Steve Chong, Lead Pastor

Why are you doing it? Because God has shown His overflowing love to me and my greatest desire is to lead our church toward spending every bit of their life in response to God's great love for us in Jesus.  I want to lead a church that is so captivated by Gods love for us that they love him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, that they love each other and take this love out to the world.  I'm praying God will use our church to be blessing to our city, nation, and world and in God's strength leading to see that happen.

What do you love about your job? I love watching God run this church. This church belongs to Him and He calls the shots which means it's great to sit back and watch Him work in people's lives through us and in spite of us!  There is simply nothing better than seeing God bring people to himself and grow them in their faith and somehow use us! Love it. 

What do you do when you are not at work? I'm married to the most amazing woman i know (Naomi) and father to two fantastic little boys (Reuben-3, Jacob-2) with a little girl on the way (Woot!)! I direct the rice movement in my spare time, an organisation that God is blessing greatly to see renewal and evangelism happen in our city to thousands of people.  I love playing the keys to relax, swimming to get fit, playing with my new camera to have fun!

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Find out more about the RICE movement here

Luke Hall, Kirkplace Administrator 

Why are you doing it? I want to see our church set up to work well, to enable people's relationships with Jesus and one another to be fostered and grown. 

What do you love about your job? Seeing people grow in their love for Jesus and grow in their relationships with one another because other aspects of church are running efficiently.

What do you do when you are not at work? I'm husband to the beautiful Lisianne and father to the gorgeous Bethany, and I love spending time with them. Other than that when I have some time off, I enjoy watching the cricket and formula 1.

Contact: luke.hall@kirkplace.org.au

Trevor Hodge, Music Pastor

Why are you doing it? Music is a wonderful gift that God has given us to worship and praise him with our hearts, minds and bodies together - and encourage one another in the process! 

What do you love about your job? I have the privilege of working with an amazing bunch of gifted, passionate and humble singers and musicians.  And it is just awesome to hear God's people wholeheartedly singing praises to God! 

What do you do when you are not at work? I'm loving every moment with my wife Fiona and brand new son Isaac - its a new adventure every day!  And funnily enough, I love spending time making music... 

Contact: trevor.hodge@kirkplace.org.au

Millie Mak, Children's and Families Co-ordinator

Why are you doing it? I love the way God has put us in families in order that we can be nurtured, not just in our physical and emotional growth, but also in our spiritual growth. I want to see Kirkplace continue to be a church where Gods love overflows, through individuals and families alike, and so I want to partner with the families here to help them do that.

What do you love about your job? I love seeing children learn how big and amazing God is because it helps me remember that truth too! I love hanging out, singing songs, eating morning tea and doing craft with them we learn more together and have fun!

What do you do when you are not at work? I study a few subjects at the Presbyterian Theological Centre, so that takes up a bit of time! But I also enjoy hanging out with friends, drinking good coffee and watching bad reality television in order to relax.

Contact: millie.mak@kirkplace.org.au(Millie works Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays at the Kirkplace office. 

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Dan Au, Pastor of Welcoming & Mobilisation

Why are you doing it? At Kirkplace we value every single person who comes through our doors. Whether you've just joined us last week or have been with us for a long time, you have an important part to play to help make us a people where the love of God overflows. It's my job to help you find that part so you can flourish in it!

What do you love about your job? I love seeing people joining into the community and ministry spaces of our church and actively using the gifts God has given them to build others up. I love it when people come up to me saying how wonderful our church is at encouraging people to know and delight in one another.

What do you do when you're not at work? I've just finished up studies at Moore Theological College. I'm married to my wonderful Fayette and we have a newborn son, Adrian Joseph Au. While I'm not looking after them both I enjoy a good coffee and a round of street basketball. I also manage a wedding photography business on the side!

Contact:  dan.au@kirkplace.org.au

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Sam Mak, Youth (Student Pastor)

Why are you doing it? The youth are the future of our churches and our city. I believe it is worth investing in our youth, especially in a society that gives up on our youth so easily. But growing up as a youth today is a big struggle. 20% of young people say they are hurting deep inside and nothing seems to help. 80% of youth say they find it hard to know what to believe in life. My desire & passion is to see young people in this local area of Kogarah know and love Jesus.

What do you love about your job? I love the Kirkyouth leadership team. I love all the youth at Kirkyouth. I love it when unchurched youth come and just love doing life with their friends at Kirkyouth. I love it when youth come to know and believe in Jesus. Basically, I love seeing God's Spirit at work in the heart's of kirkyouthers as they grow to love Jesus.

What do you do when you are not at work? I'm actually volunteer staff at Kirkplace. So my main priority is to finish my studies at the Presbyterian Theological Centre. When at home, I love hanging out & watching NCIS, the Glee Project, Hawaii Five-0, Top Gear, The Gruen Transfer with my wife, Millie (if we actually can ever sit down & chill out). In my spare time I lead Kirkyouth, direct RICE Youth Sydney, play tennis & basketball and eating anything that is deep fried. 

Contact:  sam.mak@kirkplace.org.au

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Bertha Sun, Assistant to Steve

Why are you doing it? I kind of fell into this! When we started coming to Kirkplace, I had a lot of time on my hands as I was only doing some casual teaching, so Steve asked me to come in to church and help him with a few things. Those few things turned into a long list, and now here I am working as his PA! I am a bit of a perfectionist, and I thrive when I get to organise things, so I think this was (and still is!) a perfect way for me to use my time not working to serve God!

What do you love about your job? I love that by doing what I do, Steve is able to do his job as pastor of our church better because he doesn't have to worry about lining up meetings, and making sure things are in his diary. Also, the teacher part of me enjoys being able to order someone around! :)

What do you do when you are not at work? I am married to an amazing man, Jimmy and stay-at-home-mum to the most gorgeous girl, Emily. So I spend most of my time with them, and I absolutely love it! I also enjoy spending time catching up with friends (having a fantastic cafe right across from our place makes this so easy!) and watching romantic comedies.

Any matters relating to Steve Chong, contact me at bertha.sun@kirkplace.org.au and I'll do my best to assist