About our Church.

We’re a vibrant growing church on Brisbane’s northside that’s built on values of loving community and clear, Christ centered bible teaching. We’re keen to welcome you on any Sunday – we’ve got plenty of activities for kids, and our services are easy to understand and be part of, even if you don’t have any church background.

Our Vision
Our Core Commitments​
Style & Approach​
What We Believe

Our Team

Hamish Burke

Senior Pastor

Hamish was very happy to take up the invitation to move to Queensland and head up the ministry team at MPC. He is married to Jo and they have three adult kids. Hamish enjoys bikes (mountain), brews (caffeinated and the ale variety) and barbels (not too heavy). To relax Hamish likes cooking non-vegetarian meals, brewing beer and brushing up on bike skills (and spills). Although Hamish and Jo have lived by the coast for the past 25 years the move to Brisbane is proving to be a blast.
Sam Hemming

Sam Hemming

Pastor

Sam has just recently joined the ministry team in 2022. After four years of study at the Queensland Theological College, Sam is co-ordinating our MPC Youth program and 5pm service. Sam loves a good laugh, going to live sporting matches, eating hot chips, reading books on theology, and talking about our union with Christ! Sam is married to Bek, and they have just begun navigating parent life with their new-born daughter Ava.
Dana Haack

Dana Haack

Kids Church Co-ordinator

Dana loves having a good chat with kids and thinks they are great fun. She loves people and hearing their story and thinks it’s a great privilege to encourage families in their love of Jesus and the Bible. She is wife to Brendon and mother of two children. Dana has always had a keen interest in cross cultural work. In her spare time she enjoys sewing, bush walks and a bit of kayaking. Dana facilitates Kids ministry at the 8.30am service.
Simone Gately

Simone Gately

Kids Church Co-ordinator

Simone and Kevin and their four children have worshipped at MPC since 2009. Simone has been a mum, teacher, chaplain, and teacher aide throughout her life. She thinks kids are awesome and loves spending time with them, sharing Jesus with them and encouraging families in their walk with Him. Simone loves keeping active by walking, loves having a chat, and is always ready to have a laugh. Simone leads Kid’s Ministry at the 10.30am service and thinks this is a real privilege.
Owen Richmond
Sarah Fry

Owen & Sarah

Admin

Owen and Sarah staff our office Monday to Friday, and is often them you’ll hear from if you’ve volunteered to help out with something or you’re on a roster.

Our Vision

Our motto at mpc is ‘growing as followers of Jesus’…  which means we want to be growing as followers of Jesus, while we play our part in growing new followers of Jesus. It’s just another – simpler – way of saying we exist to edify and evangelise, which is what any church should be about. Our simple goal is expanded in a Vision Statement and a series of ‘Core Commitments.’

Nurturing a Network of Clear Christ Centred Churches around Brisbane’s Northside

In prayerful dependence on God, our vision is to impact Brisbane’s northside by nurturing a network of Christ-centred churches, where the Bible is clearly explained, and the transforming impact of God’s Spirit is demonstrated in lives of love.

We will enthusiastically nurture the growth of this network with whatever resources, means and opportunities God provides, and especially by encouraging and equipping God’s people to use their gifts to serve and grow His Church. Through this, our goal is to raise up, train, and support Christian leaders who will model and reproduce our vision around our region and beyond, for God’s glory.

As we nurture this network, our goal is to be a clear and Christ-centred church ourselves. We are committed to growing together as a loving community, devoted to applying God’s word in our lives as we call people to be reconciled to God through his Son Jesus Christ, and so be transformed by his Spirit and united with one another.

Our goal is to always be welcoming, open and flexible, so the good news of Jesus will be made clear through us. We will love our neighbours, work constructively in the wider church, and contribute strategically to the growth of God’s Kingdom around the world.

The Vision and You

In many ways, our “network nurturing vision” is long term. Most of the time, you probably won’t even notice it’s there. And yet it’s good to be aware of the bigger picture. In the background, things are happening. We’re committed to training the next generation of full-time ministers – so we’ll employ and support trainees. You’ll hear them learning to preach; your giving will help support them through college.

Sometimes, because “learners” are at work, things won’t run quite as smoothly as they could. But watch their progress! Bigger impacts may well lie ahead. As we work out the best ways to “nurture a network of clear, Christ centred churches,” we may decide to plant new congregations… which will be costly. We may have opportunities to help renew or replant existing churches on Brisbane’s northside… and you might be called on to help by being part of a transplanted core-group. Keep it in mind! (Read more in the online document)

Our “Growing Followers of Jesus” motto unpacks into a series of “Core Commitment statements.” They describe the sort of church we want to grow to be, and the things we count most valuable. We don’t always achieve these goals – but we’re keen to keep working at it. You’ll notice a Core Commitment statement appears on the top of our weekly bulletin each Sunday, with key bible verses for reference. Why not spend some time each week reading the relevant passages and thinking through the implications?

Our Core Commitments

Here are our Core Commitments:

  1. We are committed to clear, Christ-centred Bible teaching that leads to trusting in Jesus as Saviour and obeying Him as Lord (2 Tim 3:14-17, Col 4:4)
  2. We are committed to sharing the good news that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, gave up his life for the sins of the world, and rose from death to rule the world. (1 Peter 2:24, John 3:16,36, Phil 2:9-11)
  3. We are committed to engaging ordinary people outside the church with the person and claims of Jesus (1 Peter 2:11-12, 3:13-17; Col 4:5-6)
  4. We are committed to church activity which is welcoming and understandable to newcomers (1 Cor 14:23)
  5. We are committed to praying to God our Father, in dependence on his rule over all things, and we seek to pray according to His will. (Rom 8:15-16, Matt 6:10, 1 John 5:14-15)
  6. We are committed to developing the fruits of God’s Spirit, setting our minds on what his Spirit desires, and seeking the gifts of the Spirit that are good for building up the church. (Gal 5:22-26, Romans 8:5, 1 Cor 14:12)
  7. We are committed to regularly meeting together to encourage one-another to worship God in lives of loving, sacrificial service. (Rom 12:1-2, Heb 10:24-25)
  8. We are committed to caring well for all age groups within our church family. (1 Tim 5:1-4)
  9. We are committed to serving together, generously using the gifts, abilities and resources God has given, for His glory. (Eph 4:11-13, Rom 12:6-8)
  10. We are committed to actively encouraging those who give themselves to full-time gospel ministry, and supporting those in training for future ministry. (2 Tim 2:2, Heb 13:17)

Style & Approach

While our church services are diverse in style, they’ll all have certain features in common. We want to be a church where you can easily and comfortably invite your friends along to hear the bible taught in a way that is clear, and focused on Jesus Christ. Here are some of the things we’re working on…

  • We try to avoid (or explain) jargon.
  • We try to put people at ease, even if they’ve never been to church before.
  • We try to avoid embarrassing people when we take up our weekly collection, by making clear that we don’t expect guests to contribute financially.
  • We try to remember that newcomers are likely to be with us every week, so we do our best not to make “in” references to people or places or events, as if everyone knows what’s going on.
  • We try to avoid overt gushiness, over-sentimentalism, acting like we’ve got it all together, and pretend piety; we’re ordinary, open people who follow Jesus.

Sometimes we don’t do too well at these things, but we’re working on it. In fact, you might like to take a look at our “training manual” for people involved in leading our services. It’s online here. The article “Being Clear,” by Phil Campbell, is also online here.

What We Believe

Mitchelton Presbyterian Church (mpc) is part of the “Presbyterian Church of Queensland”. Our denomination has the firm conviction that God has spoken to us in His Word, the Bible, which governs, orders and explains all we believe and do. MPC works hard to keep Biblical Truth central, while changing culturally to reach new generations. In line with Paul’s example in 1 Corinthians 2, we are committed to “preaching Christ crucified”. And in line with Paul’s example in 1 Corinthians 9, we are prepared to “become all things to all people so as to win some.”

1. Evangelical

The word evangelical comes from the New Testament Greek word ‘evangel’ which means ‘gospel’ or ‘news’. The news of the Bible is that “Jesus Christ, the one who died for sin, is King.” Evangelicals are gospel people who believe the Bible is God’s Word and thus we believe that we are rebels against God, and that Jesus alone is Lord and Saviour.

2. Reformed

The word ‘reformed’ comes from the 16th century Reformation when there was a return to reading, teaching and believing the Bible. It means we seek to think and live in accordance with what the Bible teaches, and that we are continually reforming what we believe and how we behave as we grow in our understanding of God’s Word. At the heart of the Reformation was the belief, based on Scripture alone, that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and to the glory of God alone.

3. Clear and Christ-Centred

We are passionate about making sure we make sense to all kinds of people. It’s a challenge. Paul asks the Colossians to pray for him as he went around preaching the gospel – he said, “Pray that I might declare it clearly, as I should!” Being clear means speaking in ordinary, jargon-free language, in a down-to-earth no-frills way. We don’t think you have to put on a special ‘religious’ tone when you speak or pray in church.

More than that though, we want to be clear about Jesus and what it means to personally trust and follow Him.

The whole Bible, from the first page to the last, tells the unfolding story of how God goes to extraordinary lengths to rescue rebels and make a people for Himself to the praise of His glorious grace. We think it’s helpful to think of 5 episodes, namely “Creation – Covenant – Christ – New Covenant – New Creation” As we study God’s word we always want to keep that in mind by asking, “Where am I on God’s timeline as I read this passage.” Most significantly, there’s an awareness that the unfolding storyline is unfinished until it gets to the climax in Jesus. This means the Old Testament is always to be read in the light of the New Testament.

4. Presbyterian

The term literally means “ruled by Elders (Presbyters).” Originally, that made us very different from bishop-led churches like the Church of England or Roman Catholicism. Our elders lead collegially, along with our ministry staff. Presbyterian doctrine is summarised in the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF), which (as read in the light of the Declaratory Statement of 1901) must be affirmed by elders and ministers of the church.

5. Looking Forward

Instead of teaching and expecting that everything will be fixed in this life if you’re faithful enough, we faithfully look forward to God’s promised restoration of all creation in hope. Jesus gave us a wonderful glimpse of what that restoration is going to look like when he healed the sick, raised the dead and wiped away tears. And it looks great. But we know we’re not there yet, so we don’t always expect things to go well here. And so with the joy and peace Jesus brings we look forward with confident hope.

6. Worship is ‘Living Sacrifice’

True worship (according to Paul in Romans 12) is about presenting ourselves as living sacrifices in godly living and selfless service. It’s a much bigger challenge than singing a few songs, and it plays out everywhere we go, not just in church.

Ask Us A Question

Do you have any questions and would like to contact us? Please use the email below to send a quick email. We would love to hear from you.