ACR: Steve, before we talk about Eagle Vale today, can you tell us a little of your own story? How did the Lord lead you into ministry, and what brought you to serve at Eagle Vale?
I grew up in Ingleburn in Southwest Sydney (Campbelltown area) in a loving and supportive family, although we weren’t a church-going family. In my early twenties, I was perfectly happy hanging out with mates playing sport, training in karate and going clubbing on weekends.
Yet over time, creation convinced me that there was a God, so I started reading an old Bible we had at home. I made a friend through touch footy who invited me to church and discipled me.
Fast-forward to my early thirties, and I started to feel a calling to full-time ministry. I didn’t act on it at that time, but this conviction lingered and in my mid-thirties, with the support of my wife, Elly, I began at Moore Theological College (MTC).
My desire to explore full-time ministry came from a deep burden the Lord had placed on my heart over the years to see people come to repentance and faith in Christ. I was active in lay ministry prior to attending MTC, so it seemed like a natural extension of the work that I was already doing. Above all, I was inspired by the Lord Jesus, who continues the work that he started and enables ordinary people like me to participate in it.
The route to becoming the Rector at Eagle Vale Anglican was an unusual one. I first came to Eagle Vale as a student minister in 2013 when I started at MTC, but I wrestled with doubts and anxiety about whether I should continue with full-time ministry, and I left college after my first year. Eagle Vale was still local to us, so we decided to stay at church there.
In time, the Lord renewed my conviction to serve in full-time ministry and the church welcomed me back as a student minister for the final two years of my Bachelor of Theology.
After graduating, our senior minister, Craig Hooper, helped me to raise funds so that I could stay on as a full-time assistant minister. When Craig later moved on, the church nominators invited me to apply for the role of Rector.
ACR: For readers who may not know Eagle Vale, could you introduce the church and the community you’re seeking to reach? What makes this part of Sydney unique, and what opportunities and challenges come with gospel ministry there?
Eagle Vale Anglican Church is a small but gradually growing church in the Campbelltown area of Southwest Sydney. It’s a lot like many areas in the Southwest. There is a mix of working-class people and those with professional qualifications. There is also a significant number of people with various social and economic challenges. It’s also an area that is ethnically diverse with an increasing population of South Asians and Muslims.
The ministry opportunities are huge! The Lord Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful (Matt 9:37), and this is certainly true in Eagle Vale. Sadly, the second half of Matthew 9:37 is also true: the workers are few. We are a relatively small church and there are many opportunities that are difficult to pursue. But I’m deeply grateful for the many saints at Eagle Vale who serve the Lord faithfully, doing their best.
Another challenge is that the Eagle Vale parish is a reasonably established suburb, with much of it built in the 1980s. Many residents have lived here for years and there aren’t significant numbers of people moving into the suburb looking for a new home church. This means the growth of church depends on sharing the gospel and making new disciples of Jesus within our community, which is just fine with me!
ACR: Moore Mission recently partnered with your church—what was that week like from your perspective, and what encouragements did you see in the congregation and wider community?
It was amazing! It was the first mission that I have been involved with as a full-time minister. I considered locking the door and not letting them leave. The team brought enthusiasm and a high degree of competence in everything they did. They were genuinely interested in getting to know the members of the congregation. The mission team really gave me and the church a real spiritual ‘lift’ while they were here. They honoured the Lord in all that they did and were a credit to MTC.
The team came well prepared for all the tasks required of them. They executed the plan that I had put together with the mission leaders, Josh Apieczonek and Isobel Lin. The team members participated in preaching and door-knocking; they conducted a Bible reading seminar and delivered gospel presentations at our various community outreach groups and ran a trivia outreach night.
There were a couple of members from our wider community who came to church and a Christianity Explained course that I ran immediately following the mission. The feedback from church members who hosted the individual team members was 100% positive, as was the feedback from other church members. I would love to host a MTC mission team again in the future.
ACR: As you look at the ministry in Eagle Vale more broadly, where are you currently seeing God at work in especially encouraging ways? Are there particular stories of growth, conversion, perseverance, or new opportunities that stand out?
In the time leading up to the arrival of the mission team, we hadn’t seen any conversions or new people coming to church. But since that week, we’ve had several new people come to church. Most of these people have either been disconnected from church, while others have not yet come to a personal faith in Christ.
It’s been exciting to see how the Lord has been blessing our ministry efforts over the last few months. We’ve also seen a few of the kids who come to our Friday youth group express a desire to follow the Lord Jesus. Encouragingly, a few of those have also started to come to church on Sundays too.
ACR: Every gospel ministry has its joys and its pressures. What are some of the key challenges facing your church at the moment, and how have you seen God sustain you and your people through them?
The church is working hard to reach out to teens and young families. This is a demographic that is not well represented at church yet. While the church is well supplied with faithful ministry helpers, we need to work towards raising up more ministry leaders. We have an English as a Second Language (ESL) class and playgroup with numerous people who do not speak English as their first language. We present the gospel to them in the context of those groups, but we also want to see them commit their lives to Jesus and join our Sunday services. So, we need to find ways to make our Sunday services more accessible for people whose first language is not English.
The Lord sustains us in the work he has for us as we come before him in prayer and reading his word. I try to be mindful of the ministry workload our church members are carrying, and if I see signs they need a break, I offer them the chance to ease off.
ACR: How can Christians across Sydney and Australia be praying for Eagle Vale in the months ahead, and what hopes do you have for the next season of ministry?
We’d really value the prayers of our brothers and sisters. In particular, please would you pray that the Lord will:
- keep all members of Eagle Vale Anglican consistent in prayer and in reading and reflecting on his word
- help the church to befriend and disciple the newcomers who have been joining us recently
- raise up ministry leaders within the congregation
- draw some younger families to our church
- cause many of the young people connected with our church and youth group to come to faith and to grow in Christ
- help Eagle Vale Anglican Church to remain a united church under Christ that brings him honour, glory and praise.
Churches are warmly invited to reproduce this article in their newsletters, provided it is reproduced in full and the Australian Church Record is acknowledged as the source, with a link to the original article: https://australianchurchrecord.net/the-good-news-in-eagle-vale-interview-with-steve-thurgar/
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