About Verve Lead

Who are the people
behind this?

Pastors, professional supervisors, psychologists and researchers – led by someone who came through severe burnout himself, and then researched the way back to health.

“Can I trust these people with my leaders?”

Supervisors who are trained

Supervisors who are supervised

Regular professional development

Read the evidence How Verve Lead began

Why does Verve Lead exist?

Verve Lead began with one leader’s own recovery. After journeying through severe burnout in 2014, Dr Don Easton conducted qualitative research to quantify ideal Christian leader health and to develop pathways to well-being. He founded Verve Lead to develop and multiply quality well-being mentors.

The team now consults with movements, develops mentors, and provides mentoring and professional supervision to executive, global and local Christian leaders. The purpose has stayed the same – to lift the buoyancy and resilience of Christian leaders, and with them the well-being, sustainability and safety of the communities they serve.

How Verve Lead began

What standards do we hold ourselves to?

Supervision only helps if the supervisor is being looked after too. These are the standards every Verve Lead supervisor meets.

They are trained

They are themselves professionally supervised

They take part in regular professional development

Our supervision looks at how an issue is affecting a person’s ministry practice, and it sits outside line management. That independence is what makes supervision work.

“a broad space to talk about whatever is happening in ministry”

Pohly, K. (2001). Transforming the Rough Places: the Ministry of Supervision, p9

How does supervision work?

Supervision builds self-awareness, relationship awareness and contextual awareness. It helps you notice the blind spots, and come to a more accurate understanding of your own health and practice.

It begins with a contract – confidentiality, how personal matters are handled, what you expect and need, and the goals you are working towards
Then regular sessions – in person or on Zoom, where you bring whatever you want to explore. The best outcome comes from 8 sessions a year
A review each year – where it either concludes, or renews for another year

Who would you be working with?

Ministry years, formal qualifications, and the part each person plays.

Professional supervision

Founder and CEO

Dr Don Easton

Don came through severe burnout in 2014, then conducted qualitative research to quantify ideal Christian leader health and develop pathways to well-being. His 45 years of ministry include 31 as a Senior Minister and 10 on a national executive. He wrote 2 books on it: Burnout and Beyond, and Creating a Vision for Health.

Professional supervisor

Steve White

Steve has been in pastoral ministry for over 30 years as a church planter, senior minister, overseer, area director and C3 Australia executive member. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Professional Pastoral Supervision from St Mark’s National Theological Centre, and belongs to the Australian Christian Mentoring Network.

Registered psychologist

Edwina Stonebridge

Edwina is a registered psychologist with over 20 years of practice, and an ordained local church pastor. She works with pastors, ministry staff, chaplains, missionaries and Christian leaders across denominations, in Sydney or on Zoom, and offers group supervision as well.

Ordained minister and supervisor

Deborah Candler

Deborah is an ordained minister, lecturer, professional supervisor and the published author of 3 books. She spent 12 years overseeing the health and welfare of women pastors and leaders on the Gold Coast, and holds a Master’s in Ministry and a Graduate Certificate in Theology.

Ordained C3 senior minister

Shiree Ross

Shiree has 17 years of pastoral experience, and a background of over 30 years in registered nursing. She completed a Certificate in Professional Supervision in 2023 and is studying trauma-responsive practice at post-graduate level. She planted C3 Church Invercargill with her husband David.

Team leader, New Zealand

Wayne Peat

Wayne has over 38 years of experience in pastoral ministry leadership. He leads the C3 Pacific Pastors Support team and oversees C3 Fiji. His book Staying Power looks at what leads to the high attrition rate in ministry, and at ways of coming through it.

Mentor development

Don, Wayne and Shiree develop mentors as well.

Senior Minister, C3 Church Invercargill

David Ross

David planted C3 Church Invercargill with his wife Shiree, after 20 years owning and running a dairy farm and pastoring a church in Miranda. He has served on the C3 Pacific oversight team and is on the C3 Pastors support team, caring for pastors.

SE Queensland, New Zealand and Zoom

Dr Craig Heilmann

Craig lectures in ministry and social science at Christian Heritage College, where he leads the Master of Ministry Leadership programme, and sits on the human research ethics committee at Bond University. His masters and doctoral degrees in theological ethics are from Duke University.

C3 Southern Africa

Asaph Gibson Jeka

Asaph planted his first church in 2011 and serves as Head of Church Planting and Expansion for C3 Southern Africa, as well as regional coordinator. He holds a Diploma in Ministry and Theology from C3 College, and has completed the Verve Mentorship Program as a professional mentor.

Aspire Network

Dr Doug Meye

Doug has served in ministry since 1980. He planted 2 very different churches and pastored the first of them for 20 years, and has led in the Aspire Network since 2010, helping pastors keep deepening and developing. His MDiv and DMin are from Fuller Seminary.

Directors and board

Director, Australia

Richard Botta

Richard has over 35 years in pastoral ministry. He and his wife Susan planted C3 Church Carlingford, he oversees 5 Australian C3 churches, and he is a Regional Director for South Asia with C3 Church Global. He holds a Graduate Certificate in Professional Supervision.

Board member, Australia

John Gillbank

John brings over 35 years in life coaching, pastoral ministry and human resource development. He served as Senior Minister of C3 Church Mackay for 35 years and led the C3 Leadership and Lifeskills Training College, alongside consulting work with businesses on the east coast.

Director, Verve Lead USA

Dr Wes Beavis

Wes is a licensed clinical psychologist who specialises in the mental health and well-being of ministry leaders, and has served for decades as a ministry leader in the United States and Australia. His doctorate in applied clinical psychology is from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Director, Verve Lead USA

Dr Mark Fields

Mark is Regional Dean Southern California at the Diocese of C4SO, and was previously Director of Global and Intercultural Ministry for Vineyard USA. He was Senior Pastor of Vineyard Community Church in Pomona, California, for more than 20 years, and attended Fuller Seminary.

Research and advisors

Development consultant

Dr Chuck Ridley

Chuck brought his expertise in measurement and assessment to the Health of a Christian Leader Profile and the Christian Well-being Mentor Profile. He has worked extensively on mentor competencies and supervised a qualitative international research project. His PhD in Counselling Psychology is from the University of Minnesota.

Development consultant

Dr Bob Logan

Bob has over 40 years of ministry experience across church planting, pastoring and equipping leaders. Through coaching, consulting and training he builds practical, principle-based resources that leaders can put to work in their own context, and counts it a privilege to walk alongside them.

Advisor, and Don’s mentor

Dr Keith Farmer

Over the last 15 years Keith has mentored an aggregate of about 200 Christian leaders from a wide range of ministries across Australia. He holds that mentoring is a major resource for keeping Christian leaders healthy, and has been Don’s mentor and coach in mentoring since 2015.

Azusa Pacific University

Dr Chris Adams

Chris is Executive Director of the Center for Vocational Ministry at Azusa Pacific University. He consults to denominations and seminaries on clergy health, candidate assessment and pastoral leadership formation, and is a senior research associate with the Flourishing in Ministry project at the University of Notre Dame.

Support team

Content editor

Adrienne Easton

Adrienne taught children and pastored for years before completing a Master of Creative Writing in 2020. She edits for Verve Lead, writes fiction and poetry, and belongs to the Gold Coast Writers Association and the Gracewriters Community.

Content creator

Cecelia Meserve

Cecelia is a freelance writer working in ghostwriting and in content for blogs and websites. She loves helping people bring their ideas to the page and find the shape of them. Her degree in English is from Hope College.

Website strategy and design

Josh Easton

Josh combines form and function to build systems and user experiences that people can actually use. He is also the Senior Pastor of C3 Church Robina, and has a passion to help people and churches thrive.

Where does the assessment come from?

The Health of a Christian Leader Profile and the Christian Well-being Mentor Profile were developed with Dr Chuck Ridley, whose field is measurement and assessment, and who supervised a qualitative international research project on mentor competencies. Don’s own qualitative research, done after burnout, sits underneath both.

Read the evidence

Would you like to talk it through?

A conversation will tell you more about whether we are the right people than a page about us can.

Start with a conversation

A complimentary conversation about professional supervision, with no obligation on either side.

Supervisors who are trained, and supervised themselves
Confidentiality settled before anything else
In person or on Zoom, wherever you are
Your own pace, and your own goals
Book a conversation