Leadership Teams.
At Coast Community Church, our leadership is shaped by the New Testament vision of shared responsibility, spiritual discernment, and the mission of God. We believe leadership is not about holding positional authority but about equipping the body of Christ through a diversity of gifts. Rather than relying on a single senior pastor, we embrace a collaborative model where Elders, Overseers, and Hub Staff lead together, each contributing according to the fivefold graces of Ephesians 4. Our structure reflects our shared commitment to fellowship unto unity, formation unto maturity, and mission unto the renewal of all things.
Elders.
At Coast Community Church, Elders are appointed by partners, and are entrusted with the spiritual and missional oversight of the entire Coast Community enterprise. This includes Coast Community’s congregations at Tumbi Umbi and Bensville, the Coast Christian School, Coast Community Preschools, and our charitable arm, Coast Community Care. Elders carry governance, legal and fiduciary responsibilities as outlined in our constitution on behalf of the church alone. As independent legal entities, similar responsibilities for school, preschools and Care are the domain of their governing bodies.
As spiritual stewards, Elders carry the weight of discernment regarding the church’s overall direction, ethos, and alignment with our shared calling to contend for the renewal of the Central Coast. Their leadership is grounded in prayer, scripture, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and they operate not from a place of status, but as shepherds and examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:1–4). While Elders oversee the whole, they entrust all local ministry matters to the appointed Overseer Groups.
Gary Holdsworth
Co-Chair of Elders
Jill Hood
Elder & Tumbi Overseer
Phil Crossfield
Co-Chair of Elders &
Tumbi Overseer
Rohan Hoare
Elder & Bensville Overseer
Sandra Atkins
Elder
Overseers.
Overseers serve as the local elders within each faith community of Coast Community Church, providing on-the-ground spiritual oversight, care, teaching and leadership in community life. Appointed and commissioned by the Elders—not elected—Overseers are selected for their character, maturity, and willingness to serve as “beautiful examples to the flock.”
Their core responsibility is to shepherd each local faith community as a ‘community of becoming’—cultivating fellowship that fosters unity, and formation that nurtures maturity, all as preparation for and participation in God’s reconciling mission to the world. This includes nurturing the spiritual formation of the community, coordinating Sunday gatherings and local ministries, and fostering intergenerational fellowship that is both responsive to the Spirit and rooted in our shared convictions.
While they do not hold legal or constitutional authority, Overseers are vital to the health and vitality of our local church expressions, embodying the biblical call to all elders, to “shepherd God’s flock that is among you” (1 Peter 5:2).
Mission Hub Team.
The Mission Hub is the centralised support structure of Coast Community Church, providing shared administrative services and coordinated ministry leadership across our faith communities (Bensville and Tumbi) and mission expressions (School, Preschool and Care). All Church staff are employed through the Mission Hub.
Hub activities can be categorised across two streams - Capacity and Ministry. The Capacity stream includes operational and administrative functions that enable our church and mission expressions to focus on local ministry. This includes things like finance, facilities, communications, administration and compliance.
The Ministry stream includes the people and activities that are devoted to cultivating environments of Fellowship and Formation in our faith communities and education spaces. The coordination and development of teaching plans and resources, retreats and formational experiences take place here. All Ministers* of Coast Community Church belong to this stream and are ‘sent’ to contribute their gifts in their respective ministry contexts.
* 'Ministers' refer to staff that have been or are in the process of becoming formally endorsed by Churches of Christ as Ministers within the movement. Churches of Christ Ministers must meet and maintain a set of requirements in terms of qualifications, experience, ongoing development, and professional supervision, as well as being signatories of the Churches of Christ Code of Conduct.
