“I love teaching the word of God to kids”

Teaching the Bible to teenagers in schools mightn’t be easy, but it’s 100% worthwhile. Thanks for making it possible.

Emma once dreamed of being a teacher, but after a brief stint as a substitute overseas, she set that dream aside. She travelled and held various jobs, from working in the stock market to being a postie.

When Emma first heard about the need for SRE teachers from the current SRE teacher speaking at her church, she felt called to learn more, despite having very little experience.

“I couldn’t shake it from my mind,” she remembers.

She was offered a temporary SRE position to cover a maternity leave vacancy at three Albury high schools, teaching years 7-10 three days a week.

In one of her classes, a student teased another student when they were sharing up the front. She spoke to him directly about the damage bullying can do. “You might be having fun but he isn’t.”

“The following week in class … he sat down next to the kid he was teasing. He looked at him, and he publicly apologised,” she recalls, adding that she told him how proud she was of him after.

Emma isn’t afraid to put herself on the line for the sake of her students.

“At two of the schools I do playground duty. At one of them, I go out and play basketball with the kids. I’m hopeless at it.”

But clearly, Emma is giving students hope, on the court and off.

Since starting her lunchtime basketball games two new students have joined Emma’s SRE class. She’s also been able to respond to student questions about local churches and what a relationship with Jesus looks like.

We cannot thank you enough for being part of the team and making this invaluable work possible across our country.

To keep ministries like SRE growing across more schools consider donating to make this happen and help other children hear the gospel throughout 2025. Visit su.org.au/donate.