This is part of a series of articles by Rachel Winn (member of St Mark’s, Picton), helping us to get to know other Church members.

“I grew up on the far South Coast of New South Wales, in a small country town called Pambula, right down the bottom near the border of Victoria. It’s a very beautiful place and always windy. My father used to work a lot. My mum worked a lot too, so I was usually babysat during the day as a young child. My parents separated when I was eleven and I went to live with my father after that but I still got to see my mother. I was a pretty busy kid. I was either at school or playing sports (including representative AFL) and if I wasn’t doing either of those, when I got old enough I would usually be at work with my father, who didn’t let me leave school but made me finish Year 12. He would say, “If you don’t work hard at school you’re going to end up doing hard work like this,” which was a pretty good life lesson. I do remember when I was younger, after an AFL game I’d played, a minister spoke to me and said that I should come along to church on Sunday. I did try to go but I was a little bit late and the door was shut, so I didn’t actually make it to church. But I think that was really the beginning of me wondering if maybe there is a God and wanting to know more about him. I was coming from a household where both of my parents were somewhat religious in their upbringings but didn’t entertain it (Christianity) at all for their children. It kind of came about later in life where life got hard that I thought, there’s got to be something here, and investigated it myself. I attended a heap of different churches across Sydney and it was really difficult. I would show up to a service and have no idea what to do. I had no idea about Jesus, I had no idea how to behave at church.

I went to churches where I would be told where to sit and told there’s certain things you can’t say when they would pray or sing. I didn’t understand the different denominations; I didn’t understand anything. But I felt like there was something that was telling me, “You need to sort this out, you need to go to church, you need to see what it’s about.” I ended up trying All Saints church at Parramatta and I really enjoyed spending time with the men there. I actually didn’t learn much about Jesus there, more like just going to church, praying, singing, having a coffee and a chat afterwards. What I think is so special about PWAC is that Ben gives so much opportunity for people to look into who Jesus really is and how knowing him can be a big part of your life. So I’d been going to church and listening all about Jesus and trying to understand the bible. I thought I had started to get it – I thought I was getting it. But it was really when I was doing the Christianity Explored course with Ben and others that it was broken down for me. The presenter of Christianity Explored was a big guy who played footy, so I could really relate to him. I still remember the moment when I thought to myself, “Now I know Jesus!” and a weight being lifted off my shoulders. I even remember where I was sitting at the time. It was quite a special moment.”

How am I going: “Zoe and I will sit down every night and set aside at least half an hour to listen to the bible. We listen to it and if something comes up we pause it and discuss it. I think the discussion is really important for me because I can listen to the bible and miss things. Whereas the discussion not only gives me Zoe’s point of view but also helps me understand how I feel about what I’ve just heard. We’re currently going through Romans. I really like it. Romans is great because to be able to hear the way Paul explains it is important to someone like me because I didn’t grow up with it (the gospel) and didn’t understand. Sometimes the next night I’ll go over what we listened to the night before so it really sticks in my head. I’ve really struggled with having Jesus in my life all the time. I’ll sometimes think, “Oh, that wasn’t very Christian of me.” It’s one thing to talk about Jesus but it’s another to act in a heavenly manner. But I think it’s important to recognise those moments so that as you move on through life they happen less often. Sometimes I don’t really feel confident enough to talk to people about Jesus because a lot of people nowadays, especially the people I hang around with, already have an opinion about it and they’re ready for a debate. I’d rather just be someone who when asked questions is happy to answer them, rather than trying to confront people. In situations where I’m not around Christian people and I openly say I am a Christian, ninety nine percent of the time I’ll hear, “I could never be a Christian because I’m so bad.” So I’ll reply, “You have no idea how important it is for me to hear you say that because I’m the same! Jesus came here to save people like me and you. People who have done it tough, people who have made mistakes. You’re taking the first step, you’ve recognised that you’ve made mistakes and done bad things.” I still have people that I talk to now who will go away and stew about it (our conversations) but they might come back 2 weeks later and ask me another question.”

How am I growing: “I want to be the best Christian that I can be. I want to meet Jesus and not be ashamed, which is a big thing that weighs on my mind. Also, now with Zoe being pregnant I want to be a really good role model and the best dad I can be. I want to show her (my daughter, and the type of man that she needs to look for. And you know, the opportunity to raise a child in a Christian household is a blessing. (I have two children with a previous partner, Noah and Hayden. They live with their mother full-time. Noah is 14 and Hayden is turning 12 in June.) It’s giving them opportunities that I never had to experience life the way it should be. It’s madness the fact that people raise children without God – why would you do that with your child? That’s probably the best thing I can do for my family and I do hold myself accountable. If you asked me what I was passionate about before I became a Christian it would be different. Now I would say that I want to have a strong family, which is something that Zoe never had; I never had. Through Jesus that can happen.

I’ve also been working really hard on my physical fitness and my mental health. I’ve lost 37 kilos to date, through going to the gym and trying to learn to box.That’s been a really good opportunity to be in spaces with non-Christians and to have those uncomfortable discussions. I don’t think men have previously had to grow up in this kind of environment as now. The social pressures are different for young men now, conforming with what society expects. It’s much easier to conform with what Jesus expects because it’s written! Some of these young guys (at the gym) will twist what the bible says to try to make a point and it’s hard to pull them up on it. But you have to draw the line somewhere, while still maintaining a healthy friendship. I’ve made so many connections with many young guys through that. It’s a positive atmosphere. I wear religious shirts. It’s been a great conversation starter to put it all out there, be completely approachable. I do boxing at the park with a trainer and we do group sessions as well, so again, that’s been another good opportunity. My trainer was raised as a Catholic but is now an atheist, so we have many great discussions. I’ve actually had the opportunity in the middle of a session to say, “Hey guys, we don’t have to talk about it now, you’re all welcome to come to church on Sunday and we can talk about it as much as you like.” I’m taking those little opportunities.”

— Matthew Warnock, member of 5.00pm @ Wilton Anglican Church 

This is part of a series of articles by Rachel Winn (member of St Mark’s, Picton), helping us to get to know other Church members.

“I grew up in Earlwood, Sydney and most of my life has been in the Inner West. I came from a family of 3 girls. My father was a POW in Changi during WWII and he was often not well (during my upbringing),  having suffered a lot of ill health as a consequence of being in Singapore, Burma and Japan during the war. He most probably had PTSD but we didn’t know it then – it was just described as having bad nerves. So we had to keep very calm in the house. My mother looked after everything and kept us interested in school and helped us do our homework, insisting we had good grammar! She supported us in all the extra activities that we wanted to do. I was always interested in dance, starting ballet classes at 7 years old. And while I played piano and also picked up cello, the dancing was what continued; I always really loved ballet, tap and jazz. 

My mum was a very keen member of the Presbyterian church, so we went to church every Sunday. That was something I continued doing,  even though my sisters didn’t. I always wanted to learn about God and drifted into Sunday School teaching, which meant I wasn’t able to sit in church because there was only a Sunday morning service. I did want to grow in my faith and the catalyst for me was the 1979 Billy Graham crusade. While there I was thinking, “Well, I don’t need to go forward and make a commitment,” but when Billy said, “If you want to publicly declare your faith, come forward,” I thought, well that’s what I want to do. I publicly declared my faith! Through that the church, my school ISCF and my family found out because they sent all these letters! After this I officially joined church and also went to the local Anglican church’s youth group and a bible study there. My understanding of Christ’s love and sacrifice really grew after that. I’d felt like I was a Christian already and knew a lot about Christian things, but I had so much more to learn!”

How am I going:  “I like to ground myself in God’s Word. One bible verse that really helps me (because I get quite anxious about things) is Proverbs 3 verses 5 & 6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not unto your own understandings . Acknowledge him in all your ways and he will direct your paths.” I frequently return to this:  trusting in God in everything. It’s challenging because you do want to take the reins of your life and lean on your own understanding and your own interpretation of a situation. Sometimes I do forget to acknowledge God, or I might pray about things and forget to thank him, or  just don’t see that he’s actually been there with me. By acknowledging him, trusting in him for everything, and not leaning on my own understanding he has directed my paths. You can look back on your life and see lots of ways that through God’s grace he has directed those he Ioves where he wants them to go. We still go through hard times and struggles, but the bible says that we learn through trials. become stronger and learn to rely on him more. At the moment I have a job that’s in Westmead, so I live in Sydney during the week. I’d really like to have a job that’s closer, so I’m trusting God at the moment that I will find something closer to home. Then I can be in Picton during the week, be more of a part of the church and build up friendships here (in Picton). I’m praying for this, or maybe God will guide me to stay where I am!”

How am I growing: “I listen to sermons in the car, like those by Simon Manchester on 103.2. I go to church weekly and love getting to know the faithful saints down at (St Mark’s) Picton. I am missing being a part of a bible study but I keep in touch with my Christian friends and we pray for each other.  I’m thankfully seeing how God is answering prayers in our lives. I regularly read the bible and am reading through Ephesians at the moment. Sometimes I pick up a Christian book, but I do try to read the bible every day.”

— Gillian Bale, member of 9:30am @ St Mark’s Anglican Church, Picton.