Seeking God's Kingdom Wholeheartedly

As a part of building the ICF student community, Tony will also be thinking through how to better connect international students into the local church. His church, Barneys, is in a prime location for reaching the many international students in the nearby universities (The University of Sydney and University of Technology Sydney) which makes it an excellent place to get trained. Should God give him the opportunity to study at the University of Melbourne in 2026, Tony hopes will also be able to bring his training to help serve the growing student ministries there.

International Christian Fellowship (ICF) is a small group of faithful Christian international students who hunger for spiritual growth and who are actively serving in ministry. As a student, Tony's spiritual growth as a disciple was explosive in his time spent with other Christian students in ICF, and he hopes to similarly encourage the next generation of students.

As part of his ministry training, Tony will spend intentional time each week to meet with new ICF students one-on-one to encourage them in their serving and growth towards a Christ-like character. He will also facilitate weekly gatherings so that they may encourage one another in a Christ-centred community.

This ministry is all about multiplying disciples who will carry the gospel far beyond university. It will help Tony to further develop the discipling skills he developed as a student serving in various Christian societies. As he encourages and equips these students, he will also be growing in his own walk with God as he grows his heart for gospel-shaped community.

Another part of Tony's training would include going on a two week medical mission trip in October to Cambodia with the Global Aid Network (GAiN). GAiN is a partner ministry of Power To Change Australia and organises short-term medical missions yearly. The team is made up of Christian medical professionals as well as other supporting roles. In each medical mission they not only see physical ailments healed, but also spiritual revival as many people turn to Jesus through the grace of God working through their efforts.

As Tony is hoping to go into medical studies next year, he is particularly excited about this opportunity to experience what medical mission could be like and get to know this team of faithful Christian medical professionals. He hopes in the future to serve in such missions frequently as a medical professional on top of local church ministry, using all of his skills to serve the Lord Jesus.

You can find out more about the Cambodia medical mission on the GAiN website here.