A COLLECTION OF STORIES FROM TERM 4

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MY NAME IS JACINTA HOLMES, AND AS A YEAR 12 STUDENT I HAVE BEEN PART OF THE MUSTARD LUNCHTIME GROUP AT FIRBANK GRAMMAR SCHOOL IN BRIGHTON FOR SIX YEARS. I JOINED AT THE START OF YEAR 7 AFTER HEARING ABOUT IT AT A SCHOOL ASSEMBLY.
During my time at school and through my involvement in the group, I have seen God speak to people that may not have been Christian, in so much as they were no longer frightened or annoyed to discuss religion

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and God but learned to open up to him and others. I have also seen God create wider acceptance for religion in a school that is sadly losing its faith. My church, St. Peters Brighton Beach, is a quaint little church. It is small and has had an ageing community. This inspired me to attend Mustard so that I could hopefully connect with Christians closer to my age. I have to say that my involvement with Mustard and my leadership of one of the groups has not only inspired me in what is discussed at my Continued on Page 2

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LAST YEARS TR INITY FAI TH WE EK WAS REALLY BIG ! NEVE R BE FORE HAD A SC HOOL GIVEN MUSTARD SO MUCH TIME WITH STUDE NTS, AND WED NEVE R HA D SO MANY VOLUNTEE RS CO MMIT TO HE LPING RUN AN EVENT! ON THE BACK OF SUCH A SUCCESSFUL EV ENT THE SCHOOL REQUESTED THAT IN 2013 WE GROW THE TIME THAT WE SPEN D THEIR YEAR 8 STUDE NT S, FOCUSING ON FAITH, JUS TICE AND GLOBAL CITIZE NSHIP.
time (some for all three day s) and enabled us to really engage with the students in lots of sma ll group discussions, activitie s and reections. On Day One the students wor ked together through a rang e of challenges, to earn pieces of a small house that they wou ld construct together. Using the houses to focus on the notion of home, we looked at all of the places where we t in and see how belonging seems to be a natu ral human inclination. With Day Two we hoped to esta blish why belonging is importa nt. Students spent extended time in their groups where one of the mai n challenges was to write and lm a short video that demons trated Continued on Page 2

In preparation for this years event, we grappled with how to explore these themes and not default to jus t try to be a good person. Our hope was to focus on the central theme of belonging, exploring the natu re of God and ourselves in light of our need to belong. With the event now completed, I cant help but think that it was an amazing three days! It was incredible to watch God stitch the diffe rent elements together, create an open and respectful environment for exp lora tion and build some really strong rela tionships between the boys and our team . We were blessed with the suppor t of 33 volunteers who generou sly gave their

MUSTARD LUNCHTIME GROUPS PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CHRISTIAN STUDENTS TO GATHER TOGETHER, EXPLORE THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS, AND ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER TO LIVE OUT THEIR FAITH.
Probably the most challenging aspect is the Live bit. This is where the rubber hits the road. This is where a relationship with God moves from being about relationships with our Christian friends in our Christian groups, to being about relationship with the world around us.

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John 3:16 - 17 are some of the best know verses of the Bible. Yet how often have we read these verse as if they say God so loves my Christian friends and I, that he gave His one and only Son. So that we, my Christian friends and I, can go to heaven. When we get our heads around the truth that Jesus didnt die to redeem us alone, but the whole world, the whole cosmos, the need to live out our faith with all of our lives becomes strikingly obvious. Sometimes our Lunchtime Group leaders present little challenges for their students to attempt throughout the week between the group meeting. The exciting reality is

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that we dont do these challenges alone. When we have the Holy Spirit, God goes with us. Whats more we do it together: we follow Jesus together, we LIVE together. That is what Mustard Lunchtime Groups are all about! - Dan Nixon

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church but has helped me when I have had to lead Sunday School or speak during our Family Services. Over my high school years I have grown in my faith and in my ability to speak about it. The Mustard group has made me realise that there will be times where I do not know what is happening but by reecting and opening up to God I will always nd an answer. I feel that I have gotten to know God, myself and the other members better. Next year I am hoping to come back to Firbank to help lead the group and provide support to Steph Gotze, next years Chapel Captain. I can see myself either running smaller groups in connection with Steph or just providing support to Steph in organizing activities. To those who help Mustard in any way I want to extend my thanks and gratitude. Whether it be a few hours a week, a few dollars a week or a simple prayer, everything you provide has enabled Mustard to become what it is today. I know from the faces of the girls when they enter each Mustard session, or the chatter of those leaving a Mustard Live event, everything that Mustard does is important. - Jacinta Holmes

our need for belonging. As we explored this need, we showed that it can only be fully satised thro ugh connection & belonging to the God in whose image we have been crea ted. On our nal day we challenged the students to recognise and explore their responsibility to those they belong to, particularly as Global Citi zens. It was great to partner with Wor ld Vision, Operation Mobilisa tion , Y-G ap and Urban Seed to help the boy s think practically about the resp onsibility that they have to the commun ities that they belong. As a whole, the event was fun, lively, deep, dynamic, eng aging and intense!! Looking after 155 Yea r 8 boys for more than 12 hou rs was no easy task! But through the empowerment of God, and grea t team of faithful volunteers, once again God has shown that where we are willing to serve, He is able to do grea t things. - Andrew Kitchen

IVE BEEN A PART OF THE MUSTARD LIVE TEAM FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS NOW AND SADLY MY TRANSITION TO FULL TIME WORK AS A MIDWIFE NEXT YEAR MEANS THAT THIS SEASON OF MUSTARD IS PROBABLY COMING TO AN END.

recently, under the guise that I was doing research for Mustard.

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In all seriousness, I have really enjoyed running such professional, well-thought-out, and ultimately Spirit-lled programs at these high schools over the past few years. It is an absolute joy to see students feel safe and free enough to be able I am so grateful for the opportunities to open up about their fears and Ive been given to be part of such insecurities, and for us to be able to a wonderful community of people speak truth into their lives in ways who are so passionate about that are relevant and real to them. seeing students come to life. I will never get over the fact that In the majority of the Mustard we are able to share the best thing Live events that Ive done, I have in our lives with these students and been enlisted as the MC of the that they are so willing and eager program. Im still in shock that the to listen and receive. It has been team trusted me enough to give an absolute honour, and I am so me the microphone at each event! grateful to God for this incredible Whilst my jokes are ridiculous, my ministry that Hes allowed me hefty knowledge of pop culture to be a part of, and the Mustard has served me well over the years, team for their extreme brilliance! and I extended that knowledge by - Tessa Clark attending a One Direction concert

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ANDREW KITCHEN ASKS A FEW QUESTIONS OF SPENCER, WHO IS A REGULAR AND MUCH LOVED MEMBER OF HIS LUNCHTIME GROUP AT KEW HIGH SCHOOL.
Tell us about yourself Spencer I go to Kew High and I am in Year 8. When I get older Id like to be a psychologist or a preacher but in all I want to fulll the future God has planned for me. Tell us about how came to faith? When I would visit my Dad in the holidays a loving Christian family opened their hearts out to me. After many years of their teachings and guidance they invited me to Church and I ofcially committed my life to Christ. What difference does your faith make to your life? Now, as a Christian I see everything in a different way. I can feel Jesus within me, and my eyes are developing to

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see what he sees and to see the change that is needed, for the cause of Christ. Whats it like being a Christian at Kew High? In school people know you are Christian. When friends and people are near they treat you normally but if the subject of God or Religion etc. comes up, all eyes are on you and you are expected to have your input. What do you think stops young people from nding faith? I denitely think pride. They think they are bigger than God and the plans He has for them. And because they will never nd full satisfaction they just keep indulging themselves in pride and things which make them feel good about themselves.

THIS EDITION OF OUR NEWSLETTER IS FILLED WITH THE STORIES OF MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE WHO ARE CONNECTED TO MUSTARD. WE ARE CONVINCED THAT GOD IS IN THE PEOPLE BUSINESS AND HE HAS CALLED MUSTARD TO JOIN WITH OTHERS IN THIS WORK TO BRING LIFE TO THE PEOPLE THAT HE CREATED.
God has created a world full of colour and vibrancy, and its His followers that are taking up Jesus entreaty to bring out the God-avors of this earth and bring out the God-colors in the world (Matthew 5:13-16 The Message). Someone who has brought much God-colour to schools around Melbourne and empowered others to do the same is Andrew Kitchen. He has served with Mustard Live for the past two years and has been a genuine asset to this exciting ministry. Andrew will be nishing his role at the end of the year. When telling me his decision to move on, he said: I feel that God is asking my wife Kayte and I to take the biggest step of faith that we ever have and to step into 2014 entirely relying on Him for His provision. We are grateful for Andrews faithful service and wish he and Kayte Gods blessing and provision.

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We are blessed to be involved in the lives of so many people. Our prayer is that God will use our humble actions to bring life to every single person that we meet. May you and your family know this life over the Christmas period. Thank you for your support in 2013.

- Tim Clare, Mustards Director

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EARLIER THIS YEAR WE GATHERED INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHAPE AND FLAVOUR OF OUR LUNCHTIME GROUPS THROUGH OUR ANNUAL CENSUS. THE AIM OF THE CENSUS IS TO GET A CLEAR PICTURE OF OUR GROUPS, TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF GROWTH, AND BETTER TAILOR THE RESOURCES AND TRAINING THAT WE DEVELOP.
Consistent with the vision for our Lunchtime Groups as being places of encouragement and support for Christian students, 82% of those attending our groups identify as Christian, and of the rest, 10% are unsure. The students in our groups are spread over 51 different churches and 13 different denominations. The average group size is 8 students, and the most common year level this year has been Year 12. We found that the students have learned a broad range of things about God and life, including learning about Gods character as loving, powerful and trustworthy, learning how we can relate to God, how he teaches and guides us, learning about how to live as Christians, including the importance of prayer, and learning about how to grow in faith. The practical outworking of this broad range of understanding resulted in 65% of students taking steps forward in their relationship with God; either strengthening or growing an existing faith, or starting to develop belief in God. Encouragingly, 58% of students said that sharing their faith featured in the practical outworking of their growth. Showing love in practical ways, meeting with other Christians and engaging in prayer were also results of students participation in a Lunchtime Group. - Paul Pallot

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Recently during Mustard at McKinnon Secondary College a Year 12 student rocked up for the rst time, responding to the notice in the morning news at school. She had decided to see what Mustard was about since she was a Christian. We ran a bible study and asked a few questions, and before we knew it, lunch was over. At the end of our time together she said to me I never thought I would have read the bible here at school! I was encouraged that it is Gods words that are a vital necessity for our Christian students at school in an age where society attempts to separate our education and faith. - Andrew Ellis

CONTACT MUSTARD . 12 JOHN STREET, KEW, VIC 3102 . PH: (03) 9816 7131 . mustard@mustard.org.au . www.mustard.org.au