In an excerpt of an article from The Melbourne Anglican, Topher Hallyburton relates a bit about his life and ministry in Alice Springs…

HOW DO YOU SEE GOD AT WORK THROUGH YOUR WORK IN ALICE SPRINGS?

Every few months we get people just coming into church saying, “I’ve been on this journey. I’ve been thinking about this and I really want to hear about Jesus now.”

Through my work at the youth correctional centre, I’m reminded that God is calling people from all nations into His family. The young people I’m meeting are from different Aboriginal people groups, and they have a place in God’s family when they trust in Jesus. In the church you can see people from all around the world coming to share together, knowing that even though  they are completely different in every other aspect of life, they are united in Jesus. They’re putting in the effort in to show love to one another, to grow as a church together.

ARE THERE ANY UNIQUE CONSIDERATIONS WHEN MINISTERING TO PEOPLE FROM INDIGENOUS BACKGROUNDS?

A lot of the young people speak English as a second language. So, we’re thinking about how we use English in our church services. I’m using the Plain English Version of the Bible. People that I’m reading this Bible with have gone, “I can actually understand God’s Word for the first time.” Some older people that are part of our church have said, “Why hasn’t this been around for longer?” It’s a shame that here in Central Australia we don’t have a full Bible in an Indigenous language. So that would be a next step.

CAN YOU SHARE A STORY ABOUT SOMEONE YOU’VE ENCOUNTERED IN YOUR MINISTRY?

One young man I met was in trouble with the law. He got his hands on one of these Bibles and he found Romans 7. In the Plain English Version of the Bible, Paul says in Romans 7:22–24, “Really, we ourselves, we want to live the right way, but there is a big fight going on inside us. That bad part of us makes its own law. It makes us think the wrong way. It makes us its prisoners so that we can’t do the things we really want to do. We feel really sorry for ourselves. How can we get free from this bad boss in our bodies that will make us die? Who can make us free?”

This young guy was reading this, and he just went, “That is my life. I want to do what is right, but I just can’t.”

Then verse 25 goes on to say, “Thank God, Jesus Christ can make us free. He is the answer. God made a way for us to be free.”

So, I was able to share how Jesus can make us free.

WHAT ENCOURAGES YOU IN YOUR WORK?

The fact that God is calling people from all nations. The fact that God is calling people with all types of background, including messy backgrounds. I’m encouraged by God bringing people to church out of the blue and them saying, “I’ve been thinking about this, and I want to check Him out and maybe become a Christian.” So, we know that God is doing His thing. And we just get to play a little part of that.

The support of the BCA is amazing. We do really feel valued, loved, supported and cared for by BCA staff, but also by supporters that reach out and pray. And the love of the local church family here. People that are willing to share their lives and look for ways to serve one another.

Republished in part from an original article written by Hannah Felsbourg at The Melbourne Anglican.
To read the whole article visit:
tma.melbourneanglican.org.au/2025/09/united-in-jesus-alice-springs-pastor/