Troublesome schoolboy Phil share the good news

As a child, Phil was a self-confessed trouble-maker in the classroom. 

“It was crazy really, but I remember making it my goal to see how quickly I could get through an SRE Teacher before they’d leave,” says Phil.

Flash forward to the present, and Phil has been teaching RI on and off for the last thirty years.

“I didn’t become a Christian until I was at Uni, and I remembered the patience of those teachers who kept coming back week after week. They’d hand out stickers which said ‘God is love’, and ‘God is kind’ and some of those phrases stuck with me right through my life.”

“When I gave my life to Christ at 19, I felt God’s peace come over me and I saw the difference it made in my life. Thanks to those [SRE] classes, I didn’t need as much background information to believe – because I knew about God, I just didn’t know him.”

Over his journey, Phil has been involved in setting up RI programs in a number of schools; showing them it’s more than just religious studies, but actually part of equipping our young people holistically for life.

“As humans, we are made of a body, soul and spirit and it’s important to address wellbeing in all of these areas. We’ve seen such an increase in focus on mental health in recent years, which is great, but we also have to give people the opportunity to explore their spiritual life,” says Phil.

Phil ended up taking a six-year break from teaching RI, as he was focusing on his work with local churches and community care outreaches, but it was something that was always in the back of his mind. 

“I’m passionate about RI and I see it as really important. When I kept seeing the SU Australia Coordinator job advertised, I decided to get back into it.”

“For me, it all fits together: the church, being involved in community care and RI. You’re there to make a difference, but if you don’t have skin in the game yourself, it’s hard to encourage other people to be involved as well. I think it’s about leading by example, and that’s why I got back into teaching RI.”

To support the vital work being done by SRE teachers like Phil, visit donate.generate.org.au today.