Our Minister – Ian Brunton

Ian married Karen in 1980 and they are blessed with three married children and seven grandchildren.

Ian and Karen both became Christians as teenagers while living and attending church in southern Sydney, which is where they also got married and began raising their children. However, they soon relocated to the outer suburbs of western Sydney to raise their young family in an affordable home.

Before entering the ministry, Ian enjoyed a substantial career as an IT professional in Sydney before turning to fish farming for a few years in Gum Scrub (near Port Macquarie and Wauchope on the NSW mid-North coast).

It was while on the farm that God called Ian to go into full time pastoral ministry. So, it was back to Sydney to undertake full time ministry training.

Ian’s conviction is that God called him to serve in rural communities and was preparing him for this purpose through his fish farm experience. This helped him to better understand what it means to live and work as a Christian in a country region.

Ian’s ministry philosophy is as follows:

As a man called by God to serve Him as a minister of the Gospel, I recognize and affirm that I am foremost a servant of people. To that end, I am committed to the spiritual growth and betterment of God’s people in the church in which I serve.

I am a shepherd who will take care of his sheep. Helping those who need help. Caring for those who hurt. Leading those who are lost. Feeding those who hunger for truth. Showing Jesus Christ to those who need God.

And underpinning Ian’s ministry philosophy are the following core values:

• • Continuing to grow spiritually myself.

  • My ministry responsibilities don’t supersede my responsibilities as a husband and father. So, my priorities are a personal relationship with God, my family, and my ministry (1 Tim 3:1-7).

Ian considers it a privilege for God to have sent him to serve in the NSW Southern Highlands. His prayer is for a ministry that will bear much fruit for God’s Kingdom in this region and for church members to continue growing in their faith and knowledge of God.

Ian is passionate to show the love of God to all by taking the good news of the Gospel to the least, the last, and the lost; offering hope where there is none; and bringing glory and honour to God by living in a way that’s worthy of the Gospel.