Pastor Nathan Hedt

Manager New and Renewing Churches

  • Husband to Yvette; father to 3 adult daughters Bethany, Rebecca and Sylvia
  • Enjoys leisure-driving his restored classic 75 Mini, playing cricket, kayaking and reading
  • Famous for being the world champion in Theoretical Scrabble
  • Most frequent go-to text: Romans 8

Prior to taking on the role of manager of New and Renewing Churches, Nathan was a church planter at the Lakeside church plant at Pakenham in outer suburban Melbourne for six years. He has a Bachelor of Science, a Bachelor of Theology and Graduate Diploma of Ministry, and a Master of Arts in Theology, majoring in Missiology. After his ordination in 2003, he served the Nambour parish in Queensland and later as the Pastor for Tertiary and Youth Ministry for the Victoria-Tasmania District of the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA).

Chris Podlich

Church Planting Mentor and Mission Facilitator New and Renewing Churches

  • Husband to Emma
  • Loves drinking coffee and bicycle riding
  • Famous for how much he loves Batman!
  • Most frequent go-to text: John 15:15,16

Chris leads Beyond Church, a church plant in the northern suburbs of Brisbane that has a vision to ‘create churches that unchurched people love to engage with’. He has a Bachelor of Arts (in Theology and Christian Education) and a Master of Theological Studies. Chris was the youth and young adult director at Living Faith Lutheran Church, as well as youth chaplain at Grace Lutheran College, Rothwell. He works part-time for New and Renewing Churches as a church planting mentor and mission facilitator.

Joanne Chamberlain

Church Planting Mentor and Mission Facilitator New and Renewing Churches

  • Wife to Luke, mum to four children including a child with special needs
  • Lives in the beautiful Barossa Valley, SA on 5 acres
  • Lives for family, music, scenic views, good food and wine experiences
  • Known for being competitive at games and is always looking for the next strategic game to learn
  • Most frequent go-to texts: Romans 8:1 - 2 (MSG) and 1 Peter 3:15

Joanne (Jo) currently works across three departments of the Lutheran Church – New & Renewing Churches, Lutheran Media and Blueprint Ministries SA-NT. She feels a strong calling to work in the renewal of the Lutheran Church – valuing what has been and encouraging vibrant life of God at work in faith communities. She is always learning and continues to seek God’s will in all she does. She has served the church as a layworker for a number of years, but has also worked as religious school chaplain, social media, in business and project management, sales & marketing, admin, and a stint in Cellar Door Sales just to tick it off the bucket list.

5%

our target growth rate every year

23

new church plants every year

100%

dependence on the Holy Spirit

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