WAASA plans for future outreach

Students from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Curtin University of Technology set aside April 22 to reflect on their spiritual calling and develop strategic plans for building the university ministry in WA.

They were joined by Dr Jared Watts, a recent UWA graduate in medicine, Marilyn Cvejin, a visiting Avondale College student, and Dr Sven Ostring, the Adventist Students Association (ASA) president and WA tertiary student chaplain.
The students joined together to reflect on the relevance of Luke 10 to university student ministry and spent time discussing and identifying the needs of university students and ways in which these needs could be met. Plans for the university student ministry converged toward organising major service projects and planting a university church in Perth.
“The university ministry was strongest here in Perth when the focus was on service,” says Dr Watts.
The student group was also very keen to learn what planting a university church would involve. “This is what I came to this weekend to hear about,” said Gavin McKenzie, who is studying physiotherapy at Curtin University.
As a result, Wendy Sexton and Dr Ostring are now in the process of forming a core leadership team that will spearhead this initiative. Ms Sexton has been leading the drive to develop the university student ministry in Western Australia, now called WAASA. Her medical studies have brought her into contact with many unchurched people in the WA medical system, which has increased her passion for sharing the gospel in the wider community.
“It is very encouraging to have such strong leaders within medical school here in WA,” says Dr Ostring.