Ministry

Ministry Message

You are the light of the world…let your light shine before others.  Matt 5:13-16

In the movie, 'Freedom Writers', Hilary Swank plays the character of Erin Gruwell, a teacher who has been accepted to teach English at Woodrow Wilson High School. Her class is made up of "unteachable" students, from broken families with high unemployment, racial tension and high crime risk.

All previous teachers gave up on this class, as no one believed that there could possibly be any meaningful future attainable for them. Everyone except for Erin. Because of her faith in the students and her genuine interest in their lives, combined with hard work and love, her class became the first ever in Woodrow Wilson High School with all students graduating and further entering the workforce with equal opportunity for promotion. Erin’s faith in the potential of her students broke the chain of a generational bondage to disadvantage and unemployment.

The problems presented at Woodrow are not the same problems that are present here at Endeavour College, however, even here in Mawson Lakes, our students are equally vulnerable to self-doubt, lack of hope, uncertainty and lack of confidence in their future. This is where the words of Jesus are so powerful, as He says: “You are the light of the world…let your light shine before others”. We have been given a mandate by Jesus to shine a light of hope and faith for others. We all, as the staff of Endeavour College have the opportunity to become like Hilary Swank for our students, by bringing light into their lives. Light that believes in them, a light that is genuinely interested in them, a light that brings the best out of them for their better future.

So, let’s shine! Let’s shine brighter than ever. We have been given a task that is bigger than ourselves, a task that can change the life of an individual, family and community.

Charlie Tatera

Lay Chaplain