I was working as a veterinary clinician in a university in Wagga Wagga. I led the small animal part of the hospital, so we did a lot of diagnostic work, heart ultrasound and procedures, taking cases from the region that were difficult.

The other side of our life was church. My family and I were involved in different ministries at church. My wife, Heidi, managed the Friday night kids' club, I did a men's Bible study and some preaching, and we both ran a mountain bike team at the school as an outreach.

Heidi and I had thought about going into ministry a couple of times, and about doing missions. These things had been on our agenda but, for one reason or another, these plans hadn't come to fruition. In different ways, we'd thought about ministry a lot and it had been an ongoing discussion in our family. That was the reason we'd moved to Wagga Wagga originally, to support a minister who was having a hard time.

Could we be doing more?

In 2022 we took some long service leave and travelled around remote Australia. We saw the state of rural churches. We saw churches that really needed chaplains at their local schools, or evangelical ministers struggling in liberal contexts, and wondered whether we could be doing more.

We had a lot of people in our church saying,

You should go into ministry.

The hard thing was, we knew it might not be a ministry in that church, and that would be a loss for our old church.

A friend from a previous church was diagnosed with lung cancer. When I was speaking with her about ministry, she had studied at Moore College, and encouraged us to get in touch with them. We weren't sure if studying theology was going to happen, but then Heidi got a job there and that made it possible. It seemed God was opening some doors.

We went from our very comfortable house in the country to a teeny two-bedroom flat with a kitchenette. It was hard, and we've since moved into a bigger home. Our daughters both came with us. One had to change schools, and it was hard for her to leave her friends behind. The change has felt big, but once we stepped into it, it's been pretty good.

The challenge of starting again

I wasn't sure what to expect, going back to study after years in the workforce. I was expecting there would be more people closer to my age. It's been really encouraging to be with other people who are training with me. I didn't expect to connect with the students like I have been and I really cherish that.

Going back to study as an undergraduate, I was stepping out of a space where I had genuine expertise in the field. Being a veterinary clinician was second nature to me for the past 20-odd years, and now I was stepping into a space where I felt very out of my depth all of the time. That's quite challenging, but also very enriching. Just because you are older doesn't mean you can't grow or change.

There's an intensity about college. It's really hard and doesn't lean into my strengths. I'm good at memory stuff, but I'm not naturally language-oriented. Being in an arts degree rather than a science degree has been full-on. I'm not trying to top the year, I'm just trying to equip myself well.

As we get older, I think we are more hesitant to put ourselves in a place that feels challenging. But in terms of spiritual growth, that's a really great place to be. It's a place where you can have God working in your life.

Where is God taking us next?

The ministry pathways might not be as clear as an older person, but I have a lot of flexibility about how I could approach ministry and that's also okay. We can use our previous life skills and life stage to contribute to various aspects of ministry or open up opportunities.

As an older person, my length of full-time ministry will be different. I think there are some things that people who come into ministry later can do that younger people can't do. They come in with a connection to what being in work for a long time is like.

I would encourage people to think about what ministry opportunities there might be for them. They should think boldly about it! There are rural places calling out for people. As we get older, our vision of what we can do shrinks a bit. God can do great things and people should be bold in their thinking and take opportunities where they can.

One minister said to me that talking to my family made him rethink what older people in his congregation can do. I hope others consider ministry in their later years seriously. You don't have to drop everything and think of ministry in another place, but think about what opportunities might open up. It could be a really great thing for their faith and the faith of others.

We wrestle with where God wants us to go from here, and what ministry will be good for us to do – whether that's parish ministry, chaplaincy, or serving in a rural area.

What does more change look like for us? If we leave Sydney, our daughters may stay here. How do we look after our family well as things look to change again? We're praying that we will continue to trust God in everything and that he will continue to shape us.