Leading and Learning
(pictured: Ruby, Youthworks College student)
With unusual clarity and purpose, Ruby saw Youthworks College as the perfect next step for her growth in the gospel.
“I came to realise that I wanted to invest time in growing my personal understanding of God and in my skills as a ministry leader. I've been working with kids for quite a long time and I just realised that it's something I wanted to pursue.”
“When I was a kid my mum was a parish leader and chaplain, and I was a kid obsessed with knowing all the answers. I loved learning about God. Then one day it sunk in that faith is a relationship: it’s not just something that fills your head, but fills your heart as well.”
Like many of us, Ruby says she had “a bit of turbulent time” as a high schooler, and she did “think it would be easier to run away from God and just go live however I wanted to live…but instead God helped me choose Him.”
“All the subjects that I've studied - from Doctrine to Old Testament to my children's and youth ministry subjects - have fed into how I relate to the people I'm ministering to, how I understand the Bible for myself and how I'm able to share it with others.”
(pictured: Youthworks College students)
“You get to meet people who are of a similar mind to you who are passionate about sharing the gospel with children and young people…Youthworks College is a place where you can deeply invest in your relationship with God and your relationships with others.”
“Being able to design programs for children has been really awesome.”
“I'd love to continue in vocational ministry. That may look like taking on a more full-time role in my church or pursuing further study, or teaching, because school chaplaincy is also something that I've been interested in for quite a long time.”
“We're kids and teenagers for just this little bit of our life but it’s such an important and formative part of it.”
Youthworks College principal, Mike Dicker, says “Ruby is definitely one of our younger students, but regardless of age, our rule of thumb is to back any student that has the financial and moral support of their church to work in ministry and do theological study. And being given the full support and opportunity from her church, Ruby has proven her passion and gifts for gospel ministry."