Two Church of the Nazarene districts in Australia are receiving new superintendents.

The Australia-New Zealand Field and Asia-Pacific Region recently announced the appointment of Roland Hearn as the missional superintendent of the Australia North and West District Church of the Nazarene, effective November 1, 2015. They also announced the appointment of Satish Manmothe as the fifth district superintendent of the Australia Southern District. 

Hearn to lead Australia North & West District

Due to the geographic expansiveness of the Australia North and West District, there is a group of people sharing the responsibilities of the district superintendent. They are called missional superintendents. Hearn will serve as one of the missional superintendents on the district.

A member of the Church of the Nazarene since 1976, Hearn is the son of pioneer Australian Nazarenes Colin and Loy Hearn. In 1985, Hearn enrolled at Nazarene Theological College-Brisbane, where he met his wife, Emmy.

After graduating from NTC, the couple served as pastors in rural Queensland. Eventually, they relocated to Frisco, Texas, where they planted the NewStart Church of the Nazarene. They also started the NewStart RiverCity Church of the Nazarene on the north side of Brisbane.

Roland Hearn finished two Bachelor of Arts degrees at the University of Queensland (UQ). He is currently enrolled in the M.Phil. programme in practical theology at UQ where he is working on a thesis he hopes will become the basis for a future Ph.D.

In addition, Hearn serves as the dean of students at NTC, a position he’s held for nearly three years. He also serves as the founding director of the Culturally and Linguistically Diverse programme at NTC. The programme offers an Australian accredited undergraduate degree to students located in geographically remote areas outside of Australia who are also in financially challenging positions.

During the interview process, Hearn outlined his philosophy of ministry as based on the conviction that “God is love,” and that love is transformational, with holiness being the living out of that love.

“With all this in mind, I would invite the team on a journey of the discovery of love,” he said. “Our future will not only be determined by our strategies, efforts, and capabilities, but by our capacity to live out this love that is at the heart of our denominational understanding of our identity. We must value others, seek genuine relationship with each other, and be genuinely transformational together.”

Australia-New Zealand Field Strategy Coordinator John Moore, who was one of Hearn’s lecturers during his ministerial studies at NTC, responded to the announcement.

“I am confident that Roland will lead the district forward with grace and effectiveness in mission,” Moore said. “Let’s all join together in the spirit of Christ and the unity He prayed for, to serve a broken world with the love of God.”

Manmothe appointed DS for Australia Southern District

Manmothe, the fifth district superintendent in the Australian Southern District’s history, completed his bachelor’s degree in India before moving to Manila, Philippines, to study at Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary. While studying in APNTS, he became the student body president and a member of the pastoral team at the then Gethsemane Church of the Nazarene in Taytay. Manmothe graduated Cum Laude with a master’s degree in divinity.

He traveled to Samoa and served as a lecturer for two years. During this time he was granted his first local minister’s license. He then moved to Sydney, Australia, to enroll in the Master of Theology programme at the Australian College of Theology’s Morling College. While studying at Morling College, Manmothe served as associate pastor of the Birrong Church of the Nazarene in Sydney under the leadership of Pastor Bruce Allder, later succeeding him as senior pastor in December 1998.

Manmothe’s passion in the ministry of teaching is evident, as he also functioned as an adjunct professor in systematic theology at APNTS, an adjunct lecturer in missiology and theology at Nazarene Theological College in Thornlands, Queensland, and as a lecturer at Morling Baptist Theological College in Sydney.

Aside from being the current senior pastor of the Birrong church, Manmothe is also a member of the District Advisory Board and Board of Ministry of the Australia Southern District. In January 2015 he was elected to the board of Nazarene Theological College-Brisbane.

Manmothe was born into a third generation Nazarene family in India. He is married to Manisha, who serves as the district Nazarene Missions International secretary. They have one son, Avidan.

Satish, who was appointed on October 20, will commence his role as DS on November 1. 

--Church of the Nazarene Asia-Pacific Region (Steve Walsh and Satish Manmothe contributed to this story)