Farewell Chris Casey
After 17+ years, Chris Casey is leaving the team at the Anglican Centre. The main focus of Chris’s ministry has been with our young people, from intermediate age to young adults. We spoke to Chris about his time with us.
Chris began his time here by connecting with all of the ministry units around diocese and engaging with youth and youth leaders through camps and ministry training. Chris has been passionate about retaining our young people in their transitional moments – primary to intermediate, intermediate to secondary, secondary to tertiary and young adulthood. One of our biggest challenges is how we deal with it.
What are some of your highlights?
Mission Camp – Getting Dirty for God. Challenging our young people to see where God was in their day. It has been life changing for them to work in their community and see that God was there in their day in a practical way, that God works in the small things, not just the big miracles.
Seeing our young people put faith into practice has been a real highlight; the opportunity doesn’t often arise for our young people to do this unless they are encouraged to.
Doing regional training around the diocese every second month and seeing the hard yakka in the rural areas. I’ve really admired the work they do.
Implementing Stars in 2013. We had a large group of young people who had natural leadership skills and we felt that together they could develop into a tribe that would be an agent of change for the diocese. We had 53 young people when we started and they didn’t fully understand they had faith until they could compare it with others. Then watching those young people develop a living faith as young adults.
Plugging our youth into leadership at El Rancho Kids Camps. Being a leader at these camps has had such a lasting impact on those leaders and almost 100% of them are still strong in their faith today – it's been a real life-changing experience.
Where have you seen God moving?
When people take a risk and put themselves out there with little expectation; God comes and visits.
I’m reminded of a time when one of our young people was painting a wall and a guy walks past. He stops and asks, “What are you doing?” The young person responds, “I’m doing this for God.” That one small sentence changed this guys life. It’s in the small things, and I challenge those in youth work to always look for the small things - that’s where you’ll see God moving. We’re enabling young people to change other people's lives.
What will you miss most about the Anglican Centre?
I will miss the wider faithful team and I’ll miss seeing our young people struggling to do stuff and then having a realisation that they have changed someone's life.
Parting thoughts
The biggest thing in ministry is not the programme, it’s you as the tool. It's you being the best person God has called you to be.
Chris’s last day is next Tuesday and Tama Bucknell will be picking up the work with our Intermediate age group. Tama plans to nurture and continue the good work that Chris has done.
