IVAN and DEBBIE WESTBROOK

Senior Pastors of Church on the Rise Maleny

OUR BELIEFS​

  • We believe that the Bible is God’s Word. It is accurate, authoritative and applicable to our everyday lives.

  • We believe in one eternal God who is the Creator of all things. He exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He is totally loving and completely holy.

  • We believe that sin has separated each of us from God and his purpose for our lives.

  • We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ as both God and man is the only One who can reconcile us to God. He lived a sinless and exemplary life, died on the cross in our place, and rose again to prove his victory and empower us for life.

  • We believe that in order to receive forgiveness and the ‘new birth’ we must repent of our sins, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to his will for our lives.

  • We believe that in order to live the holy and fruitful lives that God intends for us, we need to be baptised in water and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to use spiritual gifts including speaking in tongues, which is the initial evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit.

  • We believe that God has individually equipped us so that we can successfully achieve his purpose for our lives which is to worship God, fulfil our role in the Church and serve the community in which we live.

  • We believe that God wants to heal and transform us so that we can live healthy and prosperous lives in order to help others more effectively.

  • We believe that our eternal destination of either heaven or hell is determined by our response to the Lord Jesus Christ.

  • We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again as he promised.

  • Our beliefs align with  Australian Christian Churches ( formally AOG)

A brief introduction of Senior Pastors

Pastor Ivan and Debbie have served actively in church life from the 70’s in a vibrant church. Ivan has for over 40 years, been involved in full time pastoral ministry, he has a passion to encourage and inspire others to love Jesus above all and promote Christian growth and transformation.

Early in 2024, they accepted the role of senior pastors at COTR Maleny. They are committed to seeing a dynamic community of all ages treasuring a Christ – centred life, connected and growing together in understanding, purpose and grace.

Family is their greatest achievement as a couple and they love their children, Ivan, Bridie, Justin and Amy along with their four wonderful grandsons. Ivan says that once he was the top of the tree with Debbie, but four grandsons and a cavoodle have given him tough competition.