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Confidence in paradise: ministry in WA
It is never exactly easy to convince teenagers to become Christians. At a time of life that is, for most, full of concerns about exam results, popularity and what to do after Year 12, the gospel doesn’t always seem particularly relevant to many teenagers.
But for young people in WA, there are some especially unique barriers to faith.
Scott Rowland, Chaplain at St Mark’s Anglican Community School in Perth, knows these challenges intimately as he works alongside teens every day, trying to disciple them.
“They live in a world that seems to be paradise,” Scott explains. “They’ve got some of the best beaches in the world, they’ve got all the toys in the world, they’re seriously cashed up here. How do you tell people who think they live in paradise that they are sinners? There is a real apathy to the gospel because they don’t think they need it.”
For those young people who have responded to the gospel, growing in faith and maturity is also a real challenge in WA.
Scott shares, “Few churches here have expository preaching, so the Christian teenagers don’t know their Bibles; they don’t have confidence in God’s Word; they don’t have confidence in the gospel. I think back to my time living in Sydney and going to my local church and I think, man, Year 9 and 10 students there are further down the track in Christian maturity than many of the university students here, simply because there are less students in WA who attend lunchtime Bible studies, and there are fewer Bible-based churches here.”
Though there is so much need for the gospel to be taught faithfully in WA, schools ministry in Perth was in a difficult position until just a few years ago. In the past, several organisations had invested time and resources in the independent schools, but a belief that chaplains were doing enough meant that external support dried up.
Originally from Sydney, Scott moved to Perth in 1995 where he attended Bible college and received ordination training, before becoming a chaplain. Whilst he was thankful for the support of the Christian principal at his school, he saw the many challenges faced by chaplains in other schools as they attempted to share the gospel and encourage young Christians in the unique Western Australian context.
That’s why Scott is now the Chair of the CRU ® West Committee – CRU’s ministry to young people in WA.
Now, Scott works alongside CRU staff and the volunteer committee to deliver camps and support Christian groups within schools. Already, he can see the difference that CRU is making in this distinctive environment:
“Our Christian kids now get to see other Christian kids in other schools and they get to meet with them. That’s extremely valuable, especially in a place where calling yourself a Christian is pretty much social suicide. Plus, we’re seeing a real difference now in the kids that come out of CRU West CRU Groups – they are actually taught how to read the Bible at school and so when they get to university they are way further down the track.”
Scott is also excited that, through CRU’s school groups and camps, many young people are becoming keen to share the gospel. “They are going to be way better evangelists than I am. The non-Christian students think of me as like their dad, and that’s not very cool! So, it’s about helping the Christian kids to share the gospel with their friends, and they get equipped to do that by sitting around reading God’s Word together, until they’re absolutely sold on it.”
It is Scott’s prayer that Christian students in WA would continue to grow more and more assured of their identity in Christ. Just as is needed on the east coast, Scott recognises that the current generation of young people “are going to require real confidence in the gospel as they increasingly become different to society.”
Please join us in praying for Scott, the CRU West team and all Christian leaders in WA, as they seek to help young people find confidence in their identity as followers of Jesus.
