Aleks, can you tell us a little about yourself and how (and when) you came to serve at Wyong? What drew you to ministry here?
I’ve been married to my wife Susannah for almost 29 years. We have three adult daughters and one son-in-law. I came to Christ when I was 20 and I have been walking with him ever since—not because I am faithful or have it all worked out, but because he is faithful and has it all worked out. I am rebellious and sinful and prone to wander off in the wrong direction at times, but Jesus always draws me back to himself.
In my spare time, I enjoy lifting weights and singing (but not usually at the same time). I am a member of the Central Coast Philharmonia Choir and I have done a bit of musical theatre here on the coast as well. Susannah and I love to travel.
We came to Wyong in early 2021, between the first and second COVID lockdowns. The Central Coast was never on our radar—in fact, I used to tell Susannah as we drove home from family gatherings on the Central Coast, “I can’t ever imagine living on the Central Coast”… and she said, “Neither can I”. Yet here we are! God has shown me time and again that he has a sense of humour. Coming to Wyong has been entirely his doing, and it’s been the best thing ever!
Before COVID, I was part of the ministry team at Bondi-Waverley Anglican Church, following the amalgamation of the two parishes in 2018. I really enjoyed being part of a ministry team, but I sensed it was time for me to lead a parish again.
I was looking for a position in the Sydney Diocese, but COVID made it very difficult to look for positions and our parish couldn’t afford to keep me on. After a lengthy locum at Malabar Anglican, I had exhausted every suitable option and I knew we had to clear out of the house we were in. I remember sitting in front of my laptop despairing and praying, “What now, Lord?”.
Like a bolt from the blue, I felt God say, “Look up the Newcastle Diocese”. There was only one suitable position: Wyong, an evangelical parish. Although I knew some of the differences between the Sydney and Newcastle diocese, an evangelical colleague in the Newcastle Diocese encouraged me to apply. By God’s grace, and from the outset, the Bishop and the Assistant Bishop were extremely welcoming and supportive of my application. That same warmth and encouragement have been shown to me by clergy across the diocese. They have entrusted me with a few different diocesan responsibilities, including serving as Area Dean for the Central Coast.
For readers who may not know the area, what is Wyong like as a community? What unique opportunities and challenges does ministry in Wyong present?
Wyong is about an hour north of Sydney and is a typical working-class Central Coast town. Historically, it grew around the timber industry before developing into a farming and fishing district, and today it serves as a regional centre for the northern Central Coast.
Our congregation reflects the wider community. Some families have lived here for generations, while others have moved from Sydney for work, to raise children, or to retire. The Central Coast remains more affordable than Sydney and is within commuting distance by road and rail, although rising house prices are making that less true than it once was.
The district itself is wonderfully diverse. To the east are beautiful beaches and the Tuggerah Lakes; to the west are rural acreages and national parks. Parts of Wyong are visibly struggling, yet the town also boasts a thriving arts precinct, with the Wyong Art House attracting everyone from local community groups to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Dance Company and well-known Australian performers.
At the same time, Wyong faces significant social challenges. Many families experience poverty, housing stress and unemployment, while domestic violence, substance abuse, homelessness and youth disengagement remain ongoing concerns. These realities mean ministry here can’t simply revolve around Sunday services. Alongside faithful public biblical teaching, we need to be deeply committed to personal discipleship and practical engagement with our community through schools ministry, children’s and youth programs, ministry to seniors, and caring for those in need.
In what ways have you seen God at work in the church over the past few years? Are there particular stories of conversion, growth, or restoration that have encouraged you? What has surprised you most about what God has been doing?
Prior to my arrival in Wyong, the church had been without a senior leader for almost two years. During that time all our young families had drifted away. The average age of the congregation was 71. We knew that if we didn’t turn this around, within a few years the parish would be dead.
We took a big leap of faith and employed a full-time children’s and families evangelist to restart ministry to this demographic from scratch. We now have about a dozen kids most Sunday mornings and a Wednesday afternoon kids’ club going gangbusters. People are coming to faith. I had the privilege of baptising almost a whole family earlier this year—Mum and three kids—and the only reason I didn’t baptise Dad was because he was baptised as a baby.
I can’t say that I am surprised because I was confident God would answer our prayers and bless our endeavours. But I am greatly encouraged.
It’s wonderful to see how SRE in schools is taking off on the Central Coast, too. My teachers come back from their classes totally fired up. The kids are hungry to learn about God’s great love for them. Enrollments are higher than they have been in a very long time. It seems parents are searching for something for their kids, whether it’s the ethical framework of Christianity, a sense of certainty or meaning in an uncertain world, or perhaps as a reaction to what they are seeing happening in the political sphere and the anti-family agendas that are being pushed.
Have there been seasons where things felt difficult or uncertain? What has God been teaching you personally through those challenges?
COVID obviously felt very uncertain. I spent the first few months here getting the place open again within the restrictions of course, only to be forced into a longer and stricter lockdown a few months later. We didn’t know what ministry might look like on the other side.
Not long after we opened up again, we needed to introduce a raft of requirements for the vetting and approval for all volunteers (not just those involved in children’s ministry) in response to the recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. While the requirements are now broadly accepted across the community, at that time they had never been encountered and there was a lot of pushback. It was difficult to get ministry back up and running not knowing whether I would have any volunteers to help.
God taught me a lot of patience in that time—to listen well to people’s concerns and objections; to be the calm voice and non-anxious presence; to be creative and to bide my time.
What are you praying for in the next 3–5 years? How can our readers pray for God’s church in Wyong?
My biggest prayer is that God will continue to bless our fledgling children’s and families ministries—that they will continue to grow and solidify; that more and more people will come to faith in Christ; that as our church grows, we would be able to offer more to meet the needs of our community. I pray that we would truly become a disciple-making church.
At the same time, we are outgrowing our building, so that presents a whole host of challenges as well. We need a dedicated space (a hall) to be able to run children’s and youth ministries separate from the main church building. At a recent parish prayer meeting, one of my retired clergy colleagues encouraged us all to pray for specifics. One fellow prayed for a gift of $100,000. I upped it to $1 million. And I’m always on the lookout for answers to this prayer!
One of the criticisms I have heard over the years in different places is the church can’t agree/get along and that has impeded the church’s witness. My prayer is that recent strong expressions of gospel unity between churches on the coast will be a huge catalyst to many coming to faith in Christ, whether they land at Wyong Anglican or elsewhere.
And more broadly, if I may … many Anglicans in other dioceses, don’t seem to know that a large and growing number of parishes in the Newcastle Diocese are evangelical in character, or have recently had an evangelical ministry. In the last 6-9 months, several clergy have retired or moved elsewhere, so there are great opportunities for evangelical ministry in the Newcastle Diocese. I would be happy to chat with anyone who would like to know more about that. In the meantime, we value the prayers of your readership in the filling of these vacancies.