BCSA Newsletter September 2022

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In our weekly chapel, we’ve recently started preaching through the book of Leviticus. The Israelites had just finished building the Tabernacle after their Exodus from Egypt. This was the place where God chose to dwell amongst his people, and now they needed instruction for how to live before a Holy God.

The opening chapters of the book give instruction for the various offerings the people of Israel were to bring before the Lord. With so much repetition, it can be easy to miss what is at the core in all these instructions. Behind all the details of how a sacrifice is to be brought before the altar and the preparation it requires, God asks just one thing of his people – to worship him with their best. No matter whether they can offer a large bull or a humble pigeon, provision is made for all people to offer to God the best of what they have.

Leviticus foreshadows the perfect sacrifice that is to come through Jesus Christ. While the Israelites needed to offer their sacrifices daily, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice once for all. His perfect life atoned for all sin for all time. While we have never lived under the sacrificial system like the Israelites did, we are still asked to do the same – to worship him with our best. To live a life transformed by the grace and power we have received through Jesus Christ, daily growing in our holiness through him (Romans 12:1-2). Let us give thanks for all we have received through Christ and may his sacrifice for us spur us on to live lives that bring glory and honour to God’s name.

On September 8, Bible College SA hosted an event for pastors and ministry workers called ‘Sheep without Shepherds and a Harvest without Labourers’, drawing from Matthew 9:35–38. The morning focussed on the real need that South Australia has for more gospel workers, and how that need is only likely to increase in the future. Our city and state already has churches without pastors, huge groups of unreached peoples, and wide areas with little depth of Christian witness.

Although this is sobering to reflect on, an encouraging point that we noted was that Jesus has given his church the servant leaders that it needs. Ephesians 4:11–13 says –

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

It is significant to recognise that what Jesus has given is actual people, not just abilities. That is, he hasn’t only given the gift of evangelism, he’s given evangelists. He hasn’t only given the gifts of pastoring and teaching, he’s given pastors and teachers. This means that we should have confidence that the gospel workers we need for the future are already somewhere among us! All we have to do is identify, nurture, train, and deploy them.

On Saturday 8 October, from 10am, the College is holding its annual Open Day when our faculty will explain what’s involved in taking a course of study with us, and some of our current students share their experience of being enrolled. It is an excellent opportunity for anyone who is thinking about doing some more training for faithful service to find out how we can help them get further equipped.

It would be great if every church across the state could think about who Jesus has put among them as future servants of the Kingdom, and then encourage them to come along to Open Day to explore doing some formal training. If there is a faithful, gifted, passionate believer in your church, why not ask them if they can make it? It would be great to see them—maybe even you!—there.

On Saturday September 17, Bible College SA held its annual Partnership Dinner. Each year, this is our key event for seeking to gain new prayerful and financial partners for the College. Held at Sfera’s at Modbury, we shared with over 170 people the importance of our ministry for training and equipping future gospel workers for Adelaide. We heard from current students and graduates about how Bible College SA has prepared them for their current ministry roles, and our key note addresses challenged our guests to partner with us as ‘the ministry behind the ministries’, so that we are able to continue training the next generations of gospel workers. We give great thanks to God for all those who came, and we pray that many will join with us in a ministry that will bear much fruit for many years to come.

Our final prayer meeting for the year is coming up on 11 October 2022, at Bible College SA, from 7pm. If you have not yet been to one, we encourage you to come along and join with us as we continue to uphold our work of training the next generations of gospel workers before the Lord. At Bible College SA, we want to continue building our ministry on a firm foundation of prayer. These nights have become a great addition to the rhythm of our year and we look forward to continuing this pattern in 2023.

To find our more information, or to register your attendance to come, please contact our Partnerships and Event Officer, Mandy Krueger, at krueger@biblecollege.sa.edu.au or on 8291 8188.

Can you please tell us a little about yourself?
Sure! I love getting out in God's beautiful creation, sitting down for a quiet cup of tea and spending time with friends. Prior to coming to College I worked as a physiotherapist before doing one year of a ministry apprenticeship with Evangelical Students university ministry in 2021. I am married to Jonny, we have a puppy called Maisie and, wonderfully, are expecting a baby at the end of the year.

What are you currently studying?
A Graduate Diploma of Divinity.

What do you like most about studying at BCSA?
I have found the staff to be both highly knowledgeable, well thought-through and equipped to teach; and also incredibly faithful and genuinely caring brothers and sisters in Christ. I am pleased to be learning lots and feel thoroughly supported in the process.

In what ministry do you hope to work when you finish at BCSA?
Great question! At this stage I am open to God's leading, whether into vocational ministry or as a lay member of a local church.

What is one thing you are learning at the moment that is particularly insightful?
In my Principles of Evangelism subject, I have been struck by the ways in which Christians often limit the gospel message by emphasising penal substitutionary atonement (Jesus dying for our sins at the cross), while neglecting the eschatological impacts of Jesus' resurrection and eternal life to come. I am praying that understanding the gospel in all its "thickness" will help me to be more effective when sharing it with others.

• Please pray for our Open Day – that we would see many new students apply to study with us in 2023. Give thanks for all our currents students and pray that they will continue to grow deeply from their studies at Bible College SA.

• Please pray for our faculty – that they would keep preparing our students well for a lifetime of gospel service and continue to equip them for effective gospel ministry.

• Give thanks for a wonderful Partnership Dinner. Pray that we would have many new people become partners with us because of this event. We give great thanks for the opportunity we had to share with so many about our ministry.

• Please pray for our sister school, Oak Hill College in London and its principal Johnny Jukes, as it continues to train gospel workers for the United Kingdom.

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