Tell us a bit about you / your family

I’m married to Jamie, recently moved to Vaucluse, and loving being in the community here at
South Head Anglican. I’m training for vocational ministry by studying my Masters of
Theology at Moore College in Newtown and by serving as student minister at SHAP one day
a week. Before ministry, I was a classical pianist. For fun I read quite a bit, go bouldering,
and (shamefully nerdily) enjoy a tabletop RPG.

What do you most enjoy about ministry?

When church just clicks- when you can tell that you’re a part of a cohesive community united
behind the goal of growing in Christ and loving one another, all participating with physical,
emotional, and spiritual engagement in encountering God in his word and in worship- those
are the moments I live for! Facilitating those and introducing people into faith community is
the privilege of ministry.

How do you find refreshment for your soul?

A really dense academic theological book! But not always. Conversation with those I love
and trust, time in God’s word, serious prayer, and attending a really uplifting and thoughtful
church service. Good church music does so much here as well.

What practices and habits help you to grow?

In a lot of ways, studying at Bible College means that my head knowledge about God is
always growing (faster than I want it to sometimes!). The great thing about student ministry
at SHAP is that I’m being challenged to put that knowledge into practice by practically loving
people. There are many opportunities to push my horizons in worship, praying with people,
doing new and different ministries, and meeting and loving all the saints here.
How do you see the church being a light in the local community?
In my short time at SHAP, I’ve been delighted and amazed by the many ways that we reach
out with the love of Jesus to our area- Community Lunch, Vintage Fair, Little Sheep, and in
many other ways.

If you’d like to support Riley in his studies, you can give tax tax-deductible gift to an account at Moore College: https://moore.edu.au/student/riley-irwin/