By Ben McEachenWednesday 12 Jun 2024Hope MorningsEducationReading Time: 4 minutes
The school years can be incredibly influential when it comes to who we are and what we are about.
Key points
- Being a young person in Australia remains anchored in identity.
- Students, parents or community members involved with a public school can request a Christian group be started.
- “Kids get invited along to a lunchtime group… They found Jesus [there] and that becomes their church community,” Katie said.
- Listen to the full conversation in the player above.
Identity often is forged in the playground.
Our outlook on self and life can be set in place among fellow students, study and lunchtime.
Katie Stringer is a volunteer Special Religious Education teacher in Sydney’s Inner West.
David Krebs is Sydney Metro Worker with Scripture Union.
Katie and David are heavily involved in nurturing lunchtime groups at public schools in New South Wales.
Backed by Scripture Union materials and guidance, these Christian-based groups support and encourage young people to embrace their identity found in Jesus.
Different, not more difficult
For those of us who have not been to primary or high school for a while, it can seem like a totally different world to what it was.
Katie and David told Hope Mornings that that is not the case.
While there have been prominent changes in technology and awareness about social, environmental and mental health issues, being a young person in Australia remains anchored in identity.
Sorting out who you are now, though, has become more complicated, crowded and chaotic.
Being a young person in Australia remains anchored in identity.
“For today’s teenagers there are so many options,” David said.
“They are left confused about what this means for my future and how do I live this out?
“How do I still fit in but be unique, individual and be known?”
Starting a group
One avenue for investigating identity is a lunchtime group at public schools.
Students, parents or community members involved with a public school (such as a Special Religious Education volunteer) can request a Christian group be started.
As Katie explained, whether the group gets the greenlight is at the “pleasure of the principal”.
If an official lunchtime Christian group is allowed, students sort out the kinds of things they want to do.
Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, David and Katie explained the regular lunchtime catch-ups vary from school to school, area to area.
Some students might want to pore over the meaning of every word in a Bible passage.
Students, parents or community members involved with a public school can request a Christian group be started.
Others might want to spend more time discussing how God wants them to navigate life.
Consistent elements of the groups are games, conversation, Bible reading and prayer.
Meeting Jesus at school
Katie and David are passionate about getting behind young people as they pursue a life given to Jesus.
The lunchtime groups are an incredible opportunity to share Jesus with younger people who might not otherwise interact with Christianity.
“It is astonishing how many regulars are not Scripture students,” Katie said about one of the groups she is involved with.
The possibility of a school student meeting Jesus through a lunchtime group is a heartwarming theory.
But does it actually happen?
“That’s the reason I keep doing it,” Katie said.
“Isn’t that the high of every Christian’s life – when you see somebody find out how amazing and beautiful Jesus is?
“Doesn’t that put a shot of adrenaline in your body?”
In the first Scripture class that Katie taught, one Year 7 student invited her friend to a lunchtime group.
In Year 10, the friend who had been invited gave Katie a Christmas card.
“Kids get invited along to a lunchtime group… They found Jesus [there] and that becomes their church community,” Katie said.
“It was so sweet of her,” Katie said.
“It said such a simple message: Dear Mrs Stringer, thank you for showing me the beautiful Christian life.'”
“I thought the way she expressed it showed real genuineness.”
David has seen similar responses to the good news of Jesus across public schools in Sydney.
“That’s not a unique story; it happens all the time,” David said.
“Often, these kids have parents who are not Christian, and they don’t want to let them go to church or SRE.
“But their kids get invited along to a lunchtime group – and they let them go.
“They found Jesus [there] and that becomes their church community.”
Listen to the full interview with Katie and David in the player above.
Article supplied with thanks to Ben McEachen. Ben is a radio and podcast host, and was previously deputy editor of Eternity News. He was also a full-time movie reviewer for more than a decade, including for Open House, The Big Picture, The Advertiser and Empire.
Feature image: Photo by CanvaPro