The 2024 Moore College mission is one the Anglican churches in Normanhurst, Asquith, Hornsby Heights, Waitara and Hornsby will not soon forget.

“The week of mission… has had a lasting impact on our congregation and community,” said Rob Elder, a member of St John’s, Asquith. His church is one of the five which engaged in a week of evangelistic events just after Easter. 

The area’s churches have a history of working together for evangelistic training, sharing resources and ideas for church administration, as well as running Anglicare Toys ’n’ Tucker events. But this was a new idea: to partner with Moore College for a week of targeted mission.

Teams of students fan out across the Diocese and beyond each year for the Moore College mission – this year 220 students and 28 faculty and chaplains covered 14 locations. These were as far afield as the Solomon Islands, Kununurra in far northern Western Australia and Townsville in northern Queensland as well as locations in country NSW and Sydney.

For Anglican churches in the corridor from Normanhurst to Hornsby, the joint mission was a chance to kickstart some outreach ideas.

The Rev Mike Begbie, rector of Hornsby Heights, said they had been talking and praying about mission for a long time, “so as a consequence, we were very glad to welcome the Moore students into our church”.

The centrepiece of Meet Jesus week was 600 people packing Leslie Hall at Barker College to hear Archbishop Kanishka Raffel preach evangelistically from John’s Gospel. Parishes also partnered in children’s work such as SRE assemblies.

The Rev Peter Blake, an assistant minister at Normanhurst, summed it up: “When we work together we have a better vision of what God is doing and how he is using his church. With the broader church working together we see God’s church growing.”

The ministry has left an impact on the parishes, with new believers and a new enthusiasm for evangelism. 

The Rev Dr Lionel Windsor, one of five Moore College faculty who accompanied the teams, said “For the students, being part of a team of people who are committed to Jesus Christ, sharing in their work with individuals and within programs that serve those under their care, was a reminder of the ministry many of them are training for.”

Feature: College students Caleb Knight (left) and Ed Lau lead Sunday school as part of the Normanhurst Moore mission team.