Two voices, one mission

Kaitlyn: It’s my privilege to take this opportunity to get to know you both. Tell us a bit about yourselves… 

Lyn: I’m based in Australia and call myself ABC, ‘Australian born Chinese.’ – I’m fourth generation Australian on my mum’s side and my dad is from Malaysia. We have a very multicultural, multi-generational family. I’m married to Richbek who has a British background, and we have two Central Asian sons. I enjoy archery and winning at board games – we’re all quite competitive! I like coffee and tea. I don’t like to study, but I love to learn. 

Chris: I was brought up in England and currently live in the West Midlands. My wife, Rachel, is from the USA and we met as Interserve Partners in Central Asia. We’ve been married for 18 years now and have three teenage children. Living in Asia, I got used to drinking tea, but I prefer coffee. I love being outdoors – that’s my happy place. 

Kaitlyn: You’ve both been around Interserve for a while… How have you been involved up to now? 

Lyn: I began supporting Interserve when I was a student. I went on to serve as a Partner in Central Asia, where I was also involved as a medical advisor and placements coordinator, and in member care and various other roles. My last role was as Regional Director for East Asia and the South Pacific. 

Chris: I began with Interserve in Central Asia where both Lyn and I served on the Country Leadership Team together. Then we moved to Southeast Asia, and I was part of the International Leadership Team for a while, also with Lyn! I was Director of People Services there for four years, and then Regional Director for Eurasia for four years. In 2020 we moved here to England and I’ve been National Director for Great Britain & Ireland for the last five years. 

Kaitlyn: That’s quite a scattering of roles – in Country Teams, National Offices and in International Leadership. How did you discern that this shared role as International Co-Directors was the way forward? 

Lyn: The most significant thing, from a theological point of view, is who God is. He is God in Trinity, three in one. Being in a relationship with Him, and with each other, is foundational. And it fits Interserve’s values. Mission across the globe is becoming more collaborative. As a fellowship, we’ve seen an increase in shared positions over the last ten years. We see God at work this way across Interserve. It’s an exploration, because it’s not a job share, it is that we’re both International Directors. 

Chris: International Director is a huge role – one person can only bring so much. Two people in the role means we offer a broader range of gifts, experiences, and perspectives. It introduces a new way of working, but also a stronger foundation to bring more diversity to a role like this. Different models are good at various times. This feels like a good thing to do now. 

Kaitlyn: As you go forward in this role together, the theme of partnership is going to be important. What does partnership mean for you? 

Lyn: Partnership is more than collaboration, and it’s more than that it ‘helps to get the job done’. I think it’s mutual submission, love, and grace. Partnership takes place at many different levels, and we partner with God in the gospel – we are co-labourers with Him. It’s an amazing privilege. 

Chris: Partnership is key to who we are as Interserve. We work at our best in situations where we embrace partnership. As a fellowship we’ve been there at the start of joint mission organisations in various parts of the world. And it’s the way that we encourage Partners to work in their own context. In Central Asia, I worked with a local pastor who had unique experiences and cultural insight that I would never have. I brought my skills and gifts, and it made it a much richer experience. We see that repeatedly. We’re not a fellowship that tends to jump up and down about what we do, and I love that about us. Interserve is at its best when God uses us to help catalyse things, and others may not even realise that we’ve been there. But that’s very much a Kingdom value. That’s God at work. 

Kaitlyn: That’s so true. I can sense that heartfelt partnership through both of you. Going forward, what makes you excited to be part of Interserve? 

Lyn: We have such fantastic people. There’s a sense of belonging – when I connect it always feels like ‘these are my people’. I can see that despite chaos in our world, God is still on his throne. We hear about amazing things that God is doing through his Church, through Interserve and the wider community. I’m excited to discover what God has in store for us… 

Chris: I love that we are an international fellowship – there are opportunities to build rich and deep relationships with people across diverse cultures who you wouldn’t meet otherwise. I’ve really enjoyed being National Director for the last five years, but I’m also looking forward – to working with the International Leadership Team, reflecting on what God is doing around our world and how He’s asking us to get involved. 

Kaitlyn: God is doing some amazing things in the world. But we also see that the world is changing. Both Interserve and the wider global mission community face various challenges. What do you think we’ll need to navigate in coming years? 

Lyn: One thing that immediately comes to mind is learning to love and listen to people who think very differently to us. Not just from different cultures – perhaps also from the same culture. How can we listen and love, and not just dismiss? 

Chris: Building on this, we’ve grown into this wonderful international fellowship, but our structures are still quite Western. Internally that is one of our biggest challenges. We’ve talked about this but not yet grasped how to make changes – how can we move forward in becoming a truly global fellowship? 

Kaitlyn: Big things for all of us to be grappling with. How can we be praying in this new season? 

Lyn: Pray for good listening – not just ears but listening hearts and minds. And pray for the grace and patience to wait and listen to what God wants us to focus on or take up. 

Chris: Please pray for our families as well – it’s a big adjustment for all of us. And pray for the relationships that we will be building with others across our international leadership – some we’ve worked with before and some new. We want to steward the role well. We come with a sense of awe and cautiousness – we want a stance of humility and of listening, but also the courage to step out when that’s the right thing to do. 

Kaitlyn: We will certainly be praying that God will continue to work in and through you both – thank you for everything that you’ve shared. We look forward to seeing how God will be at work!