Online and On Mission

For Mike Lance, VBC’s flexible, online training is the ideal way to get further equipped while he’s in full-time ministry at Wagga Wagga Evangelical Church.

Mike grew up in the village of Comboyne on the Mid-North Coast. Mike’s parents often taught Sunday School and ran the youth group in their tiny local church, but by the time he left home for university, Mike had a lot of questions that nobody had answers for, because the teaching at their church had been so inconsistent.

While Mike was studying a psychology degree at UNE in Armidale, week after week he threw all of his questions at a UniChurch staff member.

“I needed to get those questions out of the way so I could fully commit to being a Christian,” Mike shares, “and then I did. I got involved in the church. I was leading Bible studies and leading youth group for many years.”

Mike ended up following his wife Beck to Wagga Wagga, where he spent the next 20 years working as a school counselor. Full-time church ministry was never something he had considered. That all changed in 2022, when the Senior Pastor at their church, Pete, moved on to take up a role with Reach Australia. Their Associate Pastor, Tim, stepped into the position, but that left the church without an Associate.

“Pete and Tim came and talked to me and said, ‘We want you to consider working for the church,’” Mike explains. “And I hadn't ever really thought about full-time ministry, because I don't like speaking in front of people! It was a weird sort of conversation, because I was trying to persuade them that they didn't want me to work for the church, and they were trying to persuade me to work for the church.”

Mike went away and prayed it over with Beck. 

“We had to sit down with the family and really sort of talk about how this is going to be a cost for all of us,” Mike shares. “I think in the end, the decision came down to, we say that Jesus is God and His kingdom is the most important thing in life. And if we have this chance to serve Him full-time and we don't take it up, that is a poor example to our children. How serious are we taking this thing? So in the end it was sort of a no-brainer.”

After accepting a role with the church, where Mike is now Youth and Kids Pastor, Mike wanted to undertake some theological training. He needed something that he could do part-time while serving full-time at Wagga Wagga Evangelical Church, so VBC was brought up as an option.

“I’ve done so much study at university, so I could have gone to one of the regular theological colleges if I had the time, but I just don’t have the time,” Mike says. “Working full-time in ministry is just flat out.”

“VBC is great because I can do the training, get the input, and when I have time really get into it. So in that way, it's been fantastic. The flexibility has been amazing.”

Mike says he’s not doing the training purely to gain knowledge, or to qualify him for his role.

“It's sharpening me on certain things,” Mike says. “And then there are also very practical subjects on ministering to people and leading teams, and all that practical side of things that I hadn't necessarily done either. So those have been really good.”

Mike is grateful for the way he’s able to train while remaining in his ministry role. He would recommend VBC to anyone else in a similar position.

“Just give it a go,” he says. “You can even try subjects without being enrolled in them, and once you try it, I think you'll be hooked. The trainers I've had have been fantastic.  Just lovely, humble men who are really eager to help everyone learn, and they do it in such a gentle way. So I would say—just give it a try.”