New role at Churchill Baptist Church

Minden Baptist Church

On the 3rd May 2021, 16 months after finishing at Minden Baptist Church and 10 years of a successful and rewarding time, I began a new role as pastor at Churchill Baptist Church in the Ipswich region. The picture above is at my induction on Sunday 16th May 2021 with Cathi and David Elvery, Director of Pastoral Services with QB. I couldn’t have imagined what lay ahead of me when the Lord began to work in our hearts that He was wanting us to move on about two years before we actually left Minden. In May of 2019, I actually mentioned to elder Alan Long and youth pastor, Dion Sternberg, that I did not intend to renew my contract at its completion at the end of the year. This meant that I intended to complete my second five year contract at the church. I have always been one to want to fulfill my obligations and endure to the end so to speak not that ministering at Minden was just enduring. At the end of the ministry the church folk at Minden gave us a lovely send off and departing gift. We had established some great friendships and oversaw the development of some really great ministries over our time seeing the church tripling in size. We see those ministries continuing on to this day. Furthermore Minden holds a special place in my heart as this is where I baptised each one of my three sons and was ordained as a Queensland Baptist pastor in February 2016.

Churchill Baptist Church and other roles

As mentioned above, I couldn’t have imagined that almost as soon as we had finished up at the end of 2019 how circumstances would greatly change in the world with the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. We had always intended to spend about 6 months in Perth visiting my parents and taking some long service leave. I tried for several pastoral roles in Perth and many others all over Australia including Orange in NSW in which we actually accepted and intended to move to. But God had other plans for us and eventually we moved back to South-East Queensland to move closer to our three boys and their families in September 2020. Gradually, God filled in the blanks and we obtained four new roles between the two of us with the last piece falling into place at the beginning of 2021 with the 3.5 days per week pastoring role at Churchill Baptist Church. Cathi works at our son’s cafe at Belmont Private Hospital. It is a privilege to be at a place and church which has been without a pastor for an extended period of time. I trust that God is going to do great things at a place where you least expect it.

Development of Luke 21 ministry

I have started a new series at the church called the “Foundation series” which is a look in the book of Genesis and seeing how that relates to the end times that we live in and how it ties in with the book of Revelation. A revival comes when there is repentance and a turning back to the books and the foundations as we see with the Jewish King Josiah. A highlight of Josiah’s reign was his rediscovery of the Law of the Lord.¹

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement along the way. One thing that I have been able to do during this 16 month hiatus and rest period is to be able to really establish the Luke 21 website and ministry with the help of Martin De Lange of catim.co who has greatly aided me in developing this website as useful and as practical as it is. Martin came to Minden Baptist during my last year and offered his website expertise when I mentioned about my vision for Luke 21. Together I think we have developed an extensive and beneficial ministry.

The great thing is that now once again I can be useful through my pastoring ministry in the local church and use that as a foundation to help the wider church with my Luke 21 vision for a new relevant end times New Testament translation (EDV – Everyday Dynamic Version), blogs and hundreds of my sermons in preparing the church for the return of Jesus. For long periods of time we may not see how God is working in our personal lives but both Cathi and I are learning to be content along the way and enjoy the journey even though there has been a 16 month wilderness wandering from the east to west and back to the east again.

If you are in the neighbourhood and would love to have a coffee and chat please let me know.

10 Responses

Hey Steve great to hear you and Cathi are going ok. Marie and I are ok despite me spending months in hospital and a month in an induced coma. I was resuscitated 3 times but still here for his purpose. We moved to Raceview and enjoying fellowship at Minden again. Church is different but good. Bruce is a good solid man and as I told him he had big shoes to fill but God provides and he is going well. Many thanks for your help and compassion some years ago.
Love David and Marie

Hi Steve,
It was welcome news to see that you are now Pastor at Churchill Baptist. It has been an interesting and no doubt challenging journey these last couple of years as you have indicated, but good to see that God is in control – as always.
May He continue to protect and guide you and Cathy , plus give you His wisdom, strength, peace and ongoing favour in all you do. Till we meet again.

It was our pleasure to support you both with accommodation through these wanderings.
Bless you both. Gods Grace and Peace be yours.

Good to read your update and see how God has been guiding you these past months. May God bless your ministry in Churchill. Norman and Angela

Steve Henley says:
June 10, 2021 at 5:51 pm
Thanks Angela. Good to hear from you.

Thank you for the update Steve. So glad it has worked out for the families as well.
So interesting as just this morning I was reading about Josiah and his reign. So refreshing after the continuous back and forth of the previous kings.
We will be in touch to meet up for a cuppa soon.
God Blessings to you and Cathi.
Ed and Dianne

Hi Steve, great to hear you are finally settled somewhere ( and not too far from us). Will pop over to Churchill Baptist one Sunday for a catch-up, and of course a great sermon! Blessings from Ron and Stella.?