Salt Church Council
We have a Church Council that works with our Pastor to ensure we stay focused on our mission to:
grow a healthy church
that prayerfully proclaims the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ
calling people to trust in the perfect saving work of Jesus
and to humbly obey God’s Word,
in the strength of God’s Spirit,
to the glory of God in all things.
The members of our Church Council are:
Matt Sharpe Pastor
Barb Varcoe Treasurer
Garry Gannell Secretary
David Jennings Member
Susie Low Member
Jenny Schouten Member
Tim Smead Member
Matt Sharpe
Matt and his wife Mel joined Salt in March 2025, having served leading a church in New Zealand for the past 5 years. Matt now serves at Salt Community Church as Senior Pastor.
Barb Varcoe
Barb and Chris live in Port Macquarie and have been involved in Salt since 2019. Barb runs her own bookkeeping business, working for a wide variety of businesses in the district She loves mixing with people living diverse and interesting lives. Barb and Chris love the local lifestyle, keeping busy walking, golfing, surfing, cycling and enjoying meals with friends. Barb and Chris are involved in many ministry areas at Salt, including Barb serving as our Treasurer.
Garry Gannell
Garry and Liz have been part of the Lake Cathie/Bonny Hills community since December 2017. They have both retired from careers in teaching (almost). While they enjoy travelling and seeing outback Australia, and connecting with their scattered family from time to time, they also enjoy gathering and serving among their church family at Salt. Garry is serving Salt as our Church Secretary.
David Jennings
David and Jeanette joined Salt in January 2023. David was a chartered accountant for 40+ years, the last 24 of which were within the independent school sector, including management of large school building projects.
We love being part of the Salt community and serving others in a variety of ways.
Susie Low
After 25 years as CEO with remote Aboriginal communities in the NT, I returned to the east coast and joined the salt family in 2024. I wasted years thinking I knew best, finally accepting Jesus grace in 2000. I remain constantly amazed at how high, how deep, and how wide God’s love is.
It is with gratitude that draws me to seek to use my gifts to support our church’s vision.
Jenny Schouten
Jenny and her husband Rob have always been a team, sharing their passion for family, community ,education & adventure. Jenny was born & raised in the Hastings and never gets 'Home Sick' ...only when Rob takes her on another crazy adventure. Jenny loves any opportunity to share her love & gratitude to God for the life He has given her.
Tim Smead
Tim and his family have been with Salt since 2017 and Tim joined council in March 2025. Tim has also been very active in leading Salt groups and as member of the church's review panel.