About St Matthew's
WHAT WE BELIEVE
The heart of our shared life together is a trust in Jesus and a love for God’s word. We love to dig deep into the Bible and have it go deep into us, both on a Sunday and in Growth Groups. We want the solid foundations for faith that can only be found in the Scriptures. We want to know the grace of God, because we have come to see that is our only hope and our greatest need.
We believe that God is good, life is a gift and that relationships with God, with each other and with the created world are the most important thing in life. At St Matthew's we want to be a community who love God, who love people and who nurture each person's trust in God.
We believe God speaks today through the ancient writings in the Bible and that he works his purposes in our lives as we receive his message.
We think that 'church' is people - people who recognise that we aren't perfect, who share a desire to be changed by God and to serve him and the world he created.
WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY?
At the heart of Christianity is Jesus - who he is and what he's done for our world. Jesus is God's promised King, and God's Son. He came to bring the Kingdom of God by being rejected, killed, and rising from the dead.
Now, Jesus invites people to join his Kingdom by repenting and believing this good news.
MEET THE TEAM
Evan McFarlane
Rector of St Matthew's
Evan is the Rector of St Matthew’s Shenton Park. He has 15 years experience in preaching, pastoring, mentoring and training in complex multi-site, multi-ethnic, multi-congregation churches. Evan is married to Bon and they have four children.
God revealed the grace of Jesus Christ to Evan as he has done with so many others, through the faith of his parents. It doesn’t make for the most interesting of stories, but it’s what he passionately prays for his children and all the children of St Matthew’s.
Roger Morey
St Matthew's Minister
Roger is married to Helen and they have three sons and one daughter. Roger grew up in Canberra in a Christian family, studied social work and theology in Sydney and has worked as a pastor in Sydney, and in Perth since 2000. He enjoys golf and bushwalking. He loves encouraging and equipping people as servants of Christ. He has been on staff at St Matthew's since October 2010.
Tyler Swartzentruber
St Matthew's Minister
By the grace of God, Tyler became a Christian through the patient prayer and discipleship of his parents. His marriage to Penny, their three children, and his experience in education and ministry are all testaments to God’s faithfulness. He enjoys exploring the Southern Coast with his family, quality music, all-sorts sport, American cereal and helping others to treasure Jesus.
Tom Conyers
St Matthew's Minister
Tom is married to Ying Jie and is the proud father of Reuben. Over the years he has done gospel work in a wide variety of contexts in both student work on uni campuses and in churches, both in Australia and overseas. Tom joined the team at St Matthew's in 2024 to oversee the 11am congregation.
In addition to teaching the Bible, Tom loves classical music and a bit of gardening.
Ben Smart
Unichurch Pastor
Ben's passion is to see as many people as possible knowing Jesus on the last day. Towards that end he moved to Perth in 2013 to work at St Matthew's and help plant and establish a new congregation, and then spent four years working with the Christian Union at UWA. In 2023 he came back on staff with St Matthew's as the pastor of the Unichurch congregation. Ben is married to his Canadian wife Alex, and they have three young Smarties.
Kaleb Hyde
Children's Pastor
Kaleb was born and raised in a wheatbelt town called Dalwallinu. He has been a part of the St Matthew’s family since 2010, has been serving on the St Matt’s Kids team since 2015 and became the Children’s Pastor in 2023. Kaleb loves to play tennis, sing loudly at any excuse and to see kids engaging with God’s word.
Lawson Smith
Youth Pastor
Lawson stepped into the Youth Coordinator role in 2024 and loves helping high schoolers mature in their relationship with Jesus.
Lawson’s ideal Friday night involves Zooper Doopers, 6-Square and discussing the big questions about God and life at Youth Group. Aside from his two days at St Matthew’s, you’ll find Lawson juggling his other job, time with his wife Siena, and a soccer ball.
