Our Team
Grant & Sharon Dixon
Member Carers
Meet Grant and Sharon
Grant and Sharon have served with MAF for over 40 years. Grant spent the first 17 years of his MAF career in Papua New Guinea (PNG) as an aircraft engineer. They were then assigned to the heavy maintenance base in Ballarat, where Grant was responsible for Engineering Quality Assurance for the Asia Pacific region. Both were then involved in recruitment roles. Grant (now officially retired) works part-time as an engineer at the MAF hangar at Mareeba.
From 2013 to 2019, Sharon and Grant connected with MAF staff in the PNG, Timor-Leste and Arnhem Land programs through a pastoral care program. The now bring their understanding, experience, member care skills to the Red Sea – and we are so grateful to have them.
They have one son, Alastair, who resides in Ballarat. Their two beautiful granddaughters ensure they make regular trips south.s
Greg Brown
Counsellor & Senior Pastoral Supervisor
Meet Greg
B. Bus (H.R.), M.A. (Applied Ethics), Grad. Dip. Couns., Dip. Past. Supervision
Greg is a registered counsellor operating under the Code of Ethics of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), the Christian Counsellors Association of Australia (CCAA), and the Association of Pastoral Supervision & Education (APSE – UK).
Most of my work is with people whose roles relate to some aspect of Christian leadership and ministry. Together with my wife, Meryem (a psychologist), I have visited and worked short-term with cross-cultural teams in Central and South-East Asia.
Greg’s Counselling Approach
I see myself as a generalist counsellor. I work with individuals and couples. I am particularly interested in change and transitions, conflict transformation, loss and grief and relationship issues, as well as field preparation and debriefing.
Greg & Shirley Carlson
Team Lead, Coaching | Communication & Prayer
Meet Greg & Shirley
The Carlsons have been serving with One Mission Society since 1989, primarily in South America. They have made their home in Melbourne since 2021.
Greg has served in member care since 2017 and is a certified life coach and member of the International Coaching Federation. He is a passionate discipler of men and an experienced facilitator for sex addiction recovery. He says, “I love connecting people with their motivation and drive for growth and spiritual responsibility.” Greg is from Jackson, Mississippi.
Shirley was born in New Zealand and grew up in Brisbane. She is an RN and midwife and is ordained in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. She is a certified prayer minister through Deeper Walk International.
Greg and Shirley have four grown children: Micah (and Abby), Maddy (and Sam), Nico, and Tiffy.
Rachel Kopke
Administration
Meet Rachel
Rachel comes to The Red Sea with seven and a half years of ministry experience with Campus Outreach International. In that time, she served in both Australia and Thailand, in roles including teaching at a home-school cooperative, university campus ministry, women’s ministry director and providing member care for the Tasman region.
Rachel works three days a week in administration for The Red Sea.
Brian Paris
Red Sea Promotion
Meet Brian
Brian serves as the Pacific Area Director at Pioneer Bible Translators (Cairns)
Brian has been in leadership in cross-cultural ministries for 10 years in Papua New Guinea. His experiences there are why he values the Red Sea and its mission. The vast majority of people who leave ministry do so for preventable reasons including burnout, conflict, and trauma. It is Brian’s prayer that the Red Sea can help prevent some of that loss and help people who are trying to follow God’s call in their lives.
Brian volunteers for Red Sea working to promote the group so that everyone is aware of the help that is available.
Brian and his wife live in Cairns with their three daughters.
Would you like to work with us?
We are currently hiring counsellors. More information can be found here.