Anchor Stories

We are thrilled to announce that Chloe Stewart is joining the Anchor Staff Team as 1-2-1 Ministry Director. Chloe is married to Tom and is part of Newtown Gospel Community. ‘When you think about how Jesus did ministry, he spoke to crowds, small groups, but he also spoke to individuals. I’m passionate about spending time...MORE >

We are stoked to report that 18 new children have been released from poverty in Jesus’s name! The Anchor Family now sponsors 72 kids with Compassion Australia from our partner projects in the Philippines, and 129 kids in total. We love seeing our church family give joyfully and generously out of the abundance that God...MORE >

We’re excited to share that our very own Arnaldo Santiago Jr. and James Wong are stepping into our Church Planting Residency to help them prepare to plant new churches in the coming years. Since launching five years ago, we have desired to be a church-planting church, to raise up and send out our best to...MORE >

Hear an update from our beloved Buchanans whom we sent out to share Christ with the marginalised people of the Philippines 12 months ago.

In August 2019, Matt & Robyn Neufeld are travelling to Asia to provide member care and marriage enrichment for field workers with the mission organisation Frontiers. We have the great joy of partnering with them in prayer and contributing $1000 to their travel expenses. In this interview, Matt & Robyn share some of the challenges...MORE >

Keith and Bontle grew up in South Africa, a country where racial segregation was entrenched in apartheid law for nearly 50 years. Their story is a beautiful celebration of how the gospel brings people together from every racial background and how the church can be a mosaic of grace where all people are welcome.

Wendy Konemann is on the board of Peacewise. She is a marriage and relationship counsellor, trainer, conflict coach, and mediator. We were so blessed to have her share with us as we considered Jesus’s call for us to be peacemakers. ‘I trained as a marriage counsellor, but I didn’t know how to deal with conflict...MORE >

“My inspiration came from meditating on Romans—particularly justification and sanctification—which naturally overflowed into praise and it became a prayer for the city.” Steve Vassallo (Burwood Gospel Community) Listen above to Steve’s heart behind ‘Worthy of My All’, the song he wrote for our Romans sermon series, The Anatomy of Grace. WORTHY OF MY ALL LYRICS...MORE >

We’re committed to identifying, equipping, and unleashing the next generation of world-changing leaders. Anchor’s Internship offers hands-on ministry experience, training from Anchor Church Staff, and holistic learning in the context of community. Meet our interns for 2019: Keith Hacquoil, Jeff Jones, and Rowan Thambar. We’re excited to see how God will work in them and...MORE >

Jesus says, ‘Let the little children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven’. We want to celebrate the lives of children born into our church family. Hear the hopes and dreams of these parents as they seek to raise their boys to know and love Jesus.

In January 2019, Matt and Mel Sharpe travelled to the Philippines with their young son Oliver to consider future ministry opportunities, and to visit our mission partners Ruth and Scott Buchanan.

Our staff recently attended the Acts 29 National Conference and heard some amazing stories of how God is at work around Australia and the globe.

"I've always been drawn to God as the creator, in nature, in the human body, I've always found it amazing. I love the quote that 'creativity revitalises cities' and how similar that is to what Jesus calls us to do."

“Four years ago I started to work in the fashion retail industry and I felt weird about selling people cheap clothes. If someone asked me a question about the clothes, I wasn’t able to tell someone I was confident in the brand. That ultimately lead me to work in supply chain ethics and learning more...MORE >

“The most important thing in my life was what people thought of me. It made me a very selfish friend because I was only interested in your friendship if you boosted my self esteem. All of this changed when I heard about an identity that is secure, fixed and the realest thing about us. Not...MORE >

"When I look back on my journey, it's a story of God constantly pursuing me, even when I completely denied his existence."

“Acting can be a really lonely industry to be a part of. Especially if you’re not in a gig, you can feel very disconnected. The rates of anxiety and depression are quite high. Helping other actors run lines at my studio allows me to make actors feel seen and valued.” Grace Naoum (Stanmore Gospel Community)

“We were able to reach many Muslims through relational coaching because it recognises that our relationship with God impacts our relationship with others.” God is using Matt and Robyn’s passion for relational health to bless the nations and our local community.

We are thrilled to welcome to the Anchor Family our new Executive Pastor James Dawson and his wife Callin. We believe God will use James and Callin significantly to bless us and grow his church. “We’re looking forward to joining you on mission, doing family, and seeing Jesus work in this city!”

God used one conversation while taking the bins out to invite Adam Podger into our church community, and Introducing Jesus to turn his journey of faith around. Here’s Adam encouragement to us: ‘Have some courage. What’s the harm in having a conversation? You don’t know what they’re going through. You could be the catalyst that...MORE >

What has been one of the hardest experiences of your marriage, and how has that grown you? “About 18 months ago, I left my previous ministry role. I felt God was calling me to something else. But not knowing where the Lord was leading me to or what he was preparing me for was difficult,...MORE >

We had the great joy of prayerfully sending the Buchanans to share Christ with the marginalised people of the Philippines. We’re expectant for how God will use this family as they step out in obedience to Jesus’s commission to make disciples of all nations.

On Sunday 16 September, we laid hands on Seti Latu and Brad Konemann to commission them to join Matt Sparks as elders of Anchor Church. This is a really serious and significant appointment to the highest level of leadership at Anchor.

We love the work of Compassion Australia releasing children from poverty in Jesus’s name! We’re proud that the Anchor Family supports 60 children in Cebu (Philippines). Theresa Ventura is a former-sponsor child and graduate of the Compassion Project we support in Cebu. Theresa has an incredible story of how God brought her family to faith,...MORE >

Seti Latu has been nominated for eldership at Anchor Church. In this interview, Seti tells us more about his life story and ministry experience.

What a special day we had on Baby Dedication Sunday celebrating the smallest members of the Anchor Family! Listen in to the commitments our parents made to raise their kids to know and love Jesus.

‘I grew up in a Christian family. But in high school, I was enticed by the world. I pursued popularity, image, and gratification through drinking and women. I was caught up in desiring to be accepted, so I began to dress like them, talk like them, act like them. I was hoping to find ultimate...MORE >

On Friday 8 June, Anchor is starting a youth ministry to reach the young people of our city with the good news of Jesus! Lachie McNicol is at the frontline of starting this new initiative. ‘Anchor is all about reaching out to our city. There are thousands of youth in the city that need Jesus....MORE >

“We first came to Anchor for the Christmas Eve service 2014. Instantly, I (Nat) was attracted to Anchor because I felt like I could worship God in a way that was really freeing, and I felt like I could be raw and real, and have more of that Father-daughter relationship with God, and be part...MORE >

“If I could go back and talk to myself as a young Mum, I would tell myself to be as kind to myself as I want to be to other people. Be gentle on yourself. Take one day at a time, and trust that God does have a plan. You don’t see the answers to...MORE >

“We create stories in our minds, not based on the facts. The story I had been living in for 20 years was ‘My Dad left. He doesn’t love me. I’m unloveable. No one wants to be my friend.’ But the fact is: my Dad left. That’s it. “I got to the point last year where...MORE >

“I grew up in Hawaii. I’m a musician, a song writer, and a bit of a dreamer. I moved to Sydney to gather artists and see what God wants to do to develop creatives. “One of the things I’ve been drawn to at Anchor is the very obvious culture of being everyday missionaries. It’s magnetic...MORE >

‘Being a father of six kids, I see God at work in my life as a parent—growing my in patience, allowing me to connect with my kids, and teaching me everyday that you’ve got to keep coming back to repentance and grace. Pray that I would be a good pastor of my family, and being...MORE >

“Almaty is a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains. Kazakhstan was a closed nation in 1990. After the Soviet Union fell, my parents were part of the first wave of missionaries to come and share the gospel with Kazak people. “God really did build the local church. When my parents came, there were 5 believers. Now...MORE >

“Comedians are our world’s philosophers. You hear them, and you go, ‘Oh, that’s so true!’ Laughing is a way of agreeing with something. They debunk what’s happening in the world. “A lot of their content is about their own brokenness, and throwing themselves into more brokenness so they have more to say on stage. It’s...MORE >

‘Our eldest daughter has been diagnosed with dyspraxia, a lifelong disorder where her brain doesn’t communicate properly with her body. She’s in therapy three times a week. ‘It’s a hard gig. There’s a lot of frustration—for her and for us. It’s exhausting. She’s six, so we’re right at the beginning. It’s a heavy burden. Day-in,...MORE >

“My brother has cerebral palsy. People feel confronted by disability. We can hide a lot of our life issues in western individualistic Sydney. But with disability, you often can’t hide from the fact that you need help. From an individualistic view my brother can’t offer anything to my Mum, but my Mum loves him unconditionally....MORE >

“I work in a company that has EQUALITY as one of its central core beliefs. How does faith fit into this message? I’m trying to encourage my colleagues to live out their full identity at work, including their faith. What does it look like to be an ally of someone in your team who is...MORE >

We are so stoked to partner with Scott and Ruth as they prepare to go to the Philippines in 2018. We believe that God will use these guys in a big way to advance his kingdom! “We want to be more like Jesus and be obedient to his call. We have a heart for those...MORE >