April 24-27
Guy Mason
Lead Pastor, City On A Hill | VIC
Guy Mason is founding Pastor of City on a Hill in Melbourne, Australia, a church committed to knowing Jesus and making Jesus known in our city.
Brought up in a non-Christian home, Guy experienced both the glory and garbage of life at a young age, leaving him with a sense of restlessness and questioning. He found his answers in Jesus at the age of 15, and now spends his life trying to share with others the peace, joy, hope this knowledge has given him.
City on a Hill is a unique church, enjoying rapid growth in attendance over its four years of existence. It began with a small team and a big vision, meeting initially in an apartment, before moving to a pub, and then a Cinema. It is well known for a contemporary use of multimedia and creative communication in reaching out to a city known for its style.
With a previous background in Media and Communication, Guy’s unique communication skills have allowed him to connect with a wide range of audiences, both inside and outside the church.
A passionate, humble and uncompromising speaker, Guy presents classic truths in contemporary style, challenging people to embrace the new life God offers. “Jesus can be so much more to people than just a swear word,” believes Mason. His clear and relevant Christian perspective is regularly sought by such media outlets as Sunrise, Triple J, The Age, The Herald Sun and City Weekly.
As a dedicated Church planter, Guy is a member of the worldwide Acts 29 group and heads up the Advance Church planting network in Australia. His focus is on supporting City on a Hill, and other Churches, to expand.
He is married to Vanessa and Dad to three, a Daughter and two Sons. He holds a BA in Public Relations and a Masters in Divinity.
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George Savvides
Chairman of World Vision | VIC
George Savvides was appointed Chairman of World Vision Australia in July 2012.
George Savvides is the Managing Director of Medibank, Australia's largest health insurer, and was appointed in 2002. The organisation has enjoyed record membership growth and strong financial performance and expanded into health services as well as health insurance. He was Managing Director of Sigma Co Ltd, which he listed on the ASX in 1999.
George has twenty five years' experience in the Australian health care industry. He has an Honours degree in Industrial Engineering from UNSW and an MBA from UTS and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also Vice President of the Council of the iFHP (International Federation of Health Plans). He was Chairman of Arrow Leadership Australia and has recently been reappointed as a Director of World Vision Australia. He previously served for 12 years on the World Vision Australia board and was also on the World Vision International board over some of that time.
Dr Nathan Grills
Public Health Physician | VIC
Dr Nathan Grills is a Rhodes Scholar, Public Health Physician and NHMRC post-doctoral fellow with the University of Melbourne’s Nossal Institute for Global Health. He works largely in India on disability, non-communicable disease and health curriculum development and training. He also has international experience in Africa, Fiji, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh and Nepal.
His wife, Claire, is a dermatologist who provides training and dermatology telemedicine services for local hospitals in disadvantaged areas.
More speakers to come - watch this space!
Dr Jeremy Beckett
General Practitioner | WA
Dr Jeremy Beckett is a GP working in Geraldton (WA) in anaesthetics and emergency medicine. He and his wife Bethany have been involved with CMDFA for fifteen years, and continue to explore the challenge of living out their faith in and through the practice of medicine.
In recent years they have been having babies (three so far), developing a Christian support service for women and couples with unplanned pregnancies, and are now preparing for medical mission in East Timor in 2016. They fellowship at the Lighthouse Church in Geraldton.
Jeremy is also passionate about teaching, and is the author of Tessellating: Starting out in Medicine and Dentistry, where faith meets practice.