Back for more: Headstart | City Bible Forum
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Back for more: Headstart

Sat 3 Oct 2020
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Justin is a young worker and on our Headstart leadership team. A town planner by trade and well loved for his terse sense of humour, you will find him working on his spot kicks on the weekend or cheering on his beloved Soccerroos. Below is a short interview as to why he is back for more Headstart and what he looking forward to in Term 4. You can sign up here to get your own personalised zoom link.

1. Thanks for giving me the time. So, tell us - what have you been up to between the Headstart terms?

Believe it or not, my life actually doesn't change much whether if I'm in a Headstart term or if I'm between terms (editor - what did i tell you about that humour).

I work during the day as a town planner for a planning consultancy and between that and sleeping (my second favourite past time) you can probably catch me playing football, watching Premier League on Optus Sport, playing FIFA, trying to buy more football jerseys to add to my collection or trying to get Zoom not to freeze on my six year old Windows 7 laptop.... usually the latter though (editor - dude get a mac)

Somewhere in the midst of all that I also did attend The Edge - Let Justice Roll Down in the middle of September where I heard from John Dickson and Brooke Prentis on the topic of justice, a highly relevant topic in some seemingly unjust and turbulent times.

2. WOW - Sounds like you been as per usual busy. Definitely been there with Zoom and computers. Now, you were part of Headstart community last year, why are you back this year?

I think Headstart is a valuable ministry in that it speaks into what young workers do for 38+ hours a week - how they view their work as a Christian. And this has implications on their Christian witness to their coworkers and their personal faith as well.

For me personally, I finished my degree nearly two years ago and dropped into full time work - a huge shift in lifestyle and life stage. Headstart helps me to develop the right mindset to approach this new stage. This has been particularly helpful for me when I've lacked a connection to young workers at church simply because there are only one or two others that are entering this stage. So I find the fellowship aspect helpful for me as well, connecting with others at a similar stage and knowing that I'm not alone in being a Christian young worker.

One of the key takeaways from Headstart last year was the idea that our work and ability to work is a gift from God - so in response to that we treat our work with thankfulness and by putting in effort to our work. This idea of thankfulness and contentment in the situation that God has placed in has shaped how I view 2020 - not with apathy and frustration that our normal has changed but with thankfulness for what I still have.

3. You are also on the Leadership Team for Headstart. What does that involve and what are you looking forward to next term?

Being on the Headstart leadership team means that you help Grace and Mark plan the program for what comes ahead, assist with presenting the content on the night and welcome in both newcomers and people who have been around for a while- so it becomes a program by young workers for young workers. I joined the leadership team because I know its value to Christian young workers and I wanted to support young workers coming through that might need the support and shift in mindset that Headstart gave to me.

The theme for our last term of 2020 is RAW: UNMUTE - so we're digging a bit deeper in addressing topics that we might be thinking but not saying. Topics like online dating, spiritual doubts, mental health and workplace envy all have stigma attached to them. So I'm keen on digging a bit deeper into those topics and how we can address these heavier topics as Christians in the workplace.

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