CREATIVE MINISTRIES Report

2023 was a year of steady growth and change for us as a team.  In Term One I stepped into the role of Creative Ministries Director and the team were extremely welcoming, supportive and encouraging.  Having been in somewhat of an unusual place after Matt Sonsee’s departure and working as a leadership team under Rod Thom, I sense that there is more stability for our team with decision-making and people knowing who to approach with concerns, questions, ideas and leadership.

Daniel Kitlar continued in his role as Technical Coordinator and we set some great plans in motion for updating our lighting, with the hopes of improving the visual impact and quality for our online services.  Daniel also worked in training new camera operators and producers for our Sunday services and it has been amazing to see their confidence and ownership of this important area of our ministry team thrive. 

We were encouraged by the story of our friend Sam Wainaina, who tuned into Church Online in Africa with his family and then, when he moved to Perth for studies, joined our congregation in the room.  This makes all our technical efforts worth it and our team definitely celebrated!

Mike Ellery stepped out of his role as Media Coordinator to pursue his own personal Music Production dreams. We cheer him on and love that he is still part of our Sunday team.  He continues to serve in a contract capacity, which has been a very helpful resource.

Audio Visuals was an area where we saw updates in equipment, skill development and vision for the future.  Our team were thrilled and surprised to have someone from our congregation purchase a brand new sound desk for us after we needed an upgrade due to issues.  As a whole team, we benefited from a training session with Craig Tucker from Mega Music, which focused on setting up our in-ears and running sound checks smoothly.  The sound operators and I built upon this by attending a free Worship Mixing Masterclass that Mega Music put on with special guest Andrew Crawford, who spent 10 years mixing for Hillsong Church and their tours.  It was full of practical ideas and resource suggestions that have led to great conversations about how we improve our online and room mix moving forward.

As a team we gathered once a term for All-In Team Nights that focused on togetherness, worship, learning new songs and training. A highlight from one of these gatherings was having the Rise Youth worship team with us as we learnt new songs and enjoyed community. Seeing the way they are developing under Corey Crossley’s leadership is inspiring. At our End of Year Wind Up, several of us gathered at the South Perth foreshore for a relaxed family time with a picnic and some lawn games. It was great to mingle in a different setting and just enjoy one another’s company; there was plenty of conversation and laughter!

One of our main focus areas was freedom in worship and one of the ways we sought to grow in this was by attending worship gatherings that Mizpah Collective run once a month in the hills of Bedfordale. A few of us attended multiple nights and it was an opportunity for us to ‘be led’ in worship, soak in the presence of God and witness different approaches in musical worship.

There were so many highlights from 2023, from Easter services through to the Lifestreams Christmas Festival, but the biggest of all for me personally was to witness the team generously giving of their hearts, skill and time in ways that often left me speechless. I believe that 2024 will be a year where the Lord continues to grow us as His worshippers as we surrender to Him as vessels for His glory.

The best is yet to come!

Tam Jones

Creative Ministries Director