Young alumnus uses sport and service to connect with kids
The Young Alumnus of the Year is developing an effective ministry in the schools in which he teaches. The ministry, a combination of sport, service and worship, “engages young people and helps them grow personally and spiritually,” says Christopher Starrett. He should know: it led to him making a decision for baptism while at Avondale College.
Starrett came to Avondale because it sought to foster a Christian learning community. He wanted to grow spiritually while “learning how to lead other young people to Jesus through the ministry of teaching.”
And grow he did, particularly through his involvement in sports and in service. Starrett joined mountain bike ministry Crankt, community service ministry Pick A Street and short-term adventure mission ministry STORM Co. He would also join Regeneration, an Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church service-based worship ministry for young adults. These and other student leadership positions gave Starrett opportunities to “share and speak about my transformation experience to Christianity.” He and his brother were baptised in the surf off Grassy Head Beach in 2008.
The STORM Co experience saw Starrett preach at the opening of a church in Mozambique. “The elders weren’t too happy I was wearing a STORM Co shirt rather than a suit.” He and the team also trained the local young adults to run a STORM Co. Some 1200 children attended the STORM Co after only one afternoon of promotion. That surprised Starrett as did the power of the gospel to change people’s lives.
Starrett taught at Northpine Christian College (Dakabin, Qld) after his graduation in 2010. He would establish basketball and mountain bike ministries and play a key role in Refresh, a Seventh-day Adventist Church plant on campus. And he accepted regular speaking appointments, including at two Weeks of Prayer. “He was on his own ministry bandwagon,” says principal Graham Baird, who misses Starrett’s contribution to the school. Starrett moved to Wahroonga Adventist School at the beginning of the year.
Avondale Alumni honours Christopher Starrett for embracing the ministry of teaching.
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