David was born in New Zealand, and blessed with a strong Christian upbringing. He grew up on a farm, which he was to inherit. However, as a young adult, God intervened, inspiring him to live a life characterised by gratitude and service to God. In 1990, God led David to leave NZ to work within YWAM Australia.

Carrie was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. Also coming from a very strong Christian background, her parents have been involved in sending out and supporting missionaries for many years. They taught us about sacrificial service to the Lord – whether it be going or supporting those who do.

As a young teenager, Carrie responded at a missions conference, committing her life to serving the Lord, whatever that looked like. After qualifying as a Speech Pathologist and working in the field for a few years, God began speaking to her about making the “going” part of this more of a reality.

The first step was a Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Goulburn, NSW, where she and David met. They married in late 1991 and soon after their wedding (on their honeymoon!), they were invited to join Rod and Anne Thorpe to start the new YWAM Centre in Newcastle. They were appointed the directors three years later.

Over the years, as David and Carrie have led, YWAM Newcastle has developed the Institute for the Nations, pioneered Youth Street and acquired their warehouse property, to name a few areas. God has used David’s creative and visionary mind, along with Carrie’s wise and deliberate sense of order, to raise a wonderful and talented team of leaders.

Over the years, Carrie has been involved in a wide variety of roles, but being wife to David and mother to their three children would definitely be her favourite and most fulfilling. David and Carrie have three adult children – Nathan 28, Chloe 25 and Abbey 22.

A few years back, David completed an Executive Masters degree in Leadership – he loves learning! That love for learning has also translated into deeper areas of influence through teaching, often traveling nationally and internationally to speak on topics such as the Father heart of God, identity, the character of God and leadership development. If you are interested in reading some of David’s written assignments, check out his biographical study of William Wilberforce here.

Carrie loves to see young people, staff and students alike, grow in understanding of themselves and their giftings and settle into the purposes God has created them for. Strengthsfinder (web based personality assessment) has been an area she has studied deeply in order to help people understand how they and the people around them tick, what they thrive on and what roles will make use of their unique giftings. She has a mathematical/logical take on life, that sees her getting involved in systems and bringing order to things.