Newlife forms 10 per cent of the Uniting Church in Queensland and, with recent church plants in the Brisbane CBD and Coolangatta, has become the largest Uniting Church in Australia.

Cameron succeeds Keith Garner, after other well-known predecessors Alan Walker and Gordon Moyes.

Wesley Mission’s CEO/Superintendent, the Rev Dr Keith V, Garner AM, said he was looking forward to welcoming Cameron at the end of the year.

He said the appointment came after an extensive search process “and the approval of both the Wesley Community Services Board and Wesley Mission Council.”

Reflecting on his appointment, Cameron said he had always admired Wesley Mission and its leaders.

“I am both excited and daunted by the prospect of contributing to Wesley Mission’s goal of serving Australians in word and deed,” he said.

Being head of Wesley Mission combines two roles, running a large welfare organisation and a leading a very large church. With a budget of $160 million, Wesley Mission operates from more than 200 centres and employs more than 2,000 staff.

Cameron has a long track record as a leader of evangelical churches in the Uniting Church. He was formerly Uniting Church General Secretary in South Australia and has been active in the evangelical leadership group known as Propel (formerly EL250) in the Uniting church.

Stu Cameron will become CEO/Superintendent of Wesley Mission after a time of handover in January 2021.