Richard Smith
Elder
About Me
Aukje and I met at Youth With A Mission in Amsterdam many moons ago where we were on staff for a part of their training program. We spent a couple of years there before we moved to Switzerland to be part of an NGO setup partly by YWAM called MEDAir where we supported teams working in countries in emergency situations. We left there to be based in the UK for 10 years where we started our family. After 10 years - 2006 - we immigrated to NZ, Aukjes home country.
I have been involved in software since I was 17 and have been running my own small businesses since 1995 all around providing software solutions in different ways. Since 2012 Aukje and I started and have been running infoodle, a software solution for churches and charities around the world. My church background started in the house church movement of the UK, from there I went to YWAM and after a challenging few years in the UK reconnected to church at Bethlehem Baptist soon after we arrived in NZ. I was a member helping in various roles including 5 years on and chairing the management team. I've been a part of GSB since the start.
What Do I Bring to the Eldership Role?
My background has brought me to have a different outlook on many aspects of church life - not coming from a Christian family, not going to churches with any kind of structure or liturgy, living and working in different countries and navigating the challenges of running businesses in all aspects means that I tend to approach church and church life from a different angle, and am happy to share with and learn from others as they navigate life their way. As I'm a detailed kind of person, I also tend to get involved in overseeing the finances at GSB and taking the minutes!
Hope for GSB
Overall I hope that the community of GSB is a long term, sustainable organisation that builds deep foundations with God individually and collectively. This is the start, after that is a solid commitment to the community around us so we can be a trustworthy group of people with Gods vision for the area.
