he hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, has remained an iconic statement of belief to the Church since it was penned in 1923. It is a profound song; both in its simplicity and yet, also, in its theological depth. To this day it is widely sung in churches, at weddings, and worship services all around the world, and even in our own chapel services here at MST and Eastern, where it somehow captures the heart and soul of those who seek afresh to declare the great truths of God’s unfailing love. It’s interesting to note that this timeless hymn was written just three years after the formation of the Melbourne Bible Institute (MBI now MST) in 1920. Writer and pastor, Thomas Obediah Chisholm, had encountered many setbacks in his life. And so it was that, during a particularly bleak time, he found himself reflecting on Lamentations 3:22-23, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
In 1922, in MBI’s second annual report, there were three noteworthy entries. First, is a reference to the ways in which students and supporters alike devoted themselves to the work ‘so that it might continue in the line of the Divine Will.’ Second, there is mention of the numerical growth the College had experienced in just two years, requiring a new location. Numbers had increased from 38 to 57 in just a single year, with more enrolments still expected. Finally, there is an acknowledgment of the great blessing of C. H. Nash’s own faithfulness in starting the college. His vision was that many passionate young Christians from Victoria, having been trained for biblical ministry and mission, would themselves express their own
obedience and faithfulness to Christ by leaving their loved ones to serve God in mission; in China, Central Africa, India and among Australia’s First Nations people. Locally, students put their studies to work conducting religious instruction every week in State schools at Hawksburn, Malvern, and West Melbourne.
For those who have read my reports over the years, as well as those of past principals, you’d see a theme that permeates every year of every decade since our inception – our total reliance on the Lord. Yes, we’ve struggled enormously at times with our finances, along with the ever-changing and challenging world of education, striving through it all to continue to serve the church, and the cause of the Gospel. And yet, as I reflect today at the continuing impact of our courses; the uniquely important work of the Arthur Jeffery Centre in teaching and informing us about the nature of Islam; the research and training undertaken by the MST-Eastern Centre for Theology and Psychology; the significant growth of Eastern’s Education courses and enrolments, and the vital role of the Centre for the Study of Chinese Christianity, it remains true; God’s faithfulness continues to be evident as He provides for us and leads us into new and exciting mission fields.
Throughout this edition of Ambassador, our focus has been to share the impact of the work undertaken through MST and Eastern College Australia. As we start the new 2025 academic year, the Board, faculty and staff continue to seek the will of the Lord and His direction just as they did in 1922.
Please join us in thanking the Lord for His faithfulness morning by morning, giving us ‘Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.’
In His name,
Tim m eyers is the Executive Principal of MST & Eastern.
Two newsletters, One community
From 2025, each college, Melbourne School of Theology and Eastern College Australia, will receive its own newsletter which has a greater emphasis on its courses and community of interest. MST will continue with the Ambassador that focuses on ministry and mission and highlights the MST Chinese Department and the various Centres of Excellence. Eastern will publish a digital newsletter (Be-Change) that focuses on their unique training in Education, Counselling, VET Tertiary preparation and missions, together with the internationally acclaimed Master of Transformational Development program. Some articles will appear in both newsletters as we are Two Colleges – One Community. These crossovers of content are indicative of our integrated community, and we want to ensure you don’t miss out on these important updates. You can choose to receive either or both newsletters by contacting Reception on 03 9881 7800 or emailing your request to info@mst.edu.au or info@eastern.edu.au
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Rachel’s s to R y
From Wuhan to MST to Wuhan to Eastern
MYname is Ying lin, but many of the students and faculty on the campus know me as Rachel. Before coming to Australia, I was studying English at a university in Jiangxi province in my home country, China. By the grace of God, I had a few American teachers who were Christians, and who freely shared the gospel with me when I visited their homes outside of class. When I graduated from uni, I moved to another city, Wuhan, for my Master’s studies in translation and interpreting.
As a new believer, I joined the local church in Wuhan and was called
“BY THE GRACE OF GOD, I HAD A FEW AMERICAN
TEACHERS WHO WERE CHRISTIANS, AND WHO FREELY SHARED THE GOSPEL WITH ME”
to voluntarily serve as an interpreter for pastors in their Sunday Services. Around the same time, I also got a part-time job related to my major. Surprisingly and graciously, the company I worked at was founded by an American Christian, where all my co-workers were believers. Over the four years I worked there my faith was strengthened and I began to know more about the Bible, craving for a deeper understanding of it. Then, in 2015, I applied for a visa for a working holiday to Australia.
I fell in love with Australia as soon as I walked out of Tullamarine airport: blue sky, fresh air, wide landscape,
and clean roads. More importantly, living in Australia meant I could go to church and join “religious” activities freely. I started to attend a church in Melbourne and became quite involved with the community. When my oneyear working holiday visa came to an end, my heart didn’t feel like going back to China. I shared how I was feeling with my pastor about studying Christian Studies. He then introduced me to Melbourne School of Theology as this was where he did his theological studies. He drove me to MST right away and, after I chatted with Tom Kimber, I decided to study at the college.
Coming to MST was a shock; I don’t know what I was expecting! I came from a country with huge universities both by number and size, so when I first visited MST, honestly speaking, I was
surprised to see MST being so “petit,” just like me, but as one would say, “Great things come in small packages.” I loved this place. The staff and lecturers were easy to access, and they were super supportive in both my study and life as an overseas student.
I finished my Diploma of Christian Studies in one year. My favorite memories included Wednesday chapels, morning teas, different events hosted by the student leadership body, and staying with our then Vice-Principal Peter Tyrrell’s family. At the end of 2017 I graduated, proudly awarded the Top Student Award of the Year for my course. But sadly, my visa was finishing and, I had to return to China in January 2018.
Even though I loved my time in Australia, I felt the need to return to China for different reasons. I wanted to help my friends to learn about the Bible with what I had learned from MST. However, after I got back and settled in Wuhan, I realized that people were occupied with work, and they didn’t even have time for themselves in the evenings or weekends. It seemed like life was all about working and making a living. I came to realize there is a dramatic difference between Australians and Chinese culture. Soon I became one of them, working overtime daily and having to sacrifice my weekends for work. Then, in the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 hit hard in Wuhan and quickly the rest of the world. There wasn’t much to do or to fulfill myself during the three years of COVID. All I can remember was making sure that I tested negative for what
seemed like never-ending COVID tests. During this time, I applied for an English teaching job in Wuhan. Teaching comes naturally to me but I knew I needed to learn how to be a more effective teacher so I could be the positive influence I wanted to be to my students. The thought of studying teaching overseas was formed but I had to wait for the COVID-19 pandemic to be over and for Chinese customs to be open. From my time at MST, and conversations with other students, I knew where I wanted to apply to study teaching – Eastern College Australia.
“I
ALSO BENEFITTED GREATLY FROM MY MST COURSE AS IT HELPED ME TO SEE EDUCATION FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE AND HOW I CAN INTEGRATE FAITH WITH MY VOCATION.”
Because of my previous study at MST, I was able to quickly adapt to the study mode at Eastern, especially since it’s the same location, and there were many staff I encountered before. I also benefitted greatly from my MST course as it helped me to see education from a Christian perspective and how I can integrate faith with my vocation. But studying teaching and studying ministry are quite distinct. They have different content and focus, with teaching requiring me to become familiar with secondary education in Australia, which is totally different from how I was educated in China. That was a big challenge for me. The study load also seemed to be bigger.
When I graduate from my two-year course in June this year, Master of Teaching (Secondary), I’ll register with the Victorian Institute of Teaching, and apply to teach in a secondary college, which could be either Christian, public, or private. I sincerely hope that God will guide me to become a role model for the younger generation in my teaching and that I can use my Christian faith to impact them, so they know that they are loved.
Over the years, God has been faithful to me. He put the passion of teaching in me and sent spiritual leaders my way to encourage and strengthen me, also providing me with the amount of money I needed to travel and study overseas, and places to stay when I didn’t have money to rent in Melbourne. Going overseas was a step of faith and a decision to get out of my comfort zone. There are many days I sense the difficulties of living and studying alone in a different country, and many tears are shed, but I know that this is exactly where God wants me to be now. He is my shelter and comforter (Psalm 91:2).
Paradosis. the word comes from the Greek New Testament.
Although Jesus largely resists the Jewish leaders’ preservation of legal ‘tradition’ (our word παράδοσις) at the expense of human need (Matthew 15 and Mark 7) and Paul’s days of zealously observing the ‘traditions’ of his forefathers (Gal. 1:14) lie firmly in his past, in 1 Cor. 11:2, 2 Thess. 2:15 and 3:6, Paul praises believers in the churches for carefully maintaining the good teachings about Christ in the form ‘handed down’ to them by the apostles—the same Greek word.
This is the sense we mean in our conference series title. The first Paradosis conference at MST was organized by Dr Michael Bräutigam in 2016, to be followed by two more in 2018 & 2019, before COVID interrupted the series. The conferences are not limited to a single topic, e.g., the wellbeing focus of Paradosis 2019 reflected the interests of our Centre for Theology and Psychology. Our overall purpose is to invest in providing opportunities for deeper, Christ-centred theological reflection for our wider supporter community and beyond across a range of fields. These conferences are a chance to disseminate the professional expertise, cultivated learning and spiritual insight of not only our own faculty but also of worldclass scholars.
The August 9–10 conference saw the resumption of the series centering on a creation theme, inspired by several different motivations:
• Current public discussion of issues affecting the natural world, particularly climate change, along with the larger concern that from a Christian viewpoint is called creation care.
• The ever-present challenge of reconciling biblical creation and mainstream scientific frameworks such as biological evolution.
• The practical question of how scientific, historical and technical knowledge accessed in other fields can be brought into relationship with biblical and theological truth.
• The launch of Andrew Brown’s (my) book Recruiting the Ancients for the Creation Debate (Eerdmans, 2023), reviewed in the last edition of the Ambassador.
• The foundational role of creation theology for our entire Christian belief system.
• While the creation theme certainly pertains to current concerns in the church and the wider community, theological reflection on creation is always relevant and bears fruit in good theology, personal wellbeing and practical ethics.
Conference
Overview
Friday evening’s proceedings featured Dr Chris Mulherin, director of ISCAST (‘Science and Christianity Together’) introducing the issues involved in bringing together what we know of science and what we learn from the
Scriptures and from Christian theology. Then, following the launch of Recruiting the Ancients, we tuned in to hear theologian Dr David Fergusson, Regius Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University, over zoom. His introduction to the landscape of creation theology sought to balance the priorities of a ‘green’ creation theology concerned with care of the created environment with a ‘blue’ theology retaining historically important doctrinal truths.
Encouragingly, the crowd was back for more on Saturday morning, beginning with a look at aspects of creation from Genesis through to other parts of the Old Testament such as Isaiah and Amos. Next, an interview with Jonathan Pennington of Southern Seminary in Kentucky, USA, represented the New Testament by exploring how the Gospel of Matthew reflects Genesis and then anticipates the reconciliation of heaven and earth with the arrival of Jesus. The morning session continued with a short overview of creation in the teaching of the church fathers before Rebekah Earnshaw of Bandung Theological Seminary in Indonesia represented Reformation teaching on creation with a close-up look at John Calvin. Intervening breaks saw the first-floor landing at our Wantirna campus alive with conversation between friends old and new.
After lunch, guests settled back into our chapel for twin sessions by Dr Paul Tyson, a philosophical
Cooperation in Theological Education
A New Vision for Teaching, Researching and Equipping
The world of higher education has been changing rapidly over the past several years. The reasons for that are varied and complex. Higher costs and lower student numbers, changes in the church in Australia and abroad, shifts in educational methods and course delivery, along with a host of other issues mean that educational institutions must be agile and creative to remain viable and relevant in this world. Yet challenges also present us with unprecedented opportunities as we seek creative solutions.
In recent years, MST has been exploring ways to maximize our potential and our impact by cooperating with other like-minded colleges. It causes us to reflect on the words of the wisdom writer, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.” (Eccles. 4:9) Sadly, even in Christian higher education, it is common for colleges to compete with one another for students, status and funding. But in recent years, MST has fought that trend and chosen the path of cooperation rather than competition. And it has begun to forge a new era in gospel partnerships in theological education.
support of one another. Bree Mills, one of our DMin students, reflects on the value of the cohort experience.
“Partnering with students from different colleges has fostered a strong sense of camaraderie throughout my postgraduate journey. It has not only introduced me to diverse viewpoints and reflections but also made my learning experience far more dynamic and engaging.”
For the past several years, MST and Malyon College in Brisbane have met monthly online for Postgraduate Research Seminars. Students from both colleges give presentations from their own research, ask questions, as well as provide input and response as a means of sharpening one another and growing in our abilities as researchers. The online format has enabled us to build community and share resources across colleges, forming a broader supportive research community.
“MST HAS BEEN EXPLORING WAYS TO MAXIMIZE OUR POTENTIAL AND OUR IMPACT BY COOPERATING WITH OTHER LIKEMINDED COLLEGES.”
In 2019, the AUT completely revised its Doctor of Ministry (DMin) degree. Since then, MST DMin cohorts have joined with Ridley cohorts for regular discussions about practical theology, building relationships across the colleges, sharing ministry and research ideas, and discussing relevant issues and current trends in ministry. The coordinators of the two programs, Graham Stanton (Ridley) and Andrew Menzies (MST) share resource ideas, books, and offer guidance in theological reflection, while the students have grown in their relationships and
Recently, MST, Ridley and Malyon held their third annual Practical Theology and Missiology Research Conference. The conference came out of a desire to build a stronger research community among our colleges and to provide resources and support for our students who are conducting research in ministry contexts. This two-day annual event gives our students the opportunity to grow in their skills as researchers, apply new techniques to their projects, and learn from others who are doing research in similar areas of interest and ministry.
Ministry research typically involves human subjects, which requires ethics approval for legal purposes. In order to support ethical research in higher
education, MST, Malyon, and Trinity College in Queensland have formed a combined low-risk ethics committee to provide ethical clearance for our master’s level research projects. The committee is formed of representatives from each college who are able to approve projects quickly and efficiently through online means. It’s a process that would be difficult for one college alone but is possible through the cooperation of these three colleges.
In recent times, MST and Ridley have agreed to blend selected classes across both colleges. This addresses some of the common challenges of student numbers in certain units, covering classes during faculty study leaves, drawing on the expertise of each college and sharing resources. Because of the proximity of the colleges, students may choose to join on campus as well as online from a distance. The experience for the students builds relationships, deepens learning, and provides a new context for continued learning.
Beyond the processes of administration, planning, sharing units, conferences and seminars, something much greater and more meaningful is happening. We discover the strength and beauty of partnership for the sake of the gospel. Our desire is that it not only enhances our educational opportunities, but it models a Christ-centred perspective on working together in our common calling in discipleship training, spiritual formation, and ministry preparedness. Andrew Menzies reflects on the greater benefits of these kinds of partnerships,
“The growing partnership between our colleges has so much upside. Staff and students are energised, encouraged, and infused with a passion for sharing the gospel; resources are utilised better; and it all leans into closer kingdom collaboration, combined research synergies and a needed injection of evangelical thought leadership as we missionally engage a hurting world.”
Dr T H omas Kim B er is the Senior Lecturer in Spiritual and Pastoral Theology & Director of Research.
Library opening hours (during semester)
Monday: 10am – 6pm
Tuesday: 10am – 9pm
Wednesday: 10am – 9pm
Thursday: 10am – 9pm
Friday: 9am – 5pm
Saturday: 9am – 1:30pm
Refer to the library home page for further information on the library’s opening hours: mst.edu.au/library
Library Tour
Did you know that the library conducts tours? We encourage students to sign up for a tour at mst.edu.au/library-tour
Library Space
We have been working to create new spaces in the library. Whilst we are still in the process of redesigning and refurbishing the library space, we encourage you to come and explore the changes including our new reading corner.
Book Sale
Our book sale has moved and is now located externally to the library (in the building corridor towards the front of the library). mst.edu.au/library
30 Years of Chinese Ministry at MST
We are deePlY grateful to god for His unwavering faithfulness to the Chinese department. By His glorious presence and transformative guidance, He has blessed us with new faculty, staff, students, supporters, and fresh visions, all while keeping the original passion alive and vibrant.
2025 is an exciting year for MSTC as we are delighted to mark 30 years of Chinese ministry training at MST. To celebrate this significant milestone, we have planned a series of anniversary events, including an academic conference in May and a series of mission revival meetings in August, featuring Hudson Taylor IV, Principal of China Evangelical Seminary, Taiwan. Our theme for 2025 is “Let Grace Shine Forth.” Over these many years, we have witnessed the transformative power of the Gospel and now call on every believer to carry this Gospel of grace to Melbourne and to the ends of the earth. This milestone also presents an opportunity to raise awareness of the need for quality theological education. We aim to raise $300,000 for scholarship
funds—particularly to support overseas students who can make a significant Gospel impact in neighbouring countries and local Chinese churches—and an additional $300,000 for operational costs. We praise the Lord for the continuous growth in our faculty, staff, and student body, even as this growth has led to increased operational expenses.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chinese churches in Melbourne for their vision in establishing this ministry and for their exemplary faithfulness and generosity over the years. We are deeply grateful to our alumni, who have tirelessly prayed for the college, laboured in local and overseas mission fields, and remained mindful of the institution that contributed to their formation for ministry. To God be all the glory—may His name be faithfully praised!
We are also grateful for the Lord’s generous provision in guiding us into three new ventures this year.
First, we launched a new Cantonese cohort this semester to serve the influx of new migrants from Hong Kong and meet the growing needs of
Cantonese-speaking churches.
Second, our long-held vision of developing a multicultural second-generation training program is gaining momentum. We are excited to have Pastor Grace Lung - Director of Centre for Asian Christianity (Brisbane School of Theology) join us in strategizing and planning courses set to launch next year, with Dr Crystal Hong—our newly appointed Old Testament lecturer from Macau and Sydney—coordinating the project.
Third, we are exploring the expansion of our Chinese higher degree program in partnership with other institutions. Please pray with us for wisdom and discernment as we embark on these endeavours.
Christian Perfection and the Holiness Movement
DRYuk liong ParticiPated in the 8th Wesleyan Seminar from 26-27 June 2024 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The conference was organized by the World Federation of the Chinese Methodist Church (WFCMC), with 58 representatives from six nations (Hong Kong China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia). Yuk presented a paper on the topic of “Christian Perfection and Holiness Movement: A Historical Development and Reflections”
Dr Liong’s abstract:
The doctrine of the Christian Perfection (Entire Sanctification) as strongly advocated and fiercely defended and guarded by John Wesley in his lifetime, seemingly underwent subtle but fundamental changes in the first half of the 19th century in America, particularly under the leadership of Phoebe Palmer. One of her main emphases was an introduction to “a shorter way” to achieve the Christian Perfection. This had resulted in the flourishing of the Holiness Movement among different
Protestant denominations later, and eventually contributed, in some ways, to the birth of the Pentecostal movement in the early 20th century. The paper outlines the historical development, examines the changes, and provides some critical reflections for the Chinese Methodist churches today in the light of the theological methodology of John Wesley.
MAIN AUDITORIUM
VIEW OF FOYER FOR CONVENTION
DAVID PRICE ( FORMER BCV PRINCIPAL ) LEADING MISSION MEETING AT CONVENTION
VIEW OF NEW ACCOMMODATION BLOCK – HOPE CENTRE
DAVID PRICE ( FORMER BCV PRINCIPAL ) CUTTING RIBBON FOR OPENING OF NEW HOPE CENTRE – JANUARY 2024.
DINING ROOM IN NEW HOPE CENTRE
LUNCH BEING SERVED AT NEW HOPE CENTRE
Filming educational resources for NSW Christian schools
In the middle of second semester last year, Gillian Asquith’s office became a film set when she was interviewed for an educational video resource, sponsored by the Presbyterian Ladies College (PLC) in Croydon, Sydney. The video will be shared among several Christian schools in New South Wales. PLC commissioned a series of resources for senior high school students studying philosophy and theology. Gillian was invited by the producer of these resources, Mark Hadley of Hadley Ink, to contribute to a project discussing the reliability of the Gospels as eyewitness accounts. Mark Hadley is a Christian journalist, director, and producer, and has written scripts for the ABC, SBS, BBC, and the
“PLC COMMISSIONED A SERIES OF RESOURCES FOR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS STUDYING PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY.”
Seven, Nine and TEN networks. The script for this educational video was based loosely on Richard Bauckham’s ground-breaking book, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017) and incorporates commentary from six New Testament academics including Mike Bird (Ridley College), John Dickson (Founding Director of the Centre for Public Christianity), and Gillian Asquith (Lecturer – Melbourne School of Theology) Mark Hadley compiled a master list of around thirty questions to form the backbone of the video. Each New Testament academic was allocated a share of these questions according to their areas of expertise. Mark was keen for several academics to answer
the same question so that the students watching the video could see different ways of articulating a particular point. Mark sat out of the eye of the camera and asked the questions merely as prompts so that Gillian could bring her own style of delivery to the interview. Gillian even managed to include a reference to the Taylor Swift concert in Sydney (as an illustration that eyewitnesses are essential for ensuring that misinformation does not spread).
Students graduating from Christian schools are a key cohort of potential applicants for both MST and Eastern. We pray that God would bring more opportunities like this for “soft” advertising as a side benefit of projects that our faculty are invited to be part of.
Dr g i LL ian a sq U i TH is the MST Academic
Dean and Lecturer in Greek and New Testament.
Brunch
o n TH e
Lawn
The annual eVent of brunch on the Lawn was held on Saturday the 1st of March and was again a wonderful event. The Lord blessed us with a beautiful sunny 25-degree day, which was a perfect backdrop for a great morning of socialising, eating and drinking, all held on the college library lawns.
“THE HIGHLIGHT OF THE MORNING THOUGH WAS THE STUDENT VS STAFF TUG OF WAR.”
Our wonderful staff manned the food stalls, which consisted of Tim Meyers producing sausages, eggs and bacon for our Aussie Breakfast. Tom and Sue Kimber slaved over a hot grill pumping out American style pancakes topped with maple syrup and cream, and our always hard-working Chinese
Dept almost stole the show with pulled Beef roti and Hong Kong style egg waffles. All this delicious food was washed down with coffee and other great beverages made by the Two Sparrows coffee cart from Kilsyth South Baptist Church. The highlight of the morning though was the student vs staff tug of war. Last year the staff pulled off a resounding victory and were confident of repeating it but this year the students were just far too strong! As they say . . . there’s always next year!
All in all, it was a fantastic morning where new relationships where made and existing ones strengthened.
Davi D Bri DD oc K is the Property and Services Manager.
