Michael Plaege
Lead & Mission Pastor
Michael is passionate about following Jesus and helping others love Jesus more. Michael moved to Wollongong in early 2020 with his wife Natalie and 3 teenager daughters when he took on the role of Lead Pastor of Salt Church. Michael is learning to surf and enjoys camping in the middle of nowhere without running water or wifi.
Geoff Ackman
Maturity & Ministry Pastor
Geoff loves helping people know God better. After a few years at a bible college, Geoff and his wife Fiona moved to Wollongong to join the Salt Church team. He’s a drum-playing martial-arts-student (with a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu!) and father of 3 kids, who doesn’t like long romantic walks on the beach because there’s no ankle support.
Andy Hobbs
Membership & Magnification Pastor
Andy is passionate about welcoming people who don’t yet know Jesus to Salt and helping them find a place to belong. As the Membership and Magnification Pastor, he loves seeing the church grow in both depth and number. When he’s not at church, Andy can be found playing music, board games, hunting for new bands, or at the beach with his wife Keris and their five awesome kids.
Fiona Ackman
Next Gen Director
Fiona (Fee) loves an active lifestyle, to read and talk deeply with her husband Geoff and their 3 kids. Living in Mangerton, Fee is passionately overseeing the kids ministry (0-18 year olds) at Salt. She is motivated to equip our church community to raise the next generation of lifelong disciples of Jesus across the Illawarra. Fee is always up for a yarn and a cuppa!
Jessica Houweling
Communications Leader
Jess joined Salt back in 2013, making her a true “OG” of the church family. As Communications Leader, she works hard to ensure everyone catches the vision and stays in the loop with everything happening in the life of the church. Jess is known for being level-headed and easy-going, but she’s also happy to tell it straight! Married to Stu with two kids, she loves live music, travelling to new places, and has a minor obsession with putting cute stickers on every surface she owns.
Phoebe Evans
MTS Apprentice
Phoebe is one of our MTS Apprentices, bringing a creative and fun-loving energy to the Salt team. She is passionate about building community and loves a good coffee catch-up. Phoebe enjoys the great outdoors and getting lost in a good podcast, though she’s currently spending her spare time learning how to hip-hop dance. While she claims to enjoy “finding” new cafes, she’s actually a professional at returning to the same few cafes every single time.
Administration Committee
Michael Plaege – Chairman
Andrew Fisher – Treasurer
Alysha Hack – Committee Member
Keith Haines – Committee Member
Zane Wilde – Committee Member
Review Panel
Greg Lee – Senior Pastor, Hunter Bible Church
Peter Blanch – member at 10:45 am gathering
Andrew Brown – member at 10:45 am gathering
Steven Hancock – member at 5:00 pm gathering
Tony Williams – member at 9:00 am gathering
Peter Stevenson – member at 10:45 am gathering
Safe Ministry Representatives
Hannah Baker – member at 9:00 am gathering
Thomas Wong – member at 10:45 am gathering
Kelly Hancock – member at 5:00 pm gathering
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