Get Grounded

Adam Jolliffe has a heartfelt message for Christian parents: Let your children do Year 13! He sees it as a key formative year that gives school leavers a desire to serve Christ and his people in whatever vocation they choose. 

“It not only helps them with their faith but it helps them in their ministry to others and their willingness to build the church through the gifts God's given them – and sensing that that is a priority,” he says. 

“It will strengthen their faith by helping them to see the whole Bible in one, the beauty of it. They will make massive progress in their understanding of the Bible and in the way they see that lived out. It will orient their mind and heart towards serving God and his people, hopefully for life.”

Adam believes it’s not only worthwhile spending time nailing the pegs into the ground of Christian faith and service but also helpful to slow down the treadmill to earning big money and create the distance for school leavers to work out what they really want to do.

“So many kids go to uni and then drop out after the first year and then find themselves indebted for 20 grand or something like that because of the HECS fees. This [program] enables you to have a bit of space to think, ‘What is it that I really want to do?’ And spend some time to strengthen your own faith and Christian service. I think it's fantastic.”

The cherry on top is the group of “brilliant, wonderful” young people that, as a Christian parent, you’re delighted your children are mixing with and developing strong friendships with, he says. 

After seeing his two elder daughters consolidate their faith through the program, Adam is delighted to see the confidence and excitement that his son Ben is experiencing as a member of the current cohort.

“He's really loving it for a whole pile of reasons. One is the cohort of other year 13ers whom he just loves being with. So the community there is excellent. 

“The learning that he's experiencing is really exciting. [The director] Steve Carlisle is taking him through biblical theology, an overview of the whole Bible in detail. It's the very first time that he's got into it at that level, and suddenly, all the stories that have been familiar and he's learned are all suddenly clicking into place. He's just thrilled at seeing the way the themes find their fulfillment in Christ. There are so many gems in each lecture that they just hang on to it until lunchtime and then they talk about it. So he's really enjoying that.”

Thanks to Year 13’s partnership with Anglicare, Ben has a job with Anglicare that gives him enough money to pay for the entire course, so he will come out of it debt-free. 

For the church component, Ben is involved in youth ministry, music ministry, and leading Bible studies, which has stretched him and given him confidence in handling the Bible. 

“The final thing is, right now he's on a mission in Fiji, and he’s really enjoying the different culture and the way these Christians express their faith. There's lots of really joyful singing. “Two days ago, he was told he had to preach, and he only had 10 minutes’ notice. And he pulled out a sermon out of his back pocket, put on a shirt and tie, and then went up and did the sermon. They knew you had to be prepared for anything. But it’s fantastic that he's getting that kind of opportunity, which he probably wouldn’t get in Sydney. So it’s getting cross-cultural, different stretching experiences all in the safety of a solid community and the support of experienced leaders who help them through this.” 

While it’s a real possibility that Ben will go into vocational ministry later, the real value of the program is that “it's setting him up for a life of service in his local church, and commitment to other people.  And that's worth its weight in gold.”