Currently serving as a full-time pastor, a lot has happened to prepare me for this stage of our lives. I say “our” because I do not serve alone—I am accompanied by my wife, Olivia, and daughter Ottilie (and I can’t forget Hans the dachshund).

I graduated from Australian Lutheran College in 2021 after a five-year formational journey. I came out with two bachelor degrees, but the most significant growth in that time happened outside of the lectures and essay-writing. Having begun studies at age 19, I grew as a person as much as a pastoral ministry candidate during that time. With ALC switching to a dispersed model of learning soon after I graduated, I was one of the last pastoral students to live on-campus. I completely understand that things have to change over time, but I am incredibly grateful for my experience and the relationships that were formed during those years.

Pastoral studies were not the only thing that prepared me for my current calling. I grew up in a manse—dad is still an active pastor and mum has many years of experience in the education sector. At one stage, both my parents, my three siblings and I all went to the same school together.

I was born in Adelaide but moved to Auckland, New Zealand at two years of age for the beginning of dad’s pastoral ministry. Four years later, we moved to a new suburb called Dalyellup, in the South West region of Western Australia. There, we were part of a brand-new Lutheran college and congregation. My most formative years were spent there.

After eight years in WA, dad received a call to the Barossa Valley, South Australia: Lutheran heartland. Moving there was a stark opposite to the environment I had basically grown up in, but I learnt to love it just as much. I would probably call the Barossa home to this day. Olivia is a born-and-bred Barossan, so that is a significant influence on that as well.

We met on a Lutheran youth camp during our high school years (as many others around the church did), and we were married at the beginning of 2020 (we just beat COVID and had a “normal” ceremony and reception!).

At the end of my pastoral studies, we were assigned to Mount Gambier, where our daughter, Ottilie, was born and where we remain today.