Sans Souci Anglicans are looking to a military man to lead them in their fight for souls in Sydney's south.
The Rev Trevor Young is the chaplain for 23 Field Regiment, based at Kogarah.
He has also been the rector of the Church of the Holy Redeemer at Helensburgh for the past ten years.
Mr Young was instrumental in shepherding the church from provisional parish to reclassification as a parish at the Sydney Synod this year.
Youth ministries were a key part of the parish expansion, with Mr Young's wife Rosemary running two "Playtime' sessions for the village, reaching over 60 families with pre-schoolers.
By contrast, Sans Souci is a city suburb facing significant cultural change.
Acting Rector John Lance says the traditional Anglo-Saxon flavour is giving way to an increasingly ethnic mix.
Mr Lance says the congregation's efforts to grow an evening service for young people are slowly bearing fruit, with six recent confirmations.
“It’s the first time we’ve ever been able to get school aged children coming to church at night in all the time I’ve been here. We usually get 20 and sometimes much more than that," he says.
Sans Souci Anglicans hope Trevor Young will be able to expand the inroads already made.
"We’re probably concentrating our strengths on children's and families' and youth ministries. Families need a younger minister and Trevor has children at school," Mr Lance says.
Trevor Young says he and his family will miss the Helensburgh village life, but he is looking forward to tackling the challenges of a city suburb.
“I still find it really important to be the minister for the whole village - now how I do that for the population of Sans Souci is going to be trickier. I’m a bit of an old style minister - walking the streets, getting to know the businessmen, the people,” Mr Young says.
Mr Young will also bring with him his status as the chaplain for an artillery regiment, meaning Sans Souci will now become the spiritual home for the unit.
"I'm keen for the church to see that connection as an extension of their parish ministry. It will mean several regimental services a year."
Mr Young already has his eyes on what Sans Souci will look like in 2015.
"I think one of the things we consider important is to bring people to a point where your job is redundant. We’re going to be working with existing teams, helping them to be ready to be the church it has to be in 10 years," he says.
Sans Souci will be welcoming their new rector to the parish this Saturday.
