Xavier came to know and put his trust in the Lord Jesus in his late teens. After working as an architect, Xavier studied at Moore Theological College to enter full-time gospel ministry. With his wife Libby, he served in France with CMS for 14 years – initially amongst university students, then as an associate pastor in an Evangelical Free Church in Paris, and finally as the main pastor of another Evangelical Free Church, in Viry Chantillon, a suburb of greater Paris. Apart from becoming a Christian, he considers that one of the best things God has led him to do was marry Libby. They have four children: Zac, Max, Alana and Abi.