Joel Deacon is the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Wollongong. He is firmly convinced that we are designed for community, especially in a big and sometimes lonely city like Wollongong. Before becoming a pastor, Joel worked as a Civil Engineer and is always up for a chat about roads and bridges. But his greatest passion is talking to people about Jesus. Joel is married to Emma, and they have three kids Elijah, Isaac and Lily. An ideal day off for Joel would include coffee with his wife, smelling flowers with his daughter, wrestling with his boys, reading, and staying up late to watch EPL.

Ben is the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Ballarat. He grew up in Ireland, North and South, then came to Melbourne with his wife Suja, before moving to Ballarat. He’s an ordained Anglican minister, has been in gospel ministry for more than 10 years, and is passionate about seeing disciples of Jesus made and matured. Ben and Suja have 3 beautiful kids, a little dog and a few precious fish.

Luke is the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Melbourne West. He joined City on a Hill in its early days, serving as the Community Pastor in Melbourne, before being asked to lead a new church plant. Having grown up in Melbourne’s western suburbs, he has a deep knowledge of and passion for the area, and a great desire to see the gospel bring transformation. A gifted communicator, he loves the work of pastoring a church, opening God’s word each week and seeing the Spirit work. Luke graduated with a BA (Hons) from Melbourne University, has a Grad Dip in Divinity and a Masters of Ministry from Ridley College. He is an ordained Anglican minister in the Diocese of Melbourne.

Dave serves as the Youth Minister at City on a Hill Geelong. Married to Alexi, father of Eden and Freya, and a golf tragic, Dave loves nothing more than helping people take Jesus seriously – because he’s totally convinced that Christianity makes more sense and offers more hope than any other worldview.

Pete is the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Whittington. He has a heart to serve, and to see people connect in to this big, wonderful family we call the church. He is married to his best friend Rachelle and together they have 7 children and one son-in-law. He loves bike riding, surfing, and spending time with the family. He is currently studying a Masters of Divinity, which he hopes to finish sometime this decade!

Sam joined the team in 2018 as one of our inaugural church planting residents in our Planters Academy. Sam is now the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Gold Coast which launched publicly in 2020. Sam has a passion to see people discover the life, joy, and hope that is only found in Jesus. He loves to preach the bible to whoever will listen and is energised by seeing leaders developed and released to use their gifts and passions for God’s glory. Sam is married to Sally and they have three sons Bailey, Hudson and Zion. He is an ordained Anglican Minister.

Nick is the Lead Pastor of City on a Hill Melbourne East. He loves Jesus, is passionate about connecting deep theology with everyday life, and eager to make a difference in the time he has by helping plant as many churches as possible. After Jesus, Nick loves his wife Jules, and his two kids, Axel and Aria. He holds an MDiv from Ridley College, is an ordained Anglican minister and gives too much of his time to fantasy sports.