Phillip Jensen, Founder: Phillip is well-known in Australia and the UK as a gifted Bible teacher and ministry visionary. After many years as the Pastor of St Matthias Church , Sydney, and the Chaplain to the University of New South Wales, Phillip has recently become the Anglican Dean of Sydney, and the Director of Ministry Training for the Sydney Anglican Diocese. Under God, Phillip has recruited and trained many young men and women for full-time gospel ministry, and initiated a number of very significant ministry organizations, including the Ministry Training Strategy and Matthias Media. Phillip and his wife, Helen, live in Sydney and have three adult children (and a growing number of grandchildren)
Tony Payne, Publishing Director: Tony Payne trained for ministry through the Ministry Training Strategy, and in 1988 began work as Matthias Media's first editor. Since then, Tony has accomplished a great deal: with his wife, Alison, he has grown a family of five children; he has completed a degree in theology at Moore Theological College; and he has overseen the development of Matthias Media, writing or otherwise.
Ian Carmichael, Operations & Finance Director: In 1988, Ian took over from Tony Payne as the St Matthias Church Administrator, also lending assistance from time to time with some of the business aspects of the fledgling publishing house. Gradually, the publishing business took over more and more of Ian's time, until a new Church Administrator was found and Ian became the full-time business manager for Matthias Media. Ian and his wife, Stephanie, have two children.
Karen Beilharz, Editor: Karen joined Matthias Media at the beginning of 2005. She edits pretty much anything that's put in front of her. She is one of the few in our office who does not like coffee. She does, however, have a great fondness for hot chocolate, green tea and Chinese peanuts. She completed a Bachelor of Creative Arts in Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong in 1999, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English at the University of New South Wales in 2000 and a Diploma in Bible and Missions at Moore Theological College in 2005. Her husband, Ben, is currently studying at Moore Theological College.
Guy Betbeder-Matibet: Order a resource, and there's every chance it will be packed and dispatched by Guy. A relatively new member of staff, Guy has an IT background and is already investigating ways to computerise a number of our dispatch functions, including the completion of Australia Post paperwork.
David Chapman, Accountant/Bookkeeper: After many years of experience in accounts in small business he joined the team in March 2004. David works behind the scenes assisting the Finance Director by processing monthly accounts and filling out various government forms. He also keeps the staff happy by paying them. He is married to Ruth and has two grown up sons.
Gordon Cheng, Resources Editor: Gordon is married to Fiona and father of three girls. He worked for ten years as a senior staffworker with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students at Melbourne University, and then at a number of churches in Sydney as an Anglican minister. Gordon moved to Matthias Media in February 2004 to put his years of ministry experience to use in generating new resources for gospel work. As Resources Editor, his brief is just about anything that's not The Briefing. Personal motto (from Rocky and Bullwinkle): “This time for sure!”
Anna Cole, Customer Service: Anna joined the Matthias Media team in June 2002. Her role includes answering customer calls and processing orders, and ensuring that Briefing subscriptions are kept up-to-date. As part of the female contingent of the office, she tries to ensure that conversations about footy are kept to a minimum, and that chocolate and fine music are regularly on hand.
Warren Doyle, Customer Service: Warren is responsible for the smooth and efficient running of our Customer Service Department. This involves answering customer calls, processing and dispatching orders and regulating the stock in our warehouse.
Joy Lankshear, Graphic Designer: Whilst not strictly an employee of Matthias Media, Joy does so much of our design work she might as well be. (In fact she once was!) Together with her husband Dave, she is one of Australia's top designers, yet spends much of her time on Christian projects. For more evidence of her skill, check out her web site.
Glendon Mar, Advertising Manager: Next time you hear a smoke alarm go off in our office, there’s a good chance Glendon is making toast. When not creating noise with smoke alarms, Glendon is employed to create noise for our resources through Briefing ads, resource guides, Taste & See, brochures and more. Glad to be finally copywriting for a product he can believe in, Glendon and his wife Sharon have two young kids.
Simon Roberts, Multimedia Editor: Simon joined Matthias Media in 2003 after completing a Bachelor of Theology at Moore Theological College. Simon's role is to expand our range of non-print resources, including Bible talks on CD, DVD and video-based training material and multimedia CD-ROMs. Within a few years he hopes that everyone will not only know what an MP3-CD is, but how to play one! Simon and his wife, Alison, have two children.
John Sammut, Sales Representative: John is responsible for sales opportunities in churches and other Christian ministries, while also establishing and meeting customer needs. The role includes the management and development of sales systems and strategies. John has face-to-face contact with our customers and explores new opportunities to sell our resources. John is enthusiastic and excited about helping any Christian ministry to grow and share the gospel.
Emma Thornett, Publishing Assistant: Emma exists to facilitate the work of the Publishing Department (at least during work hours). This especially involves assisting Tony Payne in his day-to-day administration, as well as ensuring everyone else in the Editorial department does their jobs. Emma loves cats and is, according to previous work mates, ‘frighteningly efficient’.
The Board of Directors: The ‘faceless men’ that oversee all that we do, and keep us on the straight and narrow as an organisation.