As the beginning of the school year draws near, Sydney Anglican students are already planning how to connect with their schoolfriends in 2009.

Mike Goldman and Kristy Randell from Nowra Anglican College are leaders of their school lunchtime group and are meeting before the school year starts to plan an outreach program for the school.

They attended last week’s Youthworks Leaders in Training conference, where talks that schools ministry advisor Andy Stevenson gave on Praying, Connecting and Expecting, encouraged them to take the opportunities they had at school, where they are surrounded by heaps of non-Christians.

Mike has realised that his stage of life provides him with a lot of opportunities to connect with non-Christians, because of his school peer networks.

“Unlike older Christians who as they become more involved with the Christian community have fewer and fewer non-Christian friends, we "do school' in such proximity to non-Christians who we talk to everyday.”

Leaders in Training have encouraged him to "step across the line' and make the most of the opportunities he has while he can.

Kristy was encouraged to think that evangelism was everyone's job, not just the minister's.

“A lot of students at school aren't able to go to church, so their school lunchtime group is the only "church' many students can go to,” she says.

The two of them, along with fellow student Joanna Wilcox, are praying for their lunchtime group in the lead-up to the start of the year.

Edward Sowden of Fort St High School is another student looking to make the most of his school connections

“Our student group is student-run, which makes it easier for other students to relate to us because we're a similar age and interested in similar things,” he explains.

Term one for the their lunchtime group STIVE is an evangelistic term and students come to the group as a result of posters that are placed around the school and announcements Ed makes over the school loudspeaker.

Organising the group has given Ed lots of opportunities to talk to other students about Jesus. “They hear my voice over the loudspeaker inviting them to the group and they know I'm a Christian so other students ask me lots of questions,” he says.

“Leaders in Training has given me courage, not to be afraid, but to try new things with the lunchtime group and a reminder to keep trusting God. It's taught me how effective prayer is and will help me to train the upcoming leaders of the group.”