Hi Scott, thanks so much for speaking with us. Can you tell us a bit about yourself for those who don’t know you?
Well, I’ve been married to Natalie for 20 years and we’ve got four girls. I grew up in a Christian family and became a Christian at Ashfield Presbyterian Church when I was about 10. As an adult, I worked as a tax lawyer then went to SMBC and did an MDiv, with a desire to plant churches in France with Muslim-background believers. In 2006, Natalie and I visited France, and she came back with 11 pages of reasons why it wasn’t a good idea for us. So instead, I became a secondary school chaplain for a few years, and then for the last 15 years, I’ve been working to support the planting and revitalisation of churches across Australia with Geneva Push and Reach Australia.
Tell us about the ministry of Reach Australia, how it came about, and your involvement in it today.
I went to college with a strong desire to plant churches in cross-cultural contexts, and that naturally drew me into the early stages of the church planting happening around 2008–2009. Geneva Push was forming in response to the broader church planting momentum that was happening globally at the time. I joined in June 2010, shortly after their first conference, and initially worked to build out the assessment process and coaching systems. There wasn’t much of a plan—just a bold vision to see hundreds of new churches evangelised into existence. It was an exciting, ambitious goal.
The three founders—Al Stewart, Andrew Heard, and Mikey Lynch—came from different contexts but shared that same gospel vision. Al was a bishop in Sydney who had discipled me back when I was working as a lawyer. Andrew had planted EV Church on the Central Coast, and Mikey had planted in Tasmania and was involved in AFES work. Their aim was simple but powerful: to get alongside church planters and help them plant well.
Fast-forward six or seven years, and while the planting energy was still there, things had evolved. Our original church plants had matured into established churches, and many planters were now looking for support in team leadership, growth, and revitalisation. At the same time, we were exploring new planting strategies and beginning to consult more widely with churches about planting.
That led us to partner with EV Church in 2019 and other like-minded groups—Vinegrowers (with Tony Payne and Col Marshall), Oilstone (with Peter Moore and Michael Lin), and others—to see what we might be able to achieve together.
In many ways, Geneva Push is Reach Australia—but Reach Australia has also grown to include these other networks and ministries, united by the conviction that we can do more together than alone. Reach Australia was born out of that vision: to be a collaborative network focused on growing healthy, evangelistic, multiplying churches across the country.
So really, the heart of Reach Australia goes all the way back to Geneva Push’s church planting DNA—with that entrepreneurial spirit, coaching culture, and deep commitment to leadership development. But now it’s grown into something with an even bigger vision: to see thousands of healthy, evangelistic, multiplying churches desiring to see lives transformed.
It seems like a highlight for many leaders in your network is the Reach Australia conference—this year over 1,300 church leaders gathered.
Absolutely, the conference is definitely a highlight. It’s one important part of a bigger picture. Coaching is at the core of all we do—walking alongside and investing in leaders through our planter cohorts, leadership development program, and team development program is critical.
Our consulting work is another key piece. Acting as a third set of eyes, helping churches look under the bonnet, has been really useful in shifting the dial and helping churches move forward.
And then there’s the wealth of free content we’ve developed over the past 15 years, as lots of Aussie church leaders have shared lessons they’ve learnt—both successes and failures. The conference has been a key place for this kind of sharing—and this has built a great Australian resource library that’s freely available online.
So, the conference is a special moment where we gather, remind ourselves of the mission we share, and refocus on reaching Australia.
What were some of the best takeaways from this year’s conference for you personally?
For me, the biggest takeaway was a renewed focus on mission driving churches. We set a goal for churches to see 4–5% of their attendance converted or professing faith regularly over the next few years. It’s about seeing mission embedded deeply in everything the church does.
We need to be unapologetic about what this conference is about: it’s about churches being on mission. When you come to Reach Australia, you’re going to be challenged and convicted to take God’s word seriously and do all you can to see people won to Jesus—and to see the whole church mobilised in that effort.
One moment that stood out was listening to Richard Coekin and Dominic Steele reflect on the conference. Dominic said something that really struck me—how Reach Australia helped him see the body of Christ more clearly. We’re not about top-down leadership only, but about building from the ground up. It’s about asking: how do we help every person in the church play their part in the mission?
Of course, not everyone is gifted to take someone all the way from unbelief to faith through a gospel conversation—but everyone can serve, use their gifts, and be part of the pathway on someone’s journey to trusting in Jesus. That’s what Reach Australia is all about: stirring up the whole leadership pipeline of the church so it’s working together for gospel growth.
Some stories really stood out to me: one church leader shared how, just a week after the conference, their preaching had changed—there was a new energy and focus on reaching the lost, sparked by talks on heaven, hell, and the cross. Another highlight was hearing from Kellyville Anglican Church, where every team member—from the leadership team to the social media team—had mission at the heart of what they did. That reflected the intentional leadership of Dave Kuen.
I got a note from a leader who shared how they were inspired to implement a mission calendar—something we encouraged everyone to take away from the conference. That kind of practical step is exactly what we hope for.
And finally, a personal highlight: the Monday night network dinner. For about half an hour, the floor is open and people share stories of conversion. They’re incredible—testimonies of lives transformed by the Spirit, people coming to faith in unexpected and powerful ways. That time is deeply moving.
What have you heard others being encouraged by?
I think a lot of people were really impacted by the preaching—especially the challenge to reckon with the reality of heaven and hell, and the central importance of the cross. Just having that clarity again was powerful and deeply encouraging.
Another session that really stood out for many was the seminar by Toby Neal and Liv Chapman on church gatherings that are both warm and deep. They helped us see how our Sunday gatherings aren’t just about edifying believers, but also have a key role in the church’s evangelistic ‘engine.’
It’s not just about helping people engage with the Bible in different ways—our gatheredness as God’s people is a mission moment too. When a church community is truly worshipping, being nourished, encouraged, and living under the lordship of Jesus, that has a profound impact. People notice. They’re drawn in. They start to ask, ‘Who is this Jesus you’re singing about? Who is this Jesus you’re building your life around?’
Toby and Liv did a great job of reminding us that our gatherings themselves can stir missional energy—both for those inside the church and those just starting to look in.
What kinds of resistance have you experienced to Reach Australia over the years?
Early on, a lot of the resistance we encountered was around church planting itself. Some questioned whether younger leaders were ready or why new churches were being planted when existing churches needed pastors. Others wondered why this wasn’t being done solely by denominations.
More recently, we’ve noticed resistance not just to planting, but to goal-driven ministry or outcomes. Some people are cautious about what they see as the ‘business-ification’ of church—concerned that we’re being too pragmatic or overly focused on results. That’s fair, and it’s something we try to take seriously.
We work hard to show that we’re a prayerful, theologically-driven network. At our core, we’re committed to the means God has given us: his living and active Word, and prayerful dependence on him to build his church. Do we always get that right? No—and we know we need to keep improving on how we speak about this.
One thing I really value about the network is that we lean into those hard conversations. We’ve never shied away from being challenged or refining what we do. In fact, when we gather as a network, we want to wrestle with difficult issues and be open to change if it means we’ll grow in faithfulness and effectiveness. Do we always get the tone right? Probably not. But as I often say to my kids—I’m always ready to say sorry when needed.
So yes, resistance has been part of the journey, but it’s also a sign we’re pressing into important things. If there’s no resistance, maybe we’re not pushing hard enough.
How have you sought to overcome any cynicism towards strategy?
For me, it starts with keeping Jesus’ mission front and centre. I’m constantly reminding leaders that God desires all people to be saved—and when that vision is in focus, it challenges complacency. It challenges the leader who says, “I don’t need to grow” or “Strategy doesn’t matter”. When we sit with church leaders and talk about the size of their suburb or region—say, 150,000 people—and realise their church of 150 is doing great but has only scratched the surface, the need becomes obvious. There’s still so much work to do.
Another thing that helps is recognising the freedom God gives us in Scripture. Acts is descriptive, not prescriptive—it shows us many different ways churches can function, and that gives room to think creatively and biblically about our strategy. The conviction we have as a network is that structures and systems aren’t just about efficiency—they’re about creating pathways for God’s word to take root in people’s lives. It’s about multiplying gospel ministry: prayer, generosity, evangelism, acts of love.
We’re also clear that there’s no one-size-fits-all model. That freedom allows us to challenge traditions and encourage churches to think deeply and contextually about how they operate. That’s where our training and coaching come in—to help leaders reflect, adapt, and grow. And honestly, part of overcoming cynicism is being open to correction ourselves. If something we’re doing isn’t working, or if we’ve pushed too hard, I’m always ready to say sorry and rethink our approach. That humility helps us keep improving together.
How have you seen Reach Australia’s influence reflected in other networks, perhaps overseas?
We’re starting to see more and more of Reach Australia’s thinking take root in other networks internationally—particularly the emphasis on building healthy churches through intentional systems, leadership development, and ministry pipelines.
For example, in the UK, some church networks have been engaging with our tools and frameworks. They’re not just copying a model but adapting the underlying principles to their context—thinking about how to mobilise every member for mission, how to grow healthy leadership teams, and how to embed regular planning into church life.
It’s been encouraging to see that while the contexts may differ, the core convictions—about the centrality of God’s word, the urgency of mission, and the importance of growing healthy, evangelistic churches—translate well. It’s not about exporting a brand, but sharing the network’s collective wisdom and practical tools that others can make their own.
What has been your highlight of this past year with Reach Australia?
One really encouraging highlight has been seeing Grace City plant a new church. Tim and Emma Clemens planted Grace City Church in 2014 with the Sydney Diocese, supported by Reach Australia. I remember clearly the vision Tim shared on being a planting church at their first gathering. Now Grace City has planted a new congregation in Rockdale, which is being led by Jade Hajj. Jade did the Ministry Training Strategy (MTS) at Grace City, then went on to Moore College and grew a lot through that journey. Seeing him plant a church and follow the whole process from training to planting has been really inspiring.
Jade and his wife Karen, along with Tim and Emma’s desire to plant—since they themselves came out of a church plant with Grace City—show such a great example of how multiplying churches grow and develop. So, seeing the whole process—from training, to assessment, to planting—come full circle in people like Jade and Karen is a fantastic example of what a multiplying church looks like in action.