OUR PASTORS
Ps Joel & Vanessa Reid, along with their two children Annaliese and Joe, joined as the new C3 Chuch Burwood pastors in 2020.
Joel had lived in country Victoria, North Coast NSW, and the Northern Table Lands of NSW before moving to Sydney in 1999 (though at the time he intended on only staying a few months... God had other plans). Joel spent ten years working as a Primary School teacher before joining C3 Lane Cove's Pastoral Team, serving from 2003 till 2023 in various pastoral ministries (from children to worship, youth and administration).
Vanessa grew up in Sydney, spending time in a variety of areas throughout Sydney's West, South and North Shore. She is a practicing Veterinarian with further qualifications and interest in Animal Behaviour. Vanessa also served in various areas at C3 Lane Cove in the years since joining in 1994 including the music team, mums groups and pastoral care.
The Call to C3 Burwood (Joel & Vanessa's C3 Burwood story)
While working as a primary school teacher in Sydney's Inner West (around the year 2001), Joel was on a train looking at all of the people outside the windows. His heart came to life for those unknown people, so he prayed a prayer; "God, I'll try to reach these people with the gospel, if you send me!" A prayer that would become a turning point in his relationship with his then girlfriend, Vanessa! When he got home that day, he called Vanessa and told her that he thought that maybe God was calling him to the inner west of Sydney... and after some prayer and seeking the Lord, and the council of others, God spoke to Vanessa too - from the book of Ruth "I will go where you go." That prayer and that moment was the catalyst that moved them towards marriage, with a shared vision for reaching people with the Great News of Jesus Christ! Joel and Vanessa married in 2002 with the vows '...to serve you, and serve God with you.'
The call to going to Sydney's Inner West mostly faded away in the following years. They both continued serving with all their heart at C3 Lane Cove - over the years, Joel progressed from a volunteer leader, through to a full time pastor on the C3 Lane Cove team. During that time Joel completed his Master of Arts (Christian Studies) at Alphacrucis College, and attended various C3 Pastors and Leaders events and conferences. Joel and Vanessa's heart began to burn ever stronger for church planting and leading over the years at C3 Lane Cove. And here is where the story begins to take shape.
The exact date is unclear from memory, but some time during 2016 Joel was woken by a dream. In that dream, he walked up stairs and into a new church - being welcomed as the new Senior Pastor of a church called C3 Burwood. Upon waking up, the dream still quite vivid in his mind, he reached over to his phone and had to google "C3 Burwood" - since he didn't even know if there was a C3 Burwood! He committed that dream to memory, and continued serving at C3 Lane Cove. (He would later find out that he had that dream at almost exactly the same time that the retired pastors Ps Phil & Debbie Sammons announced to their overseer that they'd like to retire!)
For the next three years (from 2016 to 2019), the call to leave C3 Lane Cove and go and plant or lead somewhere other than Lane Cove grew even stronger, so Joel & Vanessa attended the C3 Church Planters Course with Ps Richard Green from C3 Ryde. During that course, Joel & Vanessa received confirmation that there was a call to go, and so began the search - where Lord? They entertained a few ideas - from regional centres within Australia through to even the possibility of Spain (Since Vanessa is a native Spanish speaker - after a 6 week holiday to Spain, with this possibility in mind, they returned with no sense of God's call to go there - though they loved the place!).
Towards the end of 2018, Annaliese (their daughter) attended a scholarship exam at Meridan Anglican Girls School (which she went on to attend for her high school years). Vanessa, after dropping her off at the school, wandered into Strathfield to meet her mother for a coffee. Vanessa describes what could only be regarded as a moment of the Lord's special presence with her as she looked around the plaza. God reminded her that He was always faithful - and while standing in the plaza, before her mother arrived, she was brought to tears by this personal renewal of God's promises. That afternoon she excitedly announced to Joel - "I think God wants us to plant a church in Strathfield!"
Joel prayed a prayer and had a dream.
Vanessa said she'd go and had an encounter.
And God's plan came togther.
After several meetings and conversations, it seemed right to all that Joel and Vanessa were called by God to go to C3 Burwood. Ps Simon Ambler (Joel and Vanessa's pastor at C3 Lane Cove), Ps Richard Botta (C3 Burwood's overseer at the time), Ps Richard Green (from C3 Ryde and the church planters course), Ps Phil & Debbie Sammons (the retiring pastors of C3 Burwood), and the board of C3 Burwood (including one board member who saw the Reids in a dream before they even knew them - and leaned over to a friend when Joel and Vanessa first visited just to look at C3 Burwood saying 'they're our new pastors aren't they?"!!!) all agreed - and so did Joel & Vanessa. On the 19th of February 2020, Joel (who eventually remembered his prayer and his dream) & Vanessa (who knew she'd heard from the Lord) were inducted as the new Senior Pastors of C3 Burwood!
Three Sundays before the first Covid 19 lockdown in 2020... but that's another story.
"We love telling our story of God's call to us to go to C3 Burwood - we tell it whenever we can! We love hearing other people's stories too - none of us are here by accident - every person comes with a story, and when they're all put together, The C3 Burwood Story gets better and better and better again!"
Joel had lived in country Victoria, North Coast NSW, and the Northern Table Lands of NSW before moving to Sydney in 1999 (though at the time he intended on only staying a few months... God had other plans). Joel spent ten years working as a Primary School teacher before joining C3 Lane Cove's Pastoral Team, serving from 2003 till 2023 in various pastoral ministries (from children to worship, youth and administration).
Vanessa grew up in Sydney, spending time in a variety of areas throughout Sydney's West, South and North Shore. She is a practicing Veterinarian with further qualifications and interest in Animal Behaviour. Vanessa also served in various areas at C3 Lane Cove in the years since joining in 1994 including the music team, mums groups and pastoral care.
The Call to C3 Burwood (Joel & Vanessa's C3 Burwood story)
While working as a primary school teacher in Sydney's Inner West (around the year 2001), Joel was on a train looking at all of the people outside the windows. His heart came to life for those unknown people, so he prayed a prayer; "God, I'll try to reach these people with the gospel, if you send me!" A prayer that would become a turning point in his relationship with his then girlfriend, Vanessa! When he got home that day, he called Vanessa and told her that he thought that maybe God was calling him to the inner west of Sydney... and after some prayer and seeking the Lord, and the council of others, God spoke to Vanessa too - from the book of Ruth "I will go where you go." That prayer and that moment was the catalyst that moved them towards marriage, with a shared vision for reaching people with the Great News of Jesus Christ! Joel and Vanessa married in 2002 with the vows '...to serve you, and serve God with you.'
The call to going to Sydney's Inner West mostly faded away in the following years. They both continued serving with all their heart at C3 Lane Cove - over the years, Joel progressed from a volunteer leader, through to a full time pastor on the C3 Lane Cove team. During that time Joel completed his Master of Arts (Christian Studies) at Alphacrucis College, and attended various C3 Pastors and Leaders events and conferences. Joel and Vanessa's heart began to burn ever stronger for church planting and leading over the years at C3 Lane Cove. And here is where the story begins to take shape.
The exact date is unclear from memory, but some time during 2016 Joel was woken by a dream. In that dream, he walked up stairs and into a new church - being welcomed as the new Senior Pastor of a church called C3 Burwood. Upon waking up, the dream still quite vivid in his mind, he reached over to his phone and had to google "C3 Burwood" - since he didn't even know if there was a C3 Burwood! He committed that dream to memory, and continued serving at C3 Lane Cove. (He would later find out that he had that dream at almost exactly the same time that the retired pastors Ps Phil & Debbie Sammons announced to their overseer that they'd like to retire!)
For the next three years (from 2016 to 2019), the call to leave C3 Lane Cove and go and plant or lead somewhere other than Lane Cove grew even stronger, so Joel & Vanessa attended the C3 Church Planters Course with Ps Richard Green from C3 Ryde. During that course, Joel & Vanessa received confirmation that there was a call to go, and so began the search - where Lord? They entertained a few ideas - from regional centres within Australia through to even the possibility of Spain (Since Vanessa is a native Spanish speaker - after a 6 week holiday to Spain, with this possibility in mind, they returned with no sense of God's call to go there - though they loved the place!).
Towards the end of 2018, Annaliese (their daughter) attended a scholarship exam at Meridan Anglican Girls School (which she went on to attend for her high school years). Vanessa, after dropping her off at the school, wandered into Strathfield to meet her mother for a coffee. Vanessa describes what could only be regarded as a moment of the Lord's special presence with her as she looked around the plaza. God reminded her that He was always faithful - and while standing in the plaza, before her mother arrived, she was brought to tears by this personal renewal of God's promises. That afternoon she excitedly announced to Joel - "I think God wants us to plant a church in Strathfield!"
Joel prayed a prayer and had a dream.
Vanessa said she'd go and had an encounter.
And God's plan came togther.
After several meetings and conversations, it seemed right to all that Joel and Vanessa were called by God to go to C3 Burwood. Ps Simon Ambler (Joel and Vanessa's pastor at C3 Lane Cove), Ps Richard Botta (C3 Burwood's overseer at the time), Ps Richard Green (from C3 Ryde and the church planters course), Ps Phil & Debbie Sammons (the retiring pastors of C3 Burwood), and the board of C3 Burwood (including one board member who saw the Reids in a dream before they even knew them - and leaned over to a friend when Joel and Vanessa first visited just to look at C3 Burwood saying 'they're our new pastors aren't they?"!!!) all agreed - and so did Joel & Vanessa. On the 19th of February 2020, Joel (who eventually remembered his prayer and his dream) & Vanessa (who knew she'd heard from the Lord) were inducted as the new Senior Pastors of C3 Burwood!
Three Sundays before the first Covid 19 lockdown in 2020... but that's another story.
"We love telling our story of God's call to us to go to C3 Burwood - we tell it whenever we can! We love hearing other people's stories too - none of us are here by accident - every person comes with a story, and when they're all put together, The C3 Burwood Story gets better and better and better again!"