Ministry trainee David Piper is at the cutting edge of a ministry that is seeing Bible Workshop @ TAFE, area deaneries and Anglican Youthworks combine to reach students with the gospel.
The second year Ministry Training Strategy apprentice has enlisted the support of churches in The Penrith Valley Deanery as he devotes one day a week to outreach at Kingswood TAFE.
"I attend the deanery meeting once a quarter, I visit all the churches to report on the ministry and ask for prayer and I have found a person in each church to help distribute TAFE ministry newsletters to parishioners," says Mr Piper who is an MTS trainee with Quakers Hill Anglican Church.
Incorporating the 30 area deaneries into TAFE ministry has been a long term vision of Youthworks TAFE Advisor Craig Blacket.
"There are 40 TAFE colleges in the diocese so our goal is to link each one to local churches through the deanery system."
"We want to use the deanery structure because it is pre-existing and it approximates the size of the student catchment areas of most TAFEs."
Mr Blacket says TAFE colleges are commuter-based with primarily part-time attendees, requiring the need for a complementary off-campus church ministry to accompany on-campus ministry.
He says churches can participate effectively in three ways " prayerfully; personally, through providing a staff worker; or financially through committing funds to the ministry and sees David as the perfect example of this structure at work.
"Dave came from St Paul's, Cambridge Park which is in the Penrith Valley Deanery, so he's a local boy working with local TAFE students," Mr Blacket says.
Mr Blacket says the typical TAFE student is not like the typical uni student, which means TAFE ministry requires even stronger support from local churches.
"TAFE students are of a broader age and stage and far less homogenous than uni students."
"We need every department of local church ministry because of the broader range of people attending TAFE. They have more diverse needs."
After two years of negotiating Mr Blacket is also pleased to have a written, non-financial partnership with Anglican Youthworks which has brought about two key advantages.
"Firstly, TAFE ministry now attracts tax deductibility. We have this thanks to the excellent reputation Youthworks has built up in school ministry," Mr Blacket says.
"Secondly, it is now much easier to meet with Youthworks advisors across the diocese " the connection and communication is now much easier."
Youthworks Director of Training, Tony Willis says Youthworks have employed Mr Blacket to expand TAFE ministry across the diocese and bridge the gap of ministry to students moving from school to TAFE.
"Craig has had a TAFE ministry focused in the west and shown us the way ahead to get this happening in other regions," Mr Willis says.
"We have brought TAFE ministry on to the Youthworks platform so we can continue ministry to kids who go from school to TAFE, which is a huge sector."
