We’re a couple of country kids who’d love to see the nations praise Jesus. I grew up on a ‘hobby’ farm in Armidale, while Sarah was on a ‘real’ farm in Oberon. We both were blessed with Christian families at home, and benefited hugely from joining a ‘family’ of Christians when we came to Sydney for University. I was studying Engineering, but the most valuable thing I learnt at Uni was that Jesus was the Lord of my life and the saviour of the world. This changed my priorities and ambitions and set me on a path of mission. Sarah shared this desire, and as a couple, we started to intentionally equip ourselves for this goal. We both completed ministry apprenticeships with the uni Christian group, where we developed a sound and practical ministry framework. I then came to Moore College to be equipped with the best tools to keep our ministry and faith sharp and growing for decades to come—even through possible isolation on the mission field. God has blessed us with two boys while we’ve been at college, which has been Sarah’s primary ministry, although she has also been studying a diploma part-time, seeking to keep growing and being grounded in God’s word.
We came to college seeking to go overseas, but Sarah’s health means it’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll be involved in university student ministry more locally—and we trust that God knows what He’s doing. College has equipped us both for long-term faithful word-ministry, but it has done much more as well. I arrived with a sturdy, but fairly scant theological framework. Most of the struts were in the right places, but it lacked precision and depth. College has challenged and developed my framework, but most significantly, it has added much clarity and precision. This was something I didn’t realise I needed, but am most grateful to have had the chance to develop. We’ve also been reminded that this is a life-long task, and it has given us the academic resources and relational network to keep growing and being refined for years to come. Moore College has a big emphasis on studying in Christian community, and we have deeply benefitted from this.
