Robbie O’Donnell made the move from his Gold Coast church three weeks ago to take on the senior pastor role at the pentecostal church.
Having been involved in ministry for more than 34 years, the pastor brings with him an abundance of experience that he believes will assist him in working together with the church leadership to build upon what has already been established and create a place of acceptance for all.
Mr O’Donnell began his journey in ministry as a 19-year-old when he became a youth leader at a church near his home town on the Gold Coast. Since that time he has been involved in a number of church plants throughout Australia and New York, and served in many different leadership roles.
As one of the founding pastors of what he regarded as the fastest-growing church in the country — Glow Church — Mr O’Donnell said it was the relevance and the genuine nature that had seen it thrive and expand.
He said from what started out as a handful of people with a vision six years ago had grown to a church of 3000 in six years.
Mr O’Donnell said although it would be a significant change for him to transition from a large church in a busy city to a smaller church in a country town, he felt that it was an adventure him and his wife Kathy were ready to take on.
With the oldest of his two daughters having recently married and moved to South Australia and his youngest getting married in June, he said there had not been a better time for something new.
Mr O’Donnell said with that in mind he began exploring possibilities.
‘‘We felt like we were freed up in a sense and just felt we were ready for an adventure and it was time for a new season.’’
And before long the couple found themselves visiting Shepparton to weigh up the prospect of making the move.
He said the diversity of the congregation at Encounter drew him in.
‘‘What I liked about the church was there’s a big cross-section of community — there’s young people, there’s middle-aged families, there’s older people that have been here for 30 years, there’s a lot of Africans, there’s quite a few people from the Philippines, Mandarin — so there’s a real variety of people,’’ he said.
‘‘Where we were on the Gold Coast we had a real focus on international people and so we respect that and cultivate that, so I saw that here and thought there’s lots of opportunity to really help assimilate people from other cultures — help them feel there’s other people like them here and they can all be part of this church.’’
Mr O’Donnell said although much of his experience had involved planting new churches, he looked forward to bringing fresh changes to a long-time existing church.
‘‘It’s an established church but I can apply some of those pioneering principles to doing a new thing, embarking on new methods and ways and thinking.
‘‘I’m not here just to maintain the status quo, I’m here to take it somewhere where it’s never been before.’’
Mr O’Donnell said his ultimate goal for the church was to ensure people felt a sense of belonging.
‘‘My goal with the church is just to be a place where anyone can come and genuinely be accepted — whatever background they’re from — whatever social background, whether they’re affluent and wealthy, whether they’re poor, whether they’re from the right side of town or the worse side of town. I just want them to be able to come in and feel accepted and totally feel like they belong.
‘‘I want it to be a relevant and engaging place where the message of the gospel is changing a community — not in a religious way but in a life-giving fun way where people are living adventurous lives.’’
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