Getting Equipped for the Harvest

For Hamish Liney, who grew up in a Christian family on Sydney’s north shore, it wasn’t until he joined a Beach Mission that he was confronted by the number of people who had never heard of Jesus. He’s been on a journey ever since, and this year he’ll start the next chapter: a ministry apprenticeship with his church, which includes training through VBC.

Hamish’s family moved to St Stephens Anglican Church Normanhurst when he was in high school, and up until that point he had considered himself a Christian. It wasn’t until a youth leader at his new church questioned him about his personal faith that he realised he wasn’t. 

“He challenged me by asking ‘Is this faith your own or are you just going along because it's what you've always done?’” Hamish explains.

What followed was a period of six to 12 months where Hamish read the Bible for himself, prayed, and ultimately gave his life to Christ, accepting that he was saved by grace, through faith.

Hamish started studying Primary Education at university straight out of high school, but he was flunking almost everything, so he ended up dropping out of uni after one year. Instead, Hamish decided to begin a landscaping apprenticeship, and he loved it. He’s been working in that field ever since.

When he was two years out of high school, Hamish joined a Beach Mission to Evans Head. That decision ended up changing the trajectory of his life. It was while he was on Beach Mission that God opened his eyes to the need for more trained gospel workers—especially those who are willing to leave Sydney. After growing up in a “bubble” as Hamish refers to it, on the north shore and attending a Christian school, the experience shocked him.

“I was so confronted by how many people need to hear about Christ and how people who I was telling about Jesus had never heard about Him, and they were 14, 15 years old,” Hamish admits.

After wrestling with that reality for a number of years—and getting married in the meantime—Hamish is now about to embark on a ministry apprenticeship with his church, which also includes training through VBC.

“I've been wanting to serve more at church, but it's been really hard with  a pregnant wife and a two-year-old and full-time work,” Hamish explains. “And we're also thinking about moving out to the country, so we were thinking about how we would be equipped to help the church. We’ve seen the need for gospel workers in the country and in these rural areas where they just don't have anyone, and Sydney is so rich with gospel workers.”

So in 2025, Hamish will begin MTS with St Stephens Anglican Church Normanhurst, and he’ll be doing his Certificate IV to Advanced Diploma through VBC.

Hamish never thought he’d say it, but he’s really looking forward to the training.

“I'm really excited to learn how to write and lead a small group, and to unpack the Bible and see how it all fits together,” he says. “The VBC style of training is how I've best responded to learning.”

Hamish and his wife Belinda are looking forward to seeing how God will work in and through them in the years to come.