THE STAND ACADEMY
Our Team
MARTIN WOOD
CO-FOUNDER
Married to Natalie, with 4 boys of his own, Martin has over 25 yrs experience working with youth in different roles. Youth leader, youth pastor, crisis youth worker, sports coach, boys club leader, campsite manager, mentoring and currently teaching.
JORDAN TIME
CO-FOUNDER
Married to Beth, with 3 boys and a girl, Jordan has over 15 yrs experience working with youth in different roles. Youth leader, worship leader, sports coach, mentoring, scout leader, Sunday school teacher, community worker and currently teaching.
Support Team
BRAD O'REILLY
PROGRAM ASSISTANT
Over 7 Years experience in youth work. Coaching and mentoring youth is his passion. Brad a qualified counsellor can relate to young people and has fantastic leadership skills.
TRACEY PETERS
CATERING MANAGER
Over 30 Years experience as a teacher and in the hospitality industry. Tracey, along with her family, ensure everyone is catered for during our programs.
AARON BOWER
TECHNICAL ASSISTANT
Over 15 years experience in the IT industry. Aaron has a diverse range of skills. There is no problem that Aaron cannot find a solution for.
We strongly believe in the importance of family, and we strive to promote and protect the family unit. There are enough people out there in the world trying to tear down families. We desire to partner with you, with the common goal of seeing your child be secure in their identity (Who am I? Who is this ‘me’ that I must live with each day?) and released into their destiny (Why am I here? What is my purpose?)
As parents, we play a pivotal role in this process. We can either secure them in this pursuit through quality time, encouragement and support, or we can use busyness, apathy, ignorance or our own hurts stop us and let our children search in other places to find the answers they need.
As children enter their teenage years, a fathers/father figures influence is more critical. A “Fathers Blessing” can help set our children on a pathway to success in many areas while avoiding various potential pitfalls if they were to struggle with an identity crisis. Having fathers/male role models spending quality time, affirming and speaking to the child’s potential is our desire and we would love to help facilitate this.
Unfortunately, some children do not have their fathers around due to divorce or loss. I understand this struggle personally, as my parents divorced in my teenage years. Looking back, I did long for affirmation and validation from my father and even though I know he loves me and is proud of me, it was something he struggled doing, due to his own upbringing and personal hurts. Fortunately for me, I had some great male role models growing up, that were able to step in and fill the gap when needed.
The Family system is the most powerful system in the world and it is, for this reason, we hope to facilitate and provide time and space for the family, particularly Fathers and their sons to explore a culture of blessing, love, and acceptance, firm in faith and strong in character.
Be Blessed and live with passion,
Marty
The T-Shirt logo design came together to incorporate 5 different elements important to "The Stand" programs.
Element | Rationale |
---|---|
The Stand | Making a Stand in life. Life won't be the same again. |
Standshake | Mateship, doing life together. |
Fire | Having a passion from within to follow, drive and focus you. |
Shield | Taking life head on, accepting challenges and being ready. |
Est 2015 | Important to remember where we came from and celebrate milestones. |