God has been kind in answering our prayers for him to provide workers for his harvest field. We’ve seen a large increase in the number of Christ serving students arriving at Moore College this year. Despite travel restrictions, we’ve been especially thankful to see students arrive from outside Sydney, across Australia and around the world. Below are the stories of three Moore College first year students from 2021, and why they’ve left behind much to come to be prepared for lives serving Jesus.
Sarah Chew
Sarah was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She went to Sunday school as a young child, but in her words, “…it wasn’t long before I decided that 6 days of school was one too many and stopped going”. She came to Sydney for university, where she heard the gospel preached clearly in her first year. She then worked as a tax consultant and did a ministry apprenticeship with Campus Bible Study at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), before coming to Moore College.
Like all Moore students, she is aware that she wouldn’t be here without strong support. “I’m very thankful for supporters in Australia (mostly international students and young workers from my previous church) and overseas (family and those who were from the campus ministry and have since returned home) who prayed for my considerations about ministry. Their generosity in giving financially to my support raising also has a big part to play in the opportunity I’ve had to be at College.”
She is very open to a wide range of opportunities to serve Jesus after College. She became convinced of the priority of guarding and passing on the good deposit of gospel truth (2 Timothy) towards the end of her time at university, and that truth continues to compel her. She prays “…God will keep growing in me a heart for the lost that He has called, and that the knowledge I’m gaining from this time at College will be put to good use in glorifying Christ and loving His people. A prayer is that I won’t just be a diligent student, but also a faithful housemate and sister in Christ to those in the College community.”
Jared Lidgerwood
Jared was brought up in Gunnedah, moved around the New England area, and North-West of NSW, before settling in Moree with his wife Erin for 8 years, before coming to Moore College. He is from a non-Christian home, but went to a Christian school and aged 16 became convinced during a morning devotion that Jesus died for him.
He went to university and did an MTS apprenticeship shortly afterwards. Jared thought he’d work for a couple of years before going to bible college, and started working as a caseworker for kids in Out of Home Care. That important work, and his desire to invest in relationships with people in Moree, delayed those plans. With a view to eternity, he shared, “my job was to support families who were caring for a child who wasn’t their own, and there were lots of very complicated situations, where people were carrying the baggage from trauma and broken relationships. I came to realise that although they still needed a caseworker, they needed the gospel way more.”
After many encouraging conversations with those who know them well, and with generous pledges of prayer and financial support, this conviction led Jared and Erin to Moore College. In his time at College he wants “… to be equipped for ministry, by understanding God and loving him more, and by learning to love what he loves, including people. One week into term, I’m pretty confident that the faculty of Moore and my fellow students have the very same goal for me, and I think God will use my time here to make that happen.” Jared and Erin plan to return to the New England/North-West of NSW after College to minister in the Armidale Diocese. “I want to see country people come to know Jesus, to follow him, and proclaim him to the world.”
Mark Chen
Mark was born and brought up in Asia with an Atheist background. He came to Australia for further study after completing his degree in China. He first engaged with Christianity out of curiosity about Western culture, but then became convinced of the gospel as he met Jesus in the pages of scripture. Mark told me humorously (but completely seriously) about the Christians who witnessed to him about Jesus at a Chinese Presbyterian Church and at Focus Mandarin Fellowship at UNSW. “I asked people there if they really believed that someone died and was resurrected and they said yes. That was astonishing to me because they didn’t look insane. So, I started thinking about it seriously.”
Soon after becoming a believer in Jesus, Mark returned to Asia. What he saw there showed him the need to be equipped and then return with the gospel. He visited a church in his hometown and was encouraged by the sheer number of people there, but saw clearly that there were insufficient people with adequate training to disciple them.
Mark and his wife are at Moore College to receive the highest level of theological training possible before they return to Asia for ministry there. They will be supported through prayer and financial giving throughout their time at College, and these pledges have enabled them to come to be prepared for ministry. He shared that “there are many churches and Christians. However, there is a great need of theological teaching to understand how God reveals to us his plan. We believe the more we understand God, the better we can tell it to other people and the more we can put our trust in him, even when the time is getting hard these days.”
It’s a blessing to have students come from around the World to Moore College, and a privilege for the College to train them for lifetimes of gospel ministry serving the Lord Jesus wherever he places them. Under God, and with the support of many of his people, they’ve been able to come to College. You too can support gospel workers like these through prayer and financial giving at moore.edu.au/support-moore/.
