Bridging Post: Moving Towards Ministry

Once I had recognised my call to a teaching ministry, I sought to get equipped for ministry. I first did a semester of full-time study with David Boan, but then decided to go to Vose Seminary to study for a Master of Divinity (MDiv). During this time I got engaged and then married to my wife Melissa, and we moved to South Perth Baptist Church. Steve Izett was the minister there at the time. I finished my studies at Vose in 2017, and as there was no work for me at South Perth Baptist, I proceeded to look elsewhere.

After about eight months of looking for work in ministry, I was about ready to look for any old job. I asked Monica O’Neil (one of the lecturers from Vose) to be a referee for a secular job, but instead she encouraged me to not give up on ministry, and invited me to meet up with her and a guy called Peter Barney. Pete was working for Churches of Christ in WA at the time (COCWA - essentially a denominational body), but he was looking to get back into pastoring in a local church. Through Pete, I ended up getting a job as an Associate Pastor at Lake Gwelup Christian Church where he also became the Interim Senior Pastor.