Tributes have been paid to outgoing director of Evangelism Ministries David Mansfield who has finished up after 12 years heading Sydney’s team of itinerant evangelists.

50 friends, former staff and board members of Evangelism Ministries gathered on Friday night to hear tributes to Mr Mansfield from Nigel Fortesque, Stuart Robinson and Gary O’Brien.

Mr O’Brien, rector of St Matthew’s, West Pymble, who worked as an assistant to Rev Mansfield at Kiama in the early ‘90’s, gave a moving tribute to his former boss.

Referring to the children’s cartoon ‘Where’s Wally,’ Mr O’Brien told stories of ‘Where’s David’, and joked about the ministry staff at Kiama, Evangelism Ministries, and now St Philip’s, York Street, fielding calls for requests to speak to the boss - who was frequently out leading people to Christ either personally or at an evangelistic function.

He told of a West Pymble congretation member’s compliment to Mr Mansfield: ‘He was clear, interesting, Christ centered and manly.’

In 12 years at Evangelism Ministries, Mr Mansfield has trained many of our leading young evangelists including Kanishka Raffel, Dominic Steele, Karl Matthai, Red Fulton, Greg Peisley, Richard Chin, Nigel Fortesque, Adam Lamb and Scott Warner.

Mr Mansfield asked for prayers in his new role as rector of St Phillips York Street, and the planting of a new more contemporary congregation Sunday evenings.

Referring back to several attempts to close the Evangelism Ministries in the 1990s, Mr Mansfield asked for ongoing prayers for department’s core business of partnering local churches by providing itinerant guest speakers and the raising up of young evangelistic preachers.

Speaking later Christians in the Media’s ([url=http://www.christiansinthemedia.org]http://www.christiansinthemedia.org[/url]) Dominic Steele, who joined the department’s staff in 1997 said ‘I am profoundly thankful to God for the way David taught me to speak evangelistically.’

‘I still remember his first and most important lesson “Jesus is Lord and Savior, and that means we respond in repentance and faith.”’

‘It was David who first encouraged me to invest energy in developing Introducing God ([url=http://www.introducinggod.org]http://www.introducinggod.org[/url]), and then every time was going to give up, it was David and John Chapman who told me to keep going.’

In 2005 Mr Mansfield will be half time at St Philip’s, assisted by former Bishop of the Georges River Region Ray Smith, and in the remainder of his time will work as a part time evangelist/trainer for Evangelism Ministries.