Roger finds his calling

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Roger Afele, 31, is restoring faith in community. The Bachelor of Ministry and Theology student is working with a charity offering food parcels to primary schoolers in the Central West of New South Wales. This is building trust and opening up opportunities to address mental health and wellbeing concerns. “We serve needs until the students ask why.”

As chaplain of two public schools, he not only gets along well with the students but engages with the community, too—delivering the food parcels to families at Bathurst West and working to establish free after school games and a communal garden in the paddock adjoining the school at Lyndhurst. His relationship with Bathurst West is so good the school is funding extra hours so Roger can work full-time this year. “My role is to be present, to help the students feel like they belong.”

Connection has been key in Roger’s life. The husband of Marilynn and the father of three is “the product of people who’ve been praying for me.” A Samoan born in New Zealand, Roger came to Avondale with academic and cultural identity challenges. He initially enrolled in the Diploma of General Studies, which gave him the confidence to begin his degree. “I didn’t like education because I didn’t do well. But Avondale has restored my hope in it by helping me more easily articulate and comprehend things.” He speaks highly of his mentors—lecturers and placements pastors, in particular. “They’ve created a community in which I can grow. Now my passion for the gospel is carrying me through.”

Roger plans to graduate this year. “If God’s called you, He’ll equip and guide you.”

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Study options in ministry and theology are for those who want to share Jesus in church and community settings or who want to re-skill.

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Brenton Stacey
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Brenton Stacey

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Brenton is Avondale University’s Public Relations and Philanthropy Officer. He brings to the role experience as a communicator in publishing, media relations, public relations, radio and television, mostly within the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific and its entities.