“That’s amazing!”

Relocating to Australia from the United States, Liam couldn’t believe the opportunities we have here to serve young people in schools through Chaplaincy and REIS.

When Liam – now living in Mullumbimby with his Australian wife – first heard about chaplaincy in Australia from a good friend, his response was immediately and unequivocally enthusiastic.

““In the States, you can’t do any sort of SRE [REIS] or chaplaincy in any public school. It’s not a thing. I was like, ‘No way. That sounds amazing! Getting to work in ministry, in schools, to work with students and just come alongside them,’” remembers Liam.

With a background and training in youth ministry, Liam was keen to work with youth in the community. When his friend invited him to a chaplaincy area meeting, and to meet his FDM, Sam Sawden, Liam of course said ‘yes.’

“Instantly I just loved it, and I headed off talking to all the different chaplains and hearing their stories, and I just got plugged in right away,” recalls Liam.

Liam couldn’t wait to get started on his own chaplaincy journey, but first there were some obstacles to overcome…

“There was an opening at the schools around here, and it was a load of jumping hoops, because there were some visa things that didn’t line up exactly. So I was like, I’m going to start, and then it was halted. And then I was waiting to start, and then was halted again.

“But I definitely felt that this is what I’m supposed to do …so it’s going to come through eventually, ” says Liam.

Around a year later Liam entered his first high school chaplaincy role. He now serves in a dual capacity as both a chaplain and REIS teacher at one local highschool, and a chaplain at another.

Although still less than twelve months in, Liam has already had multiple interactions with students around life and faith. One in particular stands out. Early in his role, a student told Liam he had ‘encountered’ Jesus, but didn’t know what to do next.

“[The student said], ‘I want to get to know Jesus… I really want to pursue it [Christianity], but I don’t know how it works. I don’t know what church to go to, or who to talk to, or where to start reading….’

“I’ve seen him just grow more and more into his faith,” says Liam.