Ministry Team
Senior Pastor
Stephen
Stephen has been heading up the ministry team since 2015. He trained at Moore Theological College before spending 21 years at Tweed Heads Presbyterian Church. Stephen is married to Kaylene and they have three great kids – Sam, Jemma and Josh. Stephen loves preaching from the Bible, caring pastorally for his fellow Christians and running short term mission trips to Vanuatu. In his spare time he loves time spent with his family, playing and watching soccer and travelling to new places.
Associate Minister
Audric
Audric is married to Elise, and together they’re outnumbered by their four daughters, who keep life fun and chaotic. After five years as the Children and Families Minister at Chatswood Presbyterian Church, he made the move to Newcastle in 2025 to take on the role here at Charlestown.
Audric loves coming alongside people and learning about their story, and will never say no to a coffee and a yarn. When he’s not hanging out with his family or working, you’ll probably find him exploring local cafés or tinkering with his latest project ie. 3d printing or perfecting an espresso shot.
MTS Apprentice
Jannah
Jannah is currently completing her Ministry Apprenticeship as the Young Adult and Youth Worker at Charlestown. She has been part of Charlestown Presbyterian for most of her life, serving on the music team and helping lead Young Adults Bible studies. Jannah loves helping people grow in their faith and learn how to walk with the Lord. She especially looks forward to those ‘ahh’ moments of understanding.
Children’s Worker
Marissa
Marissa is married to Michael and together they have 3 children, Holly, Archer and Amelia.
Marissa has the joy of serving Charlestown as the children’s worker, overseeing Sparklers Playgroup and Kids Church. In her spare time she enjoys reading, walking her dog Belle and slowly (very slowly) making her way through the Great North Walk.
Administration Assistant
Samuel
Samuel is the church’s administrative worker, taking the responsibilities for the internal and external communication in the church.
Lifelong Novocastrian, Samuel loves a coffee from any good cafe and enjoys a good bushwalk when the sun’s out.
To contact Sam, email welcome@cpres.org.au
Pastoral Care & Music Lead
Joanna
Jo heads up the pastoral care team and is responsible for music at the church. She is married to Malcolm, with whom she has two adult sons, and works part-time as a psychiatrist. In what remains of her time, Jo enjoys tackling the occasional cryptic crossword, Parkruns and cooking up a storm in her Thermomix.
Eldership
Stephen Taylor, Steve Gillard, Rob Hearn, Ross Logan, David Wigney, John Harris, Audric Sardjono
The spiritual work of the church is overseen by a Session of 5 elders and 2 ministers:
Committee of Management
Stephen Taylor, Steve Gillard, Hillar Ling, Jason Benn, Letitia Wigney, Greg Wilkinson, Samuel Wilson
The day to day administration work of the church is overseen by a group of 5 individuals, and lead by our minister, Stephen
