Year 13 students are stepping out of their comfort zone to share the good news of Jesus!

Gemma Flinders, current Year 13 student, has been growing in her discipleship skills since joining the program. As a school leaver, Gemma saw Year 13 as a great opportunity to strengthen her faith, grow in God's word, and be equipped for a lifetime of service for God. She says:

“I heard about Year 13 from family friends who had done the program in previous years. They spoke so highly of the program because of the relationships they formed and the way they grew in their faith to love Jesus more. I wanted to join the program to intentionally strengthen my faith and grow in my relationship with God. I knew that serving Christ and striving to know Him better would never be a waste of a year.”

At the start of July, Gemma served in Fiji for three weeks with the rest of her cohort. This is where she stepped out of her comfort zone, especially staying in a village called Namelimeli. She says:

“It was amazing to get a taste of life in a village as we were so welcomed into the community. There were great opportunities to share the gospel through hospital visits, door knocking, and kids clubs. I was stretched beyond my comfort zone as God sustained me and reminded me that we can be completely satisfied in Him.”

While serving in the village, Gemma and a few other students decided to go the extra mile and help the youth grow in their understanding of God by opening up the Word with them every afternoon. She says:

“We realised there were a few youth in the village who could benefit from a program made for them, separate to the kids club we were planning to run. So, every afternoon we would meet with the youth on the pastor’s verandah, devour a block of chocolate, play a card game, read a passage from the beginning of Luke and discuss it together. We really wanted to make it a simple, Bible-focussed time of fellowship so that the youth could continue meeting after we left. In our last time together, one of the Fijian youth led the group and all of them were keen to continue meeting into the future. It was so encouraging to see God teaching them that His Word is for them, not just the adults and kids, and that they can understand it for themselves!

Gemma learnt about the beauty of knowing God as her satisfaction and being eager to share the gospel. She says:

“The Fiji mission taught me that God is all I need. I realised in a new way the immense comforts we have here in Australia and was challenged to be more thankful and content in Christ. God grew in me a stronger zeal for sharing the gospel and a deeper humility for serving others.”

Overall, Year 13 has helped Gemma enjoy spending time with God and appreciate the wonderful opportunity to serve him and see other’s grow in their relationship with him. She says:

“Year 13 has helped me to delight more genuinely in spending time with God through Bible reading and prayer and grown my conviction that there is nothing more important than serving our good God. It has been incredible to see how God has worked in the lives of my brothers and sisters as one person shares their testimony each week, and through these opportunities God has grown my appreciation for His sovereignty and care for all of His children, including me.”

Praise God for the way he is working in young lives, like Gemma. Please continue to pray that more young people will consider joining Year 13 and take the opportunity to spend a year to grow in their love and knowledge of God.