Jim Crosweller
Jim has been Lead Pastor of St John's since 2006. He loves preaching the news of Jesus from the whole of the bible. He leads the overall vision of St John’s, and pastors the 10am congregation. If he was stuck on a desert island he'd need a surfboard and a guitar. He suspects he'd play the surfboard and surf the guitar. He is amazed at how Jesus was disgraced outside the city walls (Hebrews 13:12-13) and hopes to join him there whenever possible. He also has a deep interest in Christian networks in Zimbabwe, where St John’s partners with some good friends. He is married to Bec and has six kids, too numerous to name. OK, they are Ethan, Indigo, Finn, Elke, Jasper and Asher.
Ben Gow
Ben loves people, sharing meals with them, drinking coffee with them, and playing Pokémon with them. He’s married to Ash and has a little son named Asaph.
Ben is our Kiwi immigrant who reportedly served the NZ Airforce for a number of years. Who knew that they had an airforce? We didn’t. And Ben says “it doesn’t have fighter jets though”, but we don’t know if he’s kidding. We hope so.
Ben joined the team at St. John’s in 2023 as the Youth and Evening Church Pastor. He has the great privilege of caring for the youth of St. John’s as well as the beautiful people in our evening congregation. He believes it’s the best job in the world.
Heather Steinmetz
Heather is Seniors’ Pastor and has responsibility for growing a prayer culture at St John’s. Heather works part-time plus some volunteer hours in areas outside her role. She is a Grandma to four and Great-Grandma to one. Fortunately, two of her grandkids are in Prague, so she HAS to travel there occasionally. She loves words and can be found uttering to herself the phrase ‘twas brillig and the slithy toves’. Some of the words she loves are even understandable. Did we say she loves prayer and seeks to lead others in prayer? Amen.
Linda Billingham
Linda takes delight in spending time with the kids, be it her own three or the mob at church. With a background in music teaching, Linda oversees the Sunday kids church programme at St John’s. It is her joy to facilitate moments of fun, frivolity and learning, as God’s Spirit continually grows the faith of these children. Linda also runs Newsong playgroup, which seeks to spread the hope of Jesus among young families in our community. She is married to Jonathan, who works as Dean of Residence at New College, where they live surrounded by hundreds of university students.
Evelyn Defina
Evelyn is our Specialist Families and Women’s Pastor (honorary), bringing to the role her decades of experience as a psychologist working with children, adolescents and families with diverse backgrounds and challenges.
Seeking to build our church family to grow in supporting families to raise their own kids and teens in the faith, is her vision with Thriving Families. Alongside this she spends time with women, side by side, helping them delve deeper into their walk with Jesus and God’s vision for them personally. She also lends her support and counsel to staff where she can, for the common good of our community.
Trained in dance and dance ministry, and a lifetime ago, was in ministry with Excelsia College, Evelyn loves to dance, pray and read God’s Word all at the same time! You might also see her tinkering on the keys at church too. Evelyn’s a local and has been all her life. She’s married to Pete and has 2 adult children, Natasha now married to John, and Lewis. Can’t forget their cute pooch, Coco.
Yvette Walker
Yvette is our office administrator, bringing with her a wide range of expertise to the role. With a background in competitive water sports, property management, pastoral ministry, book-keeping and professional textiles, she uses her skills to support and build systems, rosters and the business-functioning of our church. Yvette also brings a personal touch, she is passionate about listening to, welcoming and supporting people, whether through leading Bible study, friendships or community volunteering. She is married to Nick and has three kids (Quinlan, Amielle & Taya) and two cats (Dash & Ash).