I didn’t start out strong in faith. My mum and dad were raised in the church, but as they got older, they stopped attending. Still, some things stayed in our home: prayer, respect and a deep reverence for God.
We weren’t allowed to curse or swear—especially not against God. My dad didn’t care who you were; if you disrespected Jesus, you were out.
Because of that, I grew up with a respect for God. But I didn’t really know Him.
In my early 20s, I was facing some tough times.
I lacked the education to help me process life’s challenges. I had left school at 15 but was never without a job. I knew early on that suits, admin or working indoors weren’t for me, so I thought, Why do I need to learn literacy?
My only outlet became sport and parties, but that just got me into more trouble.
I felt directionless, unsure of who I was and trying to fill the emptiness with the wrong things.
That’s when my uncle George Quinlan introduced me to Pastor Darren Garlett. It was through Darren that I really got to meet Jesus.
I remember visiting him one day at his house in Crescent Head, NSW. Before anything else, he showed me all his old V8 cars but what really caught my eye was his library.
He noticed me staring at the books and said, “Help yourself.”
I didn’t really want to. At the time, I didn’t read well. I had struggled with reading all my life and I didn’t enjoy it. But to be polite, I grabbed two books, thinking I’d never actually read them.
Not long after, Darren moved back to Western Australia. Without his nurturing influence, I drifted.
I felt alone again.
The older church members didn’t really understand me and I didn’t know how to relate to them. Slowly, my spiritual life faded, until I was back out in the world again—chasing empty things, trying to numb the ache inside.
Then God used someone else. My wife, who came from a Catholic background, attended a Seventh-day Adventist seminar. I’ll never forget the fourth night she came home while I was watching the kids. She walked in and said, “I’m a Seventh-day Adventist now.”
I laughed at the time, not thinking much of it.
But over the next eight months, she kept inviting me to church.
I wasn’t interested. My heart was still chasing what I thought life had to offer: weekend parties, fast money and status. But over time, I noticed something in her.
She was different.
She spoke with kindness.
She carried herself with grace.
There was a glow about her that I couldn’t ignore.
I started feeling like I was being left behind not just by her, but by a better version of life that I didn’t know how to reach.
I felt like I was losing my family.
So finally, just to keep her quiet, I agreed to go to church with her.
My first visit felt a bit boring, to be honest. But over time, as I kept going, something shifted. I began to reflect on what Pastor Darren had taught me—the way he lived out his faith through practical ministry.
He showed me that ministry wasn’t just about preaching or knowing all the Bible verses, it was about serving people.
Helping someone mow their lawn.
Checking in on someone doing it tough.
Lending a hand when no-one else would.
That was good for me, because I still couldn’t read well back then. But this practical way of helping people made sense. And without me realising it, it shaped how I’d do ministry in the future. That’s what it looked like for me.
One day, I remembered the two books I’d taken from Darren’s shelf.
I pulled one out and started reading. Slowly, the words began to make sense not just in my head, but in my heart.
That book I nearly left behind became the book that helped me move forward as a pastor. I had a fire inside me I couldn’t explain—a burning desire to learn more about Jesus.
That’s when Mamarapha College came into the picture. Mamarapha is a Bible college for Indigenous students in Perth, Western Australia.
I only wanted to go there to know Jesus more. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d leave my Dunghutti country, move to Sydney or graduate as a pastor.
Now I can’t stop reading.
They say readers are leaders and that’s one saying I now believe with all my heart.
The Bible says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). I truly believe it.
That’s how God works.
He used my mum and dad, Uncle George, Pastor Darren, my wife and even a forgotten book to write a story I never could have imagined for myself.
Today, I am pastoring in Sydney, sharing the same Jesus who never gave up on me.
Henry Dunn is the pastor of Redfern Seventh-day Adventist Church.
