Training The Next Generation in Australia
An update from Brendan Willis, Pastor at Sovereign Grace Church Wahroonga, Australia…
“How did you come to faith in Christ?” For many of us that question may raise memories of a specific moment or event that was pivotal in our journey towards faith in Christ.
Yet for every pivotal moment, there is nearly always as many names and faces of those who have been deeply influential: praying for us, encouraging us and challenging us to consider following Christ. That youth leader. That parent. That aunty or uncle. That close family friend or neighbour.
In fact ––though we don’t often like to admit it–– it is often the example of those closest to us that have far more profoundly shaped us than any single ‘moment’ or ‘event’ in our lives.
All of us stand on the shoulders of those who have come before us. We are a part of an incredible gospel chain stretching back from God’s calling of Abraham (Gen 12:1–3) through to the very first disciples of Christ (2 Tim 2:2). Generation after generation faithfully commending the message of Christ to the next. As King David himself wrote,
“One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4
“Don’t break the chain.” This is the task of the church in every generation. It’s also the heartbeat of our Young Leader’s Internship!
Ever since Sovereign Grace Churches Australia was founded in late 2010, we’ve had a deep desire to invest into the next generation of leaders, and so in January of this year we launched our very first Young Leaders Internship with 11 interns from our two churches.
The aim of the year long program? Simply that our interns might fall deeper in love with the Lord Jesus and His Bride, the local church!
The program consists of monthly readings, teaching sessions and assignments aimed at growing students in their character, competency, and convictions. These topics have ranged from ‘Humility’, to ‘the Doctrine of Scripture’, ‘the Gospel’ and ‘Engaging With Culture’.
Alongside these monthly teaching sessions, each intern has also participated in a ministry mentoring group aimed at providing them with opportunities for further accountability, encouragement in their focus area of service, and a more detailed look at an area of character specific to serving (e.g. interdependence, joy, generosity etc).
Lastly, each semester the interns have had a ministry project that they’ve participated in. In the first semester this was to run together a Holiday Kids Club: Egyptian Adventure, and in Semester 2 it has been to participate in our Team Leaders Training program.
It’s been an absolute joy to watch the way the Lord has been at work amongst the cohort over the course of the year, stretching them and growing them together in friendship with both one another and the Lord!
They served their socks off during our Kids Club which was a huge success with well over 40 kids in attendance–– we were stretched just to have sufficient leaders! It was incredible to see their devotion to everything from set design to Bible talks, and prayer for the families represented! In addition, many of them have stepped out in faith to take on new leadership responsibility in their home churches.
More importantly, it’s been incredible to see the way God has been growing our interns in their heart for the Lord Jesus and the local church over the course of the year! Here are just two reflections from the group:
“Over the past year, I have developed a deep love for serving the local church. I have embraced various areas of serving […] These opportunities have allowed me to experience the joy of serving God's people in different capacities.” Esther Monck
“My heart for the local church is something I pray people notice. Not to boast in myself, but instead to make known the unmatched beauty of Christ that is present in and through the local church. My heart to serve the local church is not something that may have been well displayed. I believe God is continuously working in my heart to increase my joy in serving, not doing it out of obligation, but out of love for my community.” Amy Taylor
Excitingly, two of our interns are now even stepping into paid internships in 2024! Marcos Cabral will begin an internship focused on Youth & Evangelism and Hannah Payne an internship focused on Youth & Community! We couldn’t be more excited to see these guys want to continue to pour their time and energy into serving Christ and his Church!
As we step into our final month of our Young Leaders Internship, how can we do anything but thank God for his work in our midst this year!
