New Life, New Ground
Dear friends,
It’s a real joy to finally be here.
After six weeks of waiting, we’ve received our visas, landed properly on the Gold Coast, and begun settling into life here as a family. And already, we feel deeply encouraged for the season ahead.
It felt more than fitting that my first Sunday in the parish of Palm Beach was Easter Sunday.
To stand and proclaim, “He is risen”—that wasn’t just a line in the liturgy. It felt personal.
Because for us, this is a season of new life.
Not just geographically, but spiritually too. A crossing over. A step into something we sense God is doing—something new, something shared, something bigger than any one of us.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19)
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If I’m honest, the shift has been significant.
For the last 16 years, London has been home—high-rises, constant movement, the hum of traffic, the kind of noise you stop noticing until it’s gone. Before ordination, I spent my years working in the creative industries, running an agency out of East London, working across cities like New York, Vancouver, Kuala Lumpur—and from time to time, Australia.
It was in that season I met Theresa, my wife, a filmmaker by background. We were married in 2019, and since then, life has only become fuller and louder in the best way—with three children now: Abel, Rye, and Elia.
And now here we are.
A different pace. A different landscape. But the same God.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
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Easter reminds us that resurrection isn’t just something we celebrate once a year—it’s something we’re invited to live in.
When Jesus revealed himself to the disciples after the resurrection, everything had changed. Not just their circumstances, but their understanding of what God was doing in the world.
Fear gave way to hope. Confusion to clarity. Death to life.
“He stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” (Luke 24:36)
And I think that’s something we’re stepping into here.
Not just as individuals, but as a church.
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One of the things that has already struck me deeply is the heart of this place.
There’s something unusual happening here—three parishes choosing not to compete, but to collaborate. Not to retreat inward, but to move outward. To be, as I’ve heard it said, “brave for the benefit of others.”
That kind of unity doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s costly. It requires humility, trust, and a shared conviction that the mission of God matters more than personal preference.
“That they may all be one… so that the world may believe.” (John 17:21)
This vision—to see the Gold Coast transformed by the love of Christ—isn’t just a statement. It’s a calling.
And it’s that calling that drew us here.
After 37 years of life rooted elsewhere, we’ve stepped into the unknown—not because we had everything figured out, but because we sensed God was in it.
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We’re deeply grateful.
So many of you have already welcomed us, prayed for us, and encouraged us—especially through the uncertainty around visas. That has meant more than you probably realise.
And as we begin this next chapter, I want to say this simply:
Please keep praying for us, as we are praying for you.
I’d love to meet as many of you as possible over the coming weeks—whether that’s after church, over coffee, or somewhere in the life of the parish.
Grace and peace, Toby