Theology Lecturer
The Bible college trains local leaders.
The Bible college has an opening for faculty of theology and missions.
The qualified candidate will have a Th.M. or Ph.D./Th.D.
Evangelist
This 75-bed hospital serves the tribal people of a remote region. It has good operating rooms and is supported by laboratory pharmacy X-ray and ultrasound facilities and has physiotherapy and mother/child healthcare departments.
The evangelist will work with the resident pastor talk and pray with patients and visitors speak to patients and visitors at daily devotions and at the outpatients department lead bible studies and prayer groups for staff and interested people and work with external organisations.
A theologically trained Christian who is prepared to commit at least three years to the position of which twelve to eighteen months would be in language study. Either male or female but a female is preferred because majority of our patients are female.
Seminary Faculty
The evangelical seminary trains students for ministry.
Faculty members are needed at the graduate level (M.Div.) for the following subjects: Biblical Studies Systematic Theology Church History Christian Ed Counseling Greek and Hebrew.
The qualified candidate will have a Th.M. or Ph.D./Th.D.
Bible School Faculty
The evangelical seminary in South Asia trains students for ministry.
Faculty members are needed at the undergraduate level (B.Th.) for the Bible school.
The qualified candidate would have an M.Div..
Youth Ministry Trainer
The Association of Evangelical Churches was established in 1990. It is a fellowship of about 12 churches in this Asian country who wish to engage better with their young people.
The post holder will train pastors and church leaders to engage better with young people.
The successful candidate will be a committed follower of Christ serving under a mission and a supporting church or churches. They will hold a BA or BS liberal arts degree from a US or Canadian college or equivalent. They will have experience in youth work.
Professor
We are an evangelical inter-mission seminary which trains national people in various aspects of ministry.
We are looking for a professor of theology to teach students at a certificate level in the national language or at masters level in English. Sub-specialities could include systematic theology hermeneutics homiletics missions etc.
We are looking for someone with experience in teaching and with a minimum of an MTh and preferably a DTh degree. We will require references regarding teaching experience and moral character.
Student Ministry Staff Worker
This Christian charity seeks to grow friendship and faith with international students in a European country. They equip churches and volunteers to serve minister and engage with international students caring for them holistically. They also organise a range of social events and activities for international students to be a part of. They operate in 35 university towns and cities across the country befriending and supporting international students through 75 staff workers.
The purpose of the role is to work with the church to communicate the good news of Jesus to international students in both word and deed and in whole-life cross-cultural discipleship.Responsibilities include providing appropriate practical care hospitality and cultural exchange for international students creating opportunities to teach and model the good news about Jesus training nurturing and encouraging Christian international students and ensuring that new Christians are prepared for return to their home culture through appropriate discipleship.
The ideal candidate will have cross-cultural mission experience in particular among students along with suitable theological and missiological training or the willingness to undertake this as in-service training. They will have experience of taking overall charge of a programme of leading a team and of training and mobilising others. They will be educated to degree level or its equivalent and gifted in public speaking and preaching.
Intercultural Families Worker
Our church is a community of Jesus followers. It is located in a suburban area with around 30 of the community of South Asian ethnicity. We as a newly planted congregation will actively seek to reach and connect with the large number of young families as well as the growing multicultural population within the area.The church plant is officially due to launch in September 2022 but development has been on-going for a number of years.
The worker will excite encourage and equip the whole church to reach the multicultural community with the good news of Jesus and will lead and train our voluntary team to engage with this vital work.They will pioneer new ministries amongst young families and those from a South Asian background. They will take a lead in reaching discipling and pastoring those from different ethnic backgrounds and will build relationships with non-churched families through schools ministries and in the wider community. They will liaise with different religious groups within the area and pioneer new groups and ministry opportunities within the community.As a member of the staff team they will be involved in the planning and delivery of services and activities and will take responsibility for the running of weekly church services in leading and preaching.
Essential attributes include a passion for making and growing disciples an understanding of the pastoral needs of families and the ability to relate to those of South Asian background. The candidate will possess mature biblical knowledge and the ability to communicate this clearly and engagingly. They will have experience of working inter-culturally the ability to manage a volunteer team and a sound understanding of safeguarding processes and regulations. Training or a qualification in Christian or intercultural ministry and experience with children is desirable.
Keeping watch
“The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.” Proverbs 15:3
This verse recently caught my attention. I had always thought of God keeping an eye on good but absent when evil is present. I remember being taught that God can’t look on evil. Now I am not so sure. This verse points out that God is in every place and he is not inattentive to evil. It describes him as “keeping watch on the evil” as well as the good. In the phrase, “keeping watch”, I think of a military officer whose job it is to be alert and give constant, disciplined attention to a situation. I like the idea that God is alert, not disinterested or neutral. He is taking a good long look at evil.
We are hearing about a lot of negative things at the moment. The COVID-19 pandemic, the plight of refugees, economic crises, land border tensions, floods, earthquakes, locust plagues, racism, sparring world leaders and people careless with the resources of God’s world. God is alert and watching all these things.
A Christian friend recently told me that, “God has given Satan control over our world.” That statement has some truth but it made me cringe a little, for it leaves me with the hopelessness of deism – that God has walked away to let the world run itself under Satan’s control. This made me rethink how I would describe the current situation. Satan is indeed busily bringing harm. But God is not absent, and evil will not stay active forever. God is unchanged by evil but not unmoved.
God sees all of this – separated and distressed families, unexpected funerals, loss of salary, sickness and death – and because he sees it, he sent Jesus. God is keeping watch over the evil and the good. It is a privilege to show through our words and deeds that he so loved the world that he sent Jesus.
Amelia has served in South Asia for more than 15 years.
Names have been changed.
You came back
“What? WHAT? Wow! Wow! WOW!!” Silence followed; a deep, intentional silence from my friend, Mawar. “I’m crying!” she eventually said.
I had texted Mawar earlier to let her know we were back in the country after four months in Australia due to COVID-19 border closures, and she was now in disbelief. “You came back, from your safe country to this scary situation?” she asked. She told me that she had not worked out in the community for this time, keeping herself safe at home.
Chickens squawked in the background, and I remembered when she and her husband moved into their house last year and transformed it from a clothing factory to a self-sufficient oasis in the capital city of this country. If I close my eyes I can still vividly see the lush plants and taste the bountiful mangos from their front tree served from a bottomless plate. Mawar is vegetarian and we ate lavishly from the fruit and vegetables that grew in her garden.
I have known her for fifteen years, having met on a medical team after a natural disaster. She is a well-known researcher, advising the government and World Bank on micro-finance projects and is much sought after for her research skills. For years she has travelled to remote regions of the country advocating for the needs of the poor.
Our journey from Australia back to Asia began with that deep call to be back alongside those who are suffering after thinking we had retired from field work. We began to ask ourselves, often prompted by other people’s questions, “while we can do good remotely, what can older people who are willing to leave the safety of life in Australia do to serve others overseas?” We knew from experience that walking alongside others in their pain is much more powerful than what we can do from a distance. Isn’t this what Jesus did, after all?
While Australian authorities were working hard to keep us all safe and near to home, the deep call back to Asia grew in us. Just before retiring to Australia, we had been working with our national friends to teach and model what good member care and self-care could look like for local Christian workers who laboured tirelessly in remote areas away from their support systems for long periods. We felt that ‘still, small voice’ calling us out of retirement to take this work further to the remaining provinces.
It was so encouraging to find that our act of obedience motivated Mawar to in turn take the risk to return to field work. She was acutely aware of the increased suffering of her fellow citizens from the pandemic. She had been writing a paper to publish on this topic and my first job was to proofread it for her. “We are not called to be safe,” she wrote. “We are called to be whatever God wants us to be to help others.”
What we had been able to do as older Australians is mere loaves and fishes compared to what our local friends become inspired and encouraged to do through our commitment to take risks to serve others. It’s been such a joy and honour to see workers who face isolation and burnout becoming healthy again and able to continue to do good in these communities. Praise God! We are more convinced than ever that ‘doing life together’ with local people is such a powerful way to show that God loves the world, and we do too.
Sharon and Len recently returned to the South East Asian country where they lived and served in member care for many years.
Names have been changed.
