About Us
A community transformed by Jesus
Who we are
Our Mission
Jesus. Reach. Love. Serve.
Captivated by Jesus, we reach the lost, love one another, and serve the Lord.
Our Vision
Glorifying God in north-west Sydney
Our prayer is to see thousands from all nations and generations living for Jesus, as a community transformed by his grace, all for his glory.
What we believe
St Paul’s upholds the fundamental truths of the Christian faith, including:
1
The divine inspiration and infallibility of Holy Scripture as originally given and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
2
The unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead.
3
The universal sinfulness and guilt of human nature since the fall, rendering all people subject to God’s wrath and condemnation.
4
The conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit and his birth by the virgin Mary.
5
Redemption from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death, as our representative and substitute, of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God.
6
The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
7
The necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit to make the death of Christ effective in the individual sinner, granting repentance towards God, and faith in Jesus Christ.
8
The indwelling and work of the Holy Spirit in the believer.
9
The expectation of the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Meet the Team
Church isn’t just run by pastors and paid staff. Every member of St Paul’s is part of our mission to reach the lost, love one another, and serve the Lord, all because of Jesus.
The work of our church is done by countless people who spend their weeks contributing in various valuable ways. The staff team lead, support, and equip the members of St Paul’s in this work.
Raj Gupta
Senior Pastor
Raj oversees the teaching, vision, strategy and staff team of our church as we seek to reach, love and serve under Jesus.
Peter Baker
Magnification Pastor
Peter oversees our teams helping people to glorify God by loving, worshipping and delighting in him—on Sundays and throughout the week.
Kelly Landrigan
Membership Pastor
Kelly leads our membership ministry, so everyone can be connected into a vibrant community of faith and love.
Pip Witheridge
Mission Pastor
Pip directs our efforts to reach out to others with the good news of Jesus.
Sophie Witheridge
Maturity Pastor
Sophie works to see all our members growing deep in God’s word and prayer.
Sarah Lancaster
Children's Pastor
Sarah leads our kids ministry teams to help children grow in their understanding and love for Jesus.
Victor Chen
Chinese Church Pastor
Victor pastors our Mandarin-speaking congregation, as they reach out to the multicultural community of Carlingford and beyond.
Mohammad Shahmaleki
Farsi Church Pastor
Mohammad pastors Farsi Church and leads our efforts to reach Sydney’s Farsi-speaking community.
Liam Nolan
Interim Youth Pastor
Liam is leading a team of people who oversee our youth ministries.
Naomi Lawson
Part-time Ministry Worker
Naomi trains leaders and fosters healthy teams across St Paul's.
Philip Gunning
Operations Manager
Noni Sinclair
Database Administrator & Safe Ministry Officer
Jo Wattle
Administrative Support
Cherinne Fernando
Accounts
Fiona Burton
Executive Assistant to Senior Pastor
Virginia Chen
Administrative Support (Chinese Church)
Andrew Phelps
Graphic Designer
Ian Lawson
Technical Officer
Jono Coy
MTS 2024–25
Jasmine Chen
MTS 2024–25
Ben Robinson
MTS 2024–25
Anna Robinson
MTS 2024–25
St Paul’s is committed to raising up gospel workers to send out into God’s great harvest.
One way we do this is by training ministry apprentices, who undertake a two-year practical ministry training program under the supervision of an experienced pastor.
Nikhil Kurien
Moore College
Lisa Newnham
Moore College
Liam Nolan
Moore College
Pastors Team
Raj Gupta
Senior Pastor
Raj oversees the teaching, vision, strategy and staff team of our church as we seek to reach, love and serve under Jesus.
Peter Baker
Magnification Pastor
Peter oversees our teams helping people to glorify God by loving, worshipping and delighting in him—on Sundays and throughout the week.
Kelly Landrigan
Membership Pastor
Kelly leads our membership ministry, so everyone can be connected into a vibrant community of faith and love.
Pip Witheridge
Mission Pastor
Pip directs our efforts to reach out to others with the good news of Jesus.
Sophie Witheridge
Maturity Pastor
Sophie works to see all our members growing deep in God’s word and prayer.
Sarah Lancaster
Children's Pastor
Sarah leads our kids ministry teams to help children grow in their understanding and love for Jesus.
Victor Chen
Chinese Church Pastor
Victor pastors our Mandarin-speaking congregation, as they reach out to the multicultural community of Carlingford and beyond.
Other Ministry Workers
Mohammad Shahmaleki
Farsi Church Pastor
Mohammad pastors Farsi Church and leads our efforts to reach Sydney’s Farsi-speaking community.
Liam Nolan
Interim Youth Pastor
Liam is leading a team of people who oversee our youth ministries.
Naomi Lawson
Part-time Ministry Worker
Naomi trains leaders and fosters healthy teams across St Paul's.
Ministry Support
Philip Gunning
Operations Manager
Noni Sinclair
Database Administrator & Safe Ministry Officer
Jo Wattle
Administrative Support
Cherinne Fernando
Accounts
Fiona Burton
Executive Assistant to Senior Pastor
Virginia Chen
Administrative Support (Chinese Church)
Andrew Phelps
Graphic Designer
Ian Lawson
Technical Officer
Ministry Trainees
Jono Coy
MTS 2024–25
Jasmine Chen
MTS 2024–25
Ben Robinson
MTS 2024–25
Anna Robinson
MTS 2024–25
St Paul’s is committed to raising up gospel workers to send out into God’s great harvest.
One way we do this is by training ministry apprentices, who undertake a two-year practical ministry training program under the supervision of an experienced pastor.
Student Ministers
Nikhil Kurien
Moore College
Lisa Newnham
Moore College
Liam Nolan
Moore College
Integrity & Transparency
At St Paul’s, we seek to be transparent and full of integrity while caring for those who are vulnerable. This reflects the God we serve and the kind of community he calls us to be.
Child protection at St Paul’s
We are committed to protecting and promoting the physical, emotional and spiritual safety of children within our church community. Our children and youth leaders have a Working with Children Check, and stay up to date with their Safe Ministry training. This is the Sydney Diocese’s best practice program, equipping those who work with children and vulnerable people on safe ministry practices.
If you have any concerns or questions, you can contact our Safe Ministry presentative, Noni Sinclair, or call the Safe Ministry Abuse Report Line on 1800 774 945.
Read more about how St Paul’s builds a culture of safe ministry here.
Behaviour standards for our church workers
Jesus says that those who serve in his name have a special responsibility to protect the most vulnerable. In the New Testament, Christian leaders are to set an example to the faithful and pursue lives of godly conduct – in word and deed, in relationship with others, and in self-control. St Paul’s Anglican upholds the Faithfulness in Service Code of Conduct amongst its pastoral team. This is a national code for personal behaviour in the practice of pastoral ministry for clergy and church workers.
You can read the Code of Conduct here.
If you wish to raise concerns, you can contact our Senior Pastor Raj Gupta, or make a report with the Sydney Diocese’s Professional Standards Unit by calling 1800 744 945.
Our governance structure
St Paul’s Carlingford and North Rocks is a parish in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, operating under the authority of the Archbishop of Sydney and the Ordinances passed by the Synod.
Our church members regularly elect parish officeholders who oversee the governance and administration of resources at St Paul’s. This helps maintain a healthy, safe, and well-run church that is equipped to serve its members and the wider community.
Good governance also ensures we are transparent and ethical in all of our processes. Our officeholders work with the Senior Minister and ministry staff at St Paul’s, but independently bear the responsibility of administering our church’s finances and assets, and managing risk.
For a full description of each officeholder’s role, please get in touch.
Our 2024 parish officeholders are:
Parish Council
The governing body for the financial and property affairs of St Paul’s.
Heather Archbold (EMC rep), Fay Dunn (MC rep), Kai Liang (CC rep & Treasurer), Joyce Shao (AC rep), Mehrzad Shariati Najafabadi (IC rep), Luke McElveney (NC rep), Matt Toose, Luke Pearce, Owen Craig (Warden), Di Swanton (Warden), Tony Archer (Warden), and Raj Gupta.
Church Wardens
Responsible for the administration of financial, property and employment activities at St Paul’s.
Owen Craig, Di Swanton, and Tony Archer.
Synod Representatives
Members of our church who represent St Paul’s Anglican at Synod.
Robyn Donohoo and Don Lee.
Parish Nominators
Members of our church who represent St Paul’s in the decision-making process to appoint a new senior minister, should a vacancy arise.
Rob Binskin, Laurie Boxwell, Ernest Paw, Iris Yamagishi, and Bruce Bailey.
Our finances
Ministry activities at St Paul’s are funded solely by the generosity of our church members. We seek to handle our finances with integrity and transparency; you can view our latest audited accounts here.
Our pastors are remunerated according to Sydney Diocesan guidelines for Parish Ministry Staff. These guidelines contain details of the recommended minimum stipends, allowances and benefits. Remuneration for other staff is in line with appropriate employment awards.