Meet Corey and Carla

Corey and Carla, tell us about your family.

We’ve been married for 32 years. In that time, God has given us five delightful children. Our eldest daughter Heidi died at seventeen months. We miss her dearly but know she is safe in God’s arms. We now have four adult children—two are married and two are engaged—and we have three gorgeous grandchildren.

What does a typical week look like for you?

Corey heads to Riverstone to work most days, after having a ‘cino’ with his two-and-a-half-year-old grandson most mornings. We have family shareholdings in two refrigerated transport business, and two of our sons are now working in these businesses. Carla’s weeks are always an adventure: cooking, gardening, helping our kids with their kids. We usually cook for between 15–24 young adults on Monday nights; they then break into a couple of groups and go and do a Bible study and Christianity Explored course together.

Together, we try and work out in the gym three times a week, and we like working in the garden together. We attend a growth group on a Wednesday night and look forward to church at Cornerstone each Sunday.

What do you enjoy doing together on a day off?

Well it depends who you ask. Corey enjoys watching cricket or AFL depending on the season, while Carla enjoys getting jobs done around the garden. We also love catching up with the kids or friends and extended family for meals. We have been known to play Catan or cards with friends when time permits.

What are the things you appreciate the most about living in the Box Hill area? 

We live a bit further out than Box Hill. We love the space, the trees, the wonderful cultural diversity which brings lots of variety of food even in the local Coles. Doing just about all of our life in this area means we don’t tend to have to worry about traffic…yet.

How long have you been Christians, and who was it that first told you about Jesus?

This is a bit of a long and complicated answer for us, so make sure you ask us if you see us. the short answer is that we both heard about the saving grace of the gospel in 2001 when we were both approximately 30 years of age.

What has encouraged you from God’s word recently?

Carla: I’ve been encouraged by the growth group studies we’ve been doing. I’ve been reminded that God has given us the task of telling others about Jesus and that he graciously uses us in his plan. Romans 10:13–15 is very clear about it—people need to hear the good news.

Corey: I’ve also been encouraged from our recent study and sermon series. Matthew 9:36 says, ‘When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them.’ I want to feel that same compassion—to be moved to action to love and serve the community of Box Hill and beyond.

What are your hopes for your family and your children?

That Cornerstone would be a place that the community of Box Hill would look to as a place of hope; that people would feel welcome and included no matter what their background is. That we would model Jesus compassion. That we would both have health and energy to serve our community. That community gardens and playgroups and long lunches would be a place for the community to come and gather to hear the Gospel and make new lifelong friends.

Is there an amusing fact about you that you’d be happy to share?

Corey is always walking into the house wondering if the nice smells means that there’s something nice for dinner and/or dessert. But it usually turns out that Carla is cooking for other people. :)

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