Anna Chueh

What ministry are you currently involved in?
I am currently part of the ministry team at University of New South Wales, working specifically with overseas students as the Women’s Worker, preaching Christ crucified to all nations by training overseas students. I also have the pleasure of training four women who are part of the MTS team at UNSW.

What preparation and training did you undertake before taking on this role?
My formal training took place through the Ministry Training Strategy at UNSW followed by a Bachelor of Theology at Moore Theological College. But of course there were countless men and women who encouraged and taught me faithfully from the Scriptures and from their lives.

What were the strengths and benefits of training received from Moore College and Mary Andrews College?
The three years of full time theological study has given me a breadth and depth of understanding not only into the character of God and his purposes, but also of the Christian community and myself. Moore College is not only an educational institution, rather both the staff and student community seeks to exhort and encourage one another to live out the great truths we are learning.
MAC was simply a joy to be part of. It was a privilege to live and study with Christian sisters, and we are now a close network of support for one another.

What do you most love about the ministry you are involved in?
What I love most about student ministry on the campus of UNSW is seeing God at work in peoples' lives. How overwhelmed a new believer is when she comprehends the depth of God’s love for her. How comforted a MTS trainee is when she appreciates God’s sovereign hand over her responsibilities. And how God challenges us all to live every aspect of our lives under Christ’s lordship.

What would you say to women considering training for ministry?
Why not?! If you have the opportunity to take up formal training to serve God’s people - don’t delay. It is not just about skills or knowledge, rather as we immerse ourselves in God’s word he is at work to change us into the likeness of his son, who came not to be served but to serve.

Fiona Jensen

What ministry are you currently involved in?
I am the Chaplain at Danebank, an Anglican school for girls at Hurstville in Sydney.

What preparation and training did you undertake before taking on this role?
I trained as a teacher and taught for 3 years before doing a Bachelor of Divinity at Moore College. Since then I have also completed a Master of Arts in Theology. That has also helped me in my role.

What were the strengths and benefits of training received from Moore College and Mary Andrews College?
In chaplaincy work I get very little preparation time for each chapel talk. I really value the time I had at MAC and Moore to become familiar with the Bible and other teaching resources related to the Bible. This has enabled me to be efficient and confident when it comes to reading the Bible, using resources related to the Bible and thinking of ways to communicate the Bible effectively to young women.

What do you most love about the ministry you are involved in?
The people. The Danebank community, whether staff, parents or students, are delightful people to serve and many are fellow servants of Christ. I also love the enthusiasm of young people.

What would you say to women considering training for ministry?
I don’t really have a general answer for this kind of general question. I would say different things to different women depending on what they were considering and their circumstances etc.

Michelle Philp

What ministry are you currently involved in?
I'm the Women's Minister at Christ Church Gladesville which means I run mid week Bible study leaders' training for women, co-lead a women's group and a mixed group, train our female MTS apprentice and help co-ordinate the training of all apprentices, get involved with our evangelistic courses and meet with women one-to-one.

What preparation and training did you undertake before taking on this role?
I did an MTS apprenticeship for 3 years part-time, then studied at Moore College for four years.

What were the strengths and benefits of training received from Moore College and MAC?
Training at Moore College helps you to work out how to think theologically and biblically about life and ministry, especially as you rub shoulders with like-minded thinkers who help to sharpen your understanding of our great and awesome God. Living at MAC had the added benefit of being able to discuss ideas with friends at any time of the day or night.

What do you most love about the ministry you are involved in?
Seeing women come to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

What would you say to women considering training for ministry?
Training for ministry is a great benefit in and of itself because you get intensive time reading the Word of God. It therefore impacts your whole life " the way you think and act. If you are thinking of doing an MTS apprenticeship or going to College, don't see it as a steppingstone on a career path of ministry " you may one day use what you have learnt in full-time financially dependant ministry, but you may also use it as you serve your husband or raise your children or witness in your secular job or support your friends in times of crisis. It can be hard being cut open by the Word of God, but it is also a great joy.

Nerida Zhao

What ministry are you currently involved in?
My ministry is what many women do in the church. I am a volunteer. Of course, my foremost ministry is to my family. My own four children also need to know God's grace in practice!
I have a more formal role teaching Scripture at my children's Primary School. I try to speak to parents informally about the positives of Scripture classes. I also help to lead a women's bible study at our church at Wild St Church in Pagewood and this involves preparation and pastoral care.

Apart from these roles I see ministry in a far broader way, which is to relate the love of God to people that I meet through my family, especially friends of my children who stand outside the grace of God. I suppose I have a special concern for newcomers to the area and single parents whom I know. I'm not always a forthright person, so I can only hope for God's guidance and power through His Holy Spirit to help me on my way.

An important area of ministry for me is also involvement in Christian organisations which support the poor and especially impoverished Christians in the Third World, e.g. Bible Society, CMS, Bible League. Living in this wealthy and educated society, we cannot help but know of their physical and spiritual suffering and having that knowledge means I have responsibility to help them.

What preparation and training did you undertake before taking on this role?
I've had a lot of life experience in terms of being married and having four children, working in Nursing Homes and as a Social Worker in hospitals and with students newly arrived in Australia. God uses all of this.

In terms of formal training, I am halfway through doing the Children's Ministry Certificate with Youthworks for Scripture training. As a single person I learnt the principles and practicalities of ministry as a Ministry Training Strategy worker at the Uni of NSW and this has always helped me in thinking how to minister to others.

More recently, after experiencing stress in informal ministry I decided to go to MAC to get some more encouragement from the Bible and from other Christian women. I'm doing biblical exegesis, theology and practical subjects like pastoral care. It hasn't been easy and has been difficult for the family, however, my husband has been a wonderful support. It's interesting that my training has always started after I've begun any voluntary ministry. This is probably the case for most unpaid ministers of God's grace in the church - first you see the need, and then you want to pursue more training.

What are the strengths and benefits of training you have received from MAC?
MAC is for women, from young to older all in very different circumstances - some single, some married with children, some single parents, some retired. I enjoy learning with people who have such different perspectives. I like MAC's flexibility as it is run with women in mind and so is held during school terms, within school hours. Since there are classes in all areas of Sydney there is usually a class nearby each woman wanting to attend. You can do between one to four subjects each term, which is great because I find my family, and other responsibilities vary from year to year. One term I did four subjects, another term I did one!

So far at MAC I have completed exegesis subjects on Romans and Psalms/Ezra, OT and NT theology and practical application in pastoral care and interpersonal communication. I enjoy this kind of study because it looks at the big questions of theology and the history of theology in the church. The challenge is also in looking in-depth at the bible in exegesis. The areas that I have benefited in understanding more profoundly are our sin and failure, and God's character and His overwhelming grace.

At my age (I'm in my forties) I find a lot of Christians are struggling with their responsibilities and families and finding it hard to participate in church ministry. But understanding God's power and grace we can continue on, in whatever capacity in our church, committed to our brethren, because ultimately our future is with Him through His power and love. As Christians we are very aware of God's grace at the time of our conversion. However this seems to be lost as we go on and we get weighed down and distracted by the things of this world and preoccupied with our own achievements (or lack thereof). MAC has reminded me of God's grace through studying God's word. My job is to go on, ministering His grace to others and myself! We must allow ourselves to be ministered to by God's grace everyday, otherwise we are playing God. Satan always wants us to move from living under God's grace to thinking church is for something else. If our future is secure in His grace our present responsibilities are not burdensome. We can undertake them by His power only.

What do you most love about the ministry you are involved in?
In Scripture classes I love to see the children's interest in learning about how God has saved man through Jesus. More than ninety percent of these children come from families where they are not taught about Jesus. If it is true that most Christians are converted before adulthood, then Scripture teachers are working on the cutting edge of sharing the Christian message with the majority of Australians who no longer have any idea of who Jesus is or what He has done. I love this opportunity and it may soon disappear in schools. God will care for faith planted in the heart of a child and this inspires me. It was my own experience.

In women's ministry, I love to share the bigger picture of God's plan of salvation through Jesus. It is a big effort for women to come to bible study, especially with small children, but when they make that effort they are encouraged and go away knowing that they have been prayed for. I started going to a women's bible study when my eldest son (who is now 14) was born and continue to be encouraged by the faith and prayers of the other women.

What would you say to women considering training in ministry?
Women should be encouraged to get extra bible and ministry training because a lifetime of ministry with their own families, with children and other women is exhausting. Voluntary work can be difficult if Christian leaders, or the setting of the voluntary work, offers little encouragement or recognition of the work being done. So we have to set our own boundaries for what we are prepared to do and seek our own means of support and encouragement if it does not exist in a formal way.

Women need refreshment and a resetting of their perspective to God's way. Of course, God is our strength and other women doing similar voluntary work may offer the support needed. Really, unfortunately there are few opportunities for employment for women in Christian ministry, but many opportunities for voluntary work and this is what most women will do over their lifetime. With many women in the workforce now, the future of voluntary work in churches needs to be rethought. Also the baby boomers may well have to work much longer to support themselves and may have less time for voluntary ministry. We should not take people for granted while they give what limited time they have.

Women need the encouragement from understanding the big picture that theological and ministry education gives. A college like MAC offers contact with other women with a ministry minded perspective. It also offers a deeper understanding of God's purposes and our role in His eternal plans under Christ.