News
NETworks Issue 3 2021
In this issue: Thank You To Executive Director · Archbishop’s Fundraising Dinner · Wrap-Up Week · New Executive Director Appointed
FAREWELL 2021
THANK YOU TO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
As the end of the 2021 NET year drew to a close, Mark Doyle (Executive Director of NET Ministries) decided to call time on his sixteen years with NET Ministries, eight of those as Executive Director of NET Ministries Australia. In this interview, we will hear from Mark about some of his experiences and what he takes away from the many years with NET.
Q. Mark, since announcing your resignation from the role as Executive Director of NET, you have received many accolades from the Board of NET, from Staff, from Netters themselves as well as many others – how do you feel about what you’ve been able to achieve over the last eight years?
The Lord has achieved some incredible things with the help of all the NET Staff over the past 8 years. There have been ups and downs, highs and lows, but there are a few things that I’m really proud of. One was introducing NET teams to university campuses through our Francis Xavier (FX) Mission and the whole rebranding, rethinking and renewal process that came along with that. Another was our mission outreach to Cape Town, South Africa. The young people of Cape Town have much more faith culturally than young people in Australia but have few opportunities to go on mission. To be a part of engaging with the Diocese of Cape Town in discerning God’s path for NET in South Africa was an incredibly rich and exciting experience.
Q. No doubt many people would ask the question “why now?”
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1a). When I was discerning coming to Australia in 2009, as a new husband and father, I received a scripture from the Lord from Matthew 2:13 that said, “… an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to a foreign land. Stay there until I tell you…” I believe that I was called by God to Australia for a specific purpose and mission and for a while now I have sensed that the mission was coming to an end. Earlier this year the Lord was clear with me that the time had come and so I have tried to be obedient to that. Being a part of NET is not a job – it’s a call and you need to follow that call. I have followed that call into NET and now I will follow that call out of this role to wherever the Lord decides to lead me next.
Q. How do your family feel about such a significant decision?
It’s massive. My wife Renee has been a part of NET her entire life. Renee and I met on mission together with NET in Canada. My oldest son Ethan was only 6 months old when we moved to Australia and I started working for NET here. My family has been deeply engaged in NET and it has been a part of our family life and culture from the beginning. My children don’t know what January looks like apart from NET training! So, the kids are all feeling the impact of this decision and they were really sad about it until they realised that they would still get to go to NET trainings because even though I’m leaving, Renee is still working for NET.
Q. Over the years, you must have learnt a great deal about leadership? What are some of your takeaways?
My leadership has never been tested the way that it has been the past two years, and something has been called out of me through the COVID pandemic that has been surprising, even for me. It has really cemented in me some core ideas around a model of leadership that is best summarised as servant leadership. Never has there been such a need as a leader to be honest and transparent about what is known and what is unknown, what is clear and what is not clear. It has required a radical authenticity where you must recognise your limits and call on the gifts and talents of the people around you to think strategically through many different scenarios, identify in each the positive and negative aspects, make the best decision that you can with the information in front of you and then weather the consequences of those decisions together. I think one of the gifts that God has given me is the gift of encouragement, and never have I needed to call the people under my leadership to exercise their faith and trust in God the way that I have these past 2 years. I’m so grateful to all the staff and the Netters for the way they have responded so generously and courageously to the challenges that have been presented.
Q. Any final thoughts?
I am the greatest recipient of NET. NET has given to me and my family much more than I have given it. I am so grateful for so many incredible people that I have met and for the beautiful relationships that God has allowed to flourish through NET over the past 16 years. In particular, I’m forever grateful that I met Renee through NET’s mission in Canada. She is such an amazing woman of faith. This mission, and the role of Executive Director can be extremely demanding. But through thick and thin, good times and bad times she has supported me and given so much of herself to NET. Nothing that has been accomplished over the past 16 years would have happened without her. Thank you to all for your incredible support. May each of you have a fruitful Advent and a blessed Christmas.
THANK YOU, MARK
ARCHBISHOP’S FUNDRAISING DINNER
Pictured: Guests at the Fundraising Dinner
Each year, Archbishop Mark Coleridge (Brisbane) throws his support behind our most significant fundraising event – the Archbishop’s Fundraising Dinner. We are so grateful for this support, which is a continuation from his predecessor, Archbishop Bathersby. Archbishop Mark gave us an update of developments within the Plenary Council and it was easy to make the connection between the ministry of NET and taking the mission of the Church forward as the church seeks to connect with young people into this 21st century.
One of our guests reflected on her experience of the dinner
Attending this year's fundraiser dinner was special, catching up with familiar and new people after quite some time apart. It was great to learn how NET has evolved and changed to meet the needs of young people in 2021. But the message and the heart of the ministry remains the same - person to person connections and relationships sharing the message of the gospel.
Belinda Marlow
We are grateful to more than 120 guests who attended the event and made a major contribution towards NET’s fundraising target for this difficult year of 2021.
WRAP UP WEEK
Pictured: Group in front of the Dining Hall at Debrief
At the end of every year, NET brings back all the volunteers for a Wrap-Up Week. The week includes a debrief of their experiences throughout the year, opportunities to share their various experiences as teams as well as having some down time before heading home to family and friends. Well, this turned out to be a week unlike any other in the history of NET. Of the four teams which were positioned across Australia and New Zealand, only two could return to Brisbane. The Darwin and Caloundra teams made it to Brisbane without too much trouble – although the long drive from Darwin was delayed by a Covid scare and the need for further testing on their return to Brisbane. The Hamilton team in New Zealand were locked out as were the Wollongong team.
Pictured: Sisterhood, online and in-person
As history has taught us, the missionary lifestyle can present all sorts of challenges. Congratulations to our NET teams who have embraced those challenges and have used the challenges to learn and to grow. Thousands of young people in Australia and New Zealand are grateful for your perseverance.
Over the course of the week, we were once again grateful for modern technology as we Zoomed our way through Wrap-Up Week. While not ideal, we have to say that the resilience and strength of our teams came to the fore as they embraced a difficult situation. We were also extremely grateful to those local areas who cared so amazingly for the teams during this time. Thankfully, our New Zealand team were all Kiwis and could return to home or at least to family in N.Z. Those of our Wollongong team who needed to come back to Brisbane have now all arrived safely.
NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
OF NET MINISTRIES APPOINTED
On Monday 29th November, the announcement was made that Mark Lysaght was to be appointed the new Executive Director of NET Ministries as of February 19, 2022.
Mark is already well known to many from his years working in the area of Vocations for the Archdiocese of Brisbane and in his current role as Associate Director, Identity & Mission - Office of the Vice President at Australian Catholic University. Mark also served on NET in 1996 and 1997 on the National travelling team and then worked on NET staff as a Team Supervisor and Recruiting and Marketing Coordinator from 2003-2005 and served on the NET Board of Directors as the Alumni representative from 2011-2015.
Mark is married to Nikki and they have three children. More from Mark in our next newsletter. NET Ministries welcomes Mark’s giftedness and broad experience of the Church in Australia as he takes on the role of Executive Director.
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As always, please pray for us as we seek to fulfill our mission. Thank you for your generosity.