Welcome to the family

“My vision is to see generation after generation passionately pursuing God’s manifest presence and being filled with a desire to unleash unprecedented levels of compassion to the world.” You might say I was born and bred in this church… well nearly. I grew up here from my pre-teen years, but if you happened to be around […]

“I am passionate about what breaks the heart of God and what we are called to do about it.” Stepping into the role of Missions Pastor is an amazing realisation of a calling God has had on my life since I was a teenager. It’s an incredible opportunity for me to combine my love for […]

Mark Hodg­son is the Riverlife Administrator. Mark joined the Riverlife staff team in Feb­ru­ary 2008 and is enjoy­ing the chal­lenges presen­ted in his role as Admin­is­trator. He is mar­ried to Louise and has three chil­dren — Laura, Jacob and Daniel.

“My heart is to see the Kingdom reality of “family” played out amidst the brokenness of our physical reality and facilitate the calling that is on each one of us to be the hands and feet of Jesus within our spheres of influence.”  I grew up as a pastor’s kid (and spent nine years as […]

“I believe the Church is God’s vessel on earth, and with its eyes firmly fixed on Jesus, I think it can truly be the light of the world.” After high school I had a pretty short-lived career as a nurse, before moving into disability support while I did a ministry internship and studied at Bible […]

“I love seeing people encounter Jesus for who He truly is! Nothing compares to it.” A few things about me: I love whenever I get to travel and explore different cultures I love my wife Paula and our dog/fur-child Koda I love ministry! I’ll never forget seeing a blind eye healed while praying for someone […]

“I long to see people discover that God loves them and likes them, and they bring something of worth and importance to the world.” If you told my 13-year-old self I’d be a pastor one day… I don’t think I’d believe you. I’ve been coming to this church since I was born, but honestly, I […]

“My vision is to point the lost, both in and outside of the church, towards Jesus through love, discipleship and leading.” While growing up in the church, I made a commitment to follow Him at the young age of 12. Since then, I’ve been falling in love with Jesus more and more, as I see […]

“I dream of a time when each follower of Jesus is alive to heartbeat of God for our community” I was 17 years old when I began to seriously examine the life of Jesus and explore the Bible. As I did this, my eyes were opened to the exciting potential of what the invitation of God […]

“Discipleship with Jesus is the cure for the human condition” Before I’m a Pastor, I’m a husband to Jandee and father to our daughter Haven. I’ve always believed that leadership starts in the home and to be trusted and blessed by God with these two beauties is an immense privilege and joy. My life itself […]

“I love seeing people develop and grow, both spiritually and mentally.” I’m known around here as ‘that Scottish woman’. It’s taken everyone about a year, but I’d say most people now understand my accent… kind of. I became a Christian when I was 19 years old after a friend shared the gospel with me over […]

“I long to draw closer to God and experience fresh peace from Him every day.” Sometimes in life, we can be afraid to walk through the doors of opportunity that appear before us. That’s what it was like when God invited me to become a pastor at our church. It’s amazing what happens when you […]

“I am passionate about seeing people saved, healed, set free and empowered to live a joyous life.” It sounds funny to say this, but one of the best pieces of advice I ever got was this: “If you can do anything in the world other than be a pastor, and still feel fulfilled, then go […]