After being supported by BCA through our Theological Bursary Initiative for the past two years, Samuel Ogg has completed his studies at Moore College, and this year joins us as a Minister in Training. Samuel, Grace and their kids Tommy and Josie have moved to Lightning Ridge where they will serve alongside Kurt & Bec Langmead.

I grew up in Lithgow in a Christian family. So, from a very early age, I heard the Gospel. But when I was at university I was not really living like a Christian and started chasing after things of the world. I eventually hit a point where I realised I was quite empty, and that there was something not right with my life. It was at that point that the wonderful gospel teaching I’d gotten through my life came back to me. I saw the truth of the Gospel. I saw that Jesus really loved me and came to save me. I was reminded that my life wouldn’t be complete unless I knew Jesus. So, I asked Jesus to be my king, and this was a really significant moment in my life.

I was studying to be a primary school teacher at university and as I understood the Gospel more, I saw that I didn’t really want to teach in schools, I wanted to serve Jesus. So I finished up the degree a couple of months early and started MTS (ministry training strategy) in the church I grew up in.

God gave me the ability to teach and engage with people and I just couldn’t see anything better to do with my life than full-time ministry.

In 2022, together with Grace and our then four-month-old Tommy, we moved from Bathurst to Sydney so I could attend Moore College. When we were at college and thinking about what the future might look like, country ministry was always at the top of our minds.

College hosted a lunch with Greg Harris, Mark Calder (Bathurst), Rod Chiswell (Armidale) and Darrell Parker (North West Australia) who came and spoke about pathways for training to get people thinking about ministry outside of Sydney. So that really put BCA in the conversation. Then we heard about the bursary
program for those who wanted to go to the bush and we thought, ‘that sounds like us’.

When we first met with Rod Chiswell about potential ministry opportunities, he circled a couple of towns that might be good training places. Lightning Ridge was one of them. I didn’t even notice it was circled. Grace said that she saw Rod circle Lightning Ridge and she thought, ‘no way’.

As bursary students, we got invited to the BCA Field Staff Conference in 2024 which was really incredible. We got to hear more about opportunities all over Australia and meet a lot of Field Staff. We got to meet Kurt & Bec and they were so lovely. We came away from the conference thinking quite differently about Lightning Ridge and the opportunity there.

Over the course of the next couple of months, people started to talk to us about the possibility of Lightning Ridge. God was very gracious in slowly growing our heart for ministry there. The more we heard about the opportunities, the town, and the community, it really struck a chord with our hearts. Some people who live in the Ridge are running away from things in their life, some want a quiet life, some are longing for community, or for treasure in opals.

We believe that Lightning Ridge will provide us with a really good opportunity to learn, to be trained up in a difficult place, but a place that might really teach us much about loving and serving Jesus.

We’re excited for the next two years; to meet people, to become a part of the community, and to tell people how Jesus can make an impact in their lives.