Vocational Bible College

Jesus left 99 sheep to find the one that was lost. But what if 74 of those sheep were missing?

That is the reality that Reformed evangelical churches in Australia are facing today. Around 74% of Australians aged 15 and over are "everyday people" - tradies, truck drivers, factory workers, hairdressers - and yet they are almost nowhere to be seen in our churches.

Our heart is to reach the lost. We run evangelistic events, invite our neighbours, and encourage our congregations to share their faith. That's a wonderful thing. But if the vast majority of people in our communities never went to university, and our churches are largely made up of university-educated professionals, there’s something key here that we are missing.

The 2021 National Church Life Survey confirmed what many of us are seeing: everyday people are significantly underrepresented in Reformed evangelical churches across every age group. This situation is not due to lack of effort. There are many ministers who have worked hard to reach the lost in areas with high numbers of everyday people, but have seen little fruit for their labour. Many are discouraged because of this, and there’s a real temptation to put ministry of everyday people in the ‘too hard basket.’

But the good news? This is not an impossible problem. It simply requires us to open our eyes to a mission field that already surrounds us - in our streets, our workplaces, and our neighbourhoods.

Every suburb in Australia has many everyday people who need to hear the good news about Jesus. They are not hard to find. And when churches begin to reflect the communities they belong to; when the tradie and the teacher sit side by side, discipling one another — what a powerful picture that is of the body of Christ.

The lost sheep are closer than we realise.

Read more from this series from Andrew Beddoe, our Principal: bio.https://www.vbc.edu.au/blog/2024/9/18/the-lost-sheep-in-our-communities

A good friend of mine is doing this research. I commend you getting involved if you fit the category.

It is not uncommon to hear people say that Australia is a ‘classless society’.

We like to think we are egalitarian – that everyone gets a ‘fair go’, and we are not bound by class distinctions as some other countries are.

But ask an everyday person in Australia whether we have a classless society, and in all likelihood, they’ll laugh or scoff.

It’s only those who have ‘succeeded’ in our system who think everyone is given a fair go.

Those who struggled to ‘succeed’ at school and didn’t go on to university can feel like second-class citizens – and to be honest, they are often treated that way.

In many instances, their jobs don’t pay well – so their houses are more modest, their cars are older, they can’t afford to send their kids to private schools, and they don’t go on expensive holidays.

And because of this, some everyday people can experience resentment. After all, they are no less intelligent or gifted; the ways they learn were just not well catered for at school.

If an everyday person already feels resentful or looked down on by university-educated people, they are not likely to feel comfortable going into an environment dominated by them … like a Reformed evangelical church service or Bible study group. And they may find it even more difficult to get involved in leadership there.

So what can we do to overcome class barriers?

Of course, it’s simply not true that everyday people are not as capable as others of being leaders and teachers.

We see great leadership and training skills in the captain of a rugby league team who leads his team to victory; in the salon owner who runs the business and educates multiple hairdressing trainees; and in the warehouse foreperson who motivates and trains the workers to do their job well.

If Reformed evangelical churches are prepared to take the time to patiently disciple everyday people, encouraging them to use their gifts even if they feel different within a church predominantly made of university-educated people, eventually one of them will be willing to have a go – and others will follow.

What a wonderful way for our churches to display the power of the gospel to destroy division, resentment and suspicion between different educational, social and cultural groups, bringing a unity that results in praise and glory being given to God (Ephesians 2:14–3:11).

But as long as Reformed evangelical churches keep being dominated and led only by university-educated Christians, they will fail to reach everyday people. And that’s why we need everyday people in all the roles in our churches.

Read more from this series from Andrew Beddoe, our Principal: https://www.vbc.edu.au/everydaydiscipleship

Hey ministers/pastors/church leaders - are you thinking about the future?

One of the best ways to nurture and train up people for future ministry is by inviting them to work part-time with you, training them on the job, and providing resources to help them learn ministry with a cohort of others in similar situations. Vocational Bible College offers resources to help you do this, especially with people who will appreciate a hands-on style of learning. Check it out:

Stephen Andrews has long been passionate about vocational education and its potential for training the church. “I want training to be accessible to your everyday Aussie, and not just those that are academically gifted. Especially when you think about Jesus’ model of discipleship, we should be doing more apprenticeship type models of training,” he says.

So he is delighted to be starting a new role with VBC to expand vocational Bible training in Melbourne and Victoria. Find out more about Stephen and his role here: https://www.vbc.edu.au/stories/introducing-stephen-andrews

At VBC, you’ll often hear us talking about “everyday people”, because we’re concerned they are dramatically underrepresented in Australian churches. But who are these everyday people?

We use the phrase ‘everyday people’ to refer to the ordinary men and women in our community who, unlike many in our churches, went straight into the workforce from school.

They are a large and diverse group of people. They might be hairdressers, plumbers, truck drivers, factory workers or sales assistants.

They are a group primarily categorised not by their socio-economic status but by their education. They don’t have a university degree.

Some have formal qualifications obtained through TAFE (vocational tertiary education) and can be very wealthy, like some builders or concreters.

Others have no formal qualifications and have learned their skills on the job – for example, truck drivers and factory workers.

Some might be working two or three jobs and still struggling to pay the bills. Some may not have a full-time job, or may be unemployed.

How many people are we talking about?

When a group in our society has been overlooked or missed, we might expect to find that it is a relatively small group. But this is not the case.

In fact, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, everyday people make up 74% of the Australian population 15 years and older.

But they are far from making up 74% of people in our Reformed evangelical churches – both in Australia and around the world.

It is shocking to consider that we may have been blind to such a large unreached people group living in our midst.

Read more about how VBC seeks to solve this problem: https://www.vbc.edu.au/blog/2024/9/18/who-are-everyday-people

On Saturday 15 August 2026 we will hold our annual Reaching Everyday People workshop. We long to see many more everyday people in our churches but our cultural differences can make this difficult. To help us overcome these difficulties our topic this year is Bridging Culture – Bringing Hope to all people.

We look forward to hearing from John Delezio (a past VBC student who has planted a church in Warilla North) and Evelyn Hibberd, with her many years of ministry experience in cross-cultural contexts both ethnically and educationally. Evelyn has co-written with her late husband “Leading Multicultural Teams”, “Walking together on the Jesus Road – Discipling in Intercultural Contexts” and “Multiplying Leaders in Intercultural Contexts – Recognising and Developing Grass Roots Potential”. We will be very blessed to spend time reflecting on discipleship with everyday people with John and Evelyn this year.

Get tickets: https://www.reachingeverydaypeople.com.au/

Josh Downs is studying at VBC online from his home in Taree. He had an interest in studying theology, but because moving to Sydney wasn’t practical, Joshua spent several years discussing options with his minister at Taree Presbyterian Church. Together, they explored how he could pursue theological training while remaining rooted in his local church and community. “I have a passion for ministry, and because of my keen interest in God's word, it's always been an exciting thing for me to share that with people, and I wanted proper study.”

They also reflected on the nature of ministry training itself. “The route to becoming a Pastor should be grounded, and when you're dealing with people every day, it's not just about how well you can write an essay, it's how you relate to people.” They were drawn to a model that emphasised learning through participation, similar to an apprentice. He explains, “I believe the path to being a pastor should be more seeing and doing… And with a study component to know how to open up God's word and read it correctly, and pass it on correctly and effectively.”

Read more: https://www.vbc.edu.au/stories/2026/04/faith-that-saves

VBC is dedicated to developing leaders for our churches, mirroring Jesus' approach of selecting ordinary people - like the fishermen Peter, Andrew, James, and John - to carry out his mission.

And because we know that over 70% of Australian adults don't have a bachelor's degree, we've made sure our training model is easy to access, no matter your educational background.

Our ministry training is distinctive, utilising lively discussions, practical ministry placements, and hands-on assessments. This method ensures our students develop the skills necessary for Christian ministry, much like how an apprentice carpenter grows into a master craftsman.

Intrigued? Find out more and you could join us in Semester 2: https://www.vbc.edu.au/

Joshua Downs was born in Perth but moved to Taree with his mum as a young child. His story is a powerful reminder that faith isn’t about earning God’s approval, but receiving His grace. After drifting away in his teenage years and facing significant life challenges, he came to a life-changing understanding of the gospel that reshaped his direction and purpose. Today, as a husband, father of four, and now studying his Certificate IV in Christian Ministry and Theology at VBC, Joshua is continuing to grow in faith and serve others in his church and community.

Read more: www.vbc.edu.au/stories/2026/04/faith-that-saves