Transition Points
With transition points often a time for discipleship to be strengthened or weakened, Year 13 is the perfect program to help school-leavers strengthen their faith at this key transition point, says former pastor Brett Hall, who now works as EA to the Bishop of South Sydney.
“I’ve seen the fruitfulness of Year 13 over and over again,” he says.
“I’ve seen Year 13 students be strengthened to keep following Jesus, grounded in the faith. I’ve seen some Year 13 students be so persuaded of the significance of the gospel that it has been a step in pursuing vocational ministry. I’ve seen Year 13 graduates exhibit great Christian maturity – in their love for others, for the church, and God.”
Rev Hall says what warms his heart the most is that every Year 13 graduate he’s known continues to walk faithfully with Jesus.
“Some have continued in a trade or gone to university, and some have gone into vocational ministry.
In God’s providence, Year 13 was formative in each of their lives, grounding them in Christ.”
Rev Hall said five Year 13 graduates from different cohorts chose to join Rosemeadow-Appin Anglican Churches during its revitalisation phase and re-establishment of a youth ministry. As senior minister, he had many opportunities to observe the Year 13 team and says they all developed a more robust commitment to their own discipleship, a greater love for God’s people and a desire to serve.
“Each Year 13 graduate who joined us came with a solid commitment to their own discipleship, a clear vision for where the local church fit in God’s plans and purposes, and a willingness to serve generously,” he says.
“Our church was a beneficiary of the investment others had made in these graduates, which had produced a Christian maturity in each of those individuals which strengthened them, and meant they were a real gift to our church.”
When the church had its first Year 13 students in 2020 and 2021, the Year 13 team created many opportunities for discipleship in the students lives.
“The Year 13 team had a role in instructing and mentoring our students. There was also the opportunity for year-round peer ministry – it was formative that our students got to be embedded in an extended peer network who were all committed to growing as followers of Jesus.
“It was no surprise that the same things that I’d observed in the Year 13 Graduates who helped strengthen Rosemeadow-Appin Anglican Churches were the very same things I could see developing in those that we sent to be Year 13 students: a more robust commitment to their own discipleship, a greater love for God’s people, and a desire to serve.”