inspiration into what path she should follow, while keeping in mind that God’s got everything planned out. She enjoys listening to music and spending time in nature, and is more than happy to share those joys with anyone who will join her.
She is a member of the Ritchie Gospel Community, and a part of their leadership group as the Kids, Youth and Young Adults Coordinator.
The Christian Leaders which influence her are her prior Pastor Darrel P, and her GC Leaders Jasmin and James R, along with numerous youth leaders from her teen years.
What makes her heart beat is serving as a Youth Leader and supporting her youth in their lives and especially their growth in Christ. She also loves spending time in community with fellow Christians (either in Young Adult or GC settings).
Steve is going into his second year as a ministry apprentice. With a year of study, ministry and all things ‘trainee’ under his belt, he is ready to tackle a whole host of challenges in 2025.
Among his areas of responsibility will be the 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 vision for his GC comes from Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23…
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Under the guidance of our pastors, he will also pick up the baton of facilitating newcomers and making some ground on clear and helpful pathways to engage, inform and connect people. Otherwise, the day-to-day bread and butter of Sunday preparations, leading, occasional preaching and the like will fill his days.
The other sphere of his ministry is undertaking his Graduate Diploma of Divinity. This entails four intensives in Sydney and a plethora of assessments on Christian Mentoring, as well as the exciting prospect of putting his learning into practice as he takes on a few mentees of his own.
Steve is a Puritan at heart and loves the work and writings of John Bunyan, C.S. Lewis and others of that ilk. He appreciates the work of Christians in the mental health space such as Dan Allander and Jeff Van Vonderan, 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. Steve’s first year of college has also added invaluable learning and understanding into the mental health and pastoral care space as he studied ‘The Christian Wholeness Framework’ under Dr John Warlow and Karen Nivala.
With the challenge to “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” Steve has started the year with a great purge. Simplifying his circumstances and purging the fruitless things in his life, he is seeking to reinforce and maintain all things that see Jesus at the centre of his vision. He is also excited to lean into the memory verse space and loves the prospect of spurring on others (especially the youngins) to do likewise.
Amelia is in her second year of a ministry apprenticeship. Throughout 2024 Amelia began her apprenticeship, completed her Diploma of Theology, co-ordinated Young Adults with her husband James, led a Gospel Community, led at youth and in preschool kids. This year Amelia will continue in these roles as well as beginning to study Christian Mentoring. She hopes the coming year will continue to involve lots of encouraging conversations with her youth girls on Friday nights, cups of tea and chats with young adult women, and the opportunity to share the gospel with non-Christian friends.
Amelia desires to ‘seek first His kingdom’, throughout 2025 and beyond. She is hoping to dig deeper into God’s word this year whilst reading the bible in a year. She is also excited about the prospect of ‘seeking first His kingdom’ relationally as she begins her journey in a mentoring space.
Amelia loves all things crafty, from quilting and sewing to crochet, paper making and knitting. When she isn’t outside in her garden with her chooks, or reading a book in her hammock, she can be found buried under piles of fabric and yarn in her sewing room. Amelia and James spend time navigating a spinal cord injury (James) and finding ways to push the limits and be vessels for God even within their limitations. Their latest joy (and blessing) has been cooking up a storm on their adapted BBQ and sharing an outdoor meal together or with friends.
During Amelia’s walk with Christ, she has been influenced by Christian leaders such as Nancy Gutherie, Joni Eareckson Tada and Paul David Tripp.
James has a unique role in the staff team as he is doing a ‘lite’ version of a ministry apprenticeship while being mentored by Stew. He will also help lead young adults alongside his wife Amelia whilst continuing to lead 7/9C and youth. James’ challenge this year is to seek first His kingdom as he has set himself the task of completing the bible in a year .
James is in the Murphy/Mison GC where he is encouraged and spurred on by his Christian brothers and sisters to seek first God’s kingdom . Some leaders who have shaped James’ Christian walk are James R, Simon A, Peter Y, David K , Paul Tripp and Stew.
James lives in Goonellabah with his wife Amelia, bunny Poppy and their chickens. A big part of life is living with a spinal cord injury and all the challenges involved with that. However, he tries not to let this stop him from getting out and enjoying life. James likes to get out on his adaptive mountain bike, go for road trips or have a quiet night of playing games with friends.
God calls the leaders of local churches to humbly, lovingly, wisely and courageously grow followers 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 followers 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.