Monthly Archives: June 2021

Education, Theology

MBI – The Birthplace of MAF Australia

Few missionary organisations can claim to have originated as a result of armed conflict, but Mission Aviation Fellowship is certainly one.

Long before World War II was over, Christian military aircrew in the USA and UK were actively laying plans for the formation of a new ministry that would harness the unique capabilities of aircraft to serve the Gospel of peace in remote places. All had flown the new generation of high-performance fighters and bombers. They’d used aircraft to kill and destroy. Now they wanted to see them used to build God’s Kingdom, to bring new life.

“They’d used aircraft to kill and destroy. Now they wanted to see them used to build God’s Kingdom, to bring new life.”

Three Australians in particular, serving overseas, had caught this same vision. Flight Lieutenant Bruce Morton had flown Curtiss Kittyhawks in New Guinea, Halmahera and Borneo. Pilot Officer Harry Hartwig flew many dangerous, night-time missions in Coastal Command Liberator bombers from bases in the UK. And there was Flight Sergeant Ken Cooper – pilot and wireless/air gunner. Ken was the first to associate himself with this new thing God was doing and joined the American organisation that would become MAF-US, while still in California at war’s end. Similarly, Harry Hartwig made contact with the pioneers of MAF in London before boarding ship to come home to Australia.

Ken Cooper (left) and Bruce Morton with a Borneo Evangelical Mission aircraft at Lawas in Borneo.

Having given years of their lives to serving their country, 1946 brought them together as first year students at Melbourne Bible Institute (MBI), keen to now be equipped to serve the Gospel of Christ. That year’s intake, 104 students, was the highest on record, marked by the fact that most were ex-servicemen and women. When pilots get together, they talk aeroplanes and flying. It wasn’t long before those three – Ken, Bruce and Harry – met up and discovered their mutual interest in ‘mission aviation,’ still a novel concept in the minds of most people. MBI now filled with motivated young students, turned out to be the ideal place for such dreams to become reality.

Early in 1947, while with a friend on St Kilda Beach, Harry Hartwig felt the overwhelming call of God to launch a home-grown, Australian MAF. The discussions and prayer times back at MBI suddenly became more focused, and the three were joined by others – Howard Barclay and Ewan Lumsden, also former RAAF men. When principal John Searle got wind of these things, he was more than pleased, offering his wholehearted support, as did A H Hawley, the College’s business manager.

Harry Hartwig

Things were taken to the next level when, on 30 June, a public meeting was called to officially establish an Australian MAF. Chaired by Leonard Buck (a member of the MBI Executive Committee), a resolution was moved by Ken Cooper and seconded by Bruce Morton that “we form an autonomous body called Missionary Aviation Fellowship, and that we request affiliation with the Fellowships in England and America.” Unanimously passed, a new MAF in the southwest Pacific had arrived.

Leaving College at the end of 1947, Harry Hartwig went on to spearhead MAF’s work in Australia and New Guinea. Bruce Morton returned to Borneo to fly, not Kittyhawk fighters, but Austers and Pipers for the Borneo Evangelical Mission. Ken Cooper also joined BEM, but later returned to MAF as a flight instructor.

Ken Cooper

Later still, when MBI had become BCV at Lilydale, an aviation department was formed, ultimately leading to the establishment of the Australian Centre for Mission Aviation (ACMA) at Coldstream Airport, providing training for a new generation of missionary pilots and engineers. Today, the stamp of MBI/BCV/MST can still be seen in the MAF base at Mareeba in Far North Queensland, as it serves the needs of mission aviation far into the future.

Education, Theology

From BCV to Helping the Hungry Through Science

There are some remarkable stories over the years of how God uses the unique gifts and skills of women and men to bring His message of hope and transformation to those most in need. The lives of Bruce and Deb French are just one of those fascinating stories.

Deb French was originally a teacher living in Launceston, Tasmania. While there, she became a Christian, and felt a deep call to cross-cultural ministry. “I thought that people in other ethnic groups should have a chance to discover this good news,” she says. “So, I resigned from teaching and went to BCV with a view to becoming a Bible translator.”

“Suddenly I was sitting at a desk and taking it in. It was a relief to be doing that. It was a relief to be with a group of adults who were on the same page.” “Hearing each other’s stories and dreams – it’s what Bible college is all about.”

“I did an Associate Diploma in Theology in 1994-95,”
she says. “I particularly remember doing missiology with Harold Taylor and how he expanded my worldview.” At the end of her studies, Deb travelled to Papua New Guinea. “I felt called to the disaster zone where the (1998) Tsunami had killed many people along the north coast. I became involved in a multi-language translation project.”

Before Deb left Tasmania in 1998, she had met Bruce French and his wife Helen. Bruce is a Tasmanian agriculture scientist who, after thirty years of research into nutritional plants, founded Food Plants International (FPI) in 1999. FPI’s purpose is to explore for innovative ways to inform people about what Bruce calls the ‘bountiful food market that is God’s earth.’ Their motto is “Helping the hungry feed themselves.”

After the death of Bruce’s first wife, and upon his return to Tasmania, Deb and Bruce became reacquainted, discovering that they both shared a deep love of Christ, a heart for mission, and desire to serve people through transformational service. Bruce and Deb became friends, and eventually married in 2003.

Since then, Bruce and Deb have become the backbone of FPI, which has now collated one of the most unique global databases of consumable plants of the earth, numbering over 32,000 entries.

“I grew up on a farm where there was a mission focus,” Bruce says. “As a young man I decided to go to Papua New Guinea to stimulate my Christian involvement. Later I was told directly that the locals didn’t want our agriculture. They wanted to know about their own crops, and how to grow them.”

That was the catalyst for Bruce to research, record and eventually publish, his findings for the PNG community.

“After the first book I thought about neighbouring lands like the Solomon Islands and Timor,” he says. “It wasn’t long before people were raising questions about other countries.”

“Your resources have equipped us for a lifetime.”

The staff at FPI are volunteers. Their passion is to make a difference to the world’s three billion people whose most important daily concern is having enough food to eat. Deb says it is reassuring to know that God already has the concerns of the world in His heart and has provided all the food plant resources for everybody, in every location.

“In the last 12 months, under-nutrition killed more children than Coronavirus – but you don’t hear about it,” Bruce says. “Commercial science is only interested in making money. But I believe elements of the scientific community are against this, saying ‘we have gone the wrong way’.”

In 2016, Bruce was made an Officer in the Order of Australia for his work in setting up the Food Plants International website. Yet fame and fortune are not the driving forces behind Deb and Bruce’s lifework. Bruce says it’s pleasing enough to receive feedback from various communities they’ve helped and to see how the Lord’s work has been fruitful across the nations.

Deb and Bruce have worked side by side in this act of service, aimed at ultimately seeing the world’s hungry fed. Their commitment to the Gospel and message of Christ has been unwavering. “Early in our marriage we discussed what our understanding of the Christian faith meant for our lives,” Deb says. “With God at the centre, we drew a diagram that embraced God’s word as the foundation for our life’s values and concerns.” “It also includes an increasing commitment to all ethnic groups in the world, and a genuine willingness to put our faith into practice – helping the hungry and malnourished.”

Deb now helps illustrate Bruce’s books and monthly newsletters, as well as assisting with numerous practical and administrative tasks.

Bruce has lectured at the Baptist College in Queensland and has, among other things, worked in schools, universities, at the CSIRO and in churches. But his passion is in making the world aware of the amazing resources God has provided.

“I make God’s resources known on every page,” he says. “Just in case anyone missed it!”

Education, Theology

Two Colleges Serving Together

As many would remember, in 2018, Eastern College Australia – formerly Tabor College Victoria – relocated to MST’s Wantirna campus, and the two schools entered into a new, and unique ‘two-college, one community’ relationship.

Both institutions remain separate in terms of accreditation; MST is a provider of ACT courses in Bible and Theology, while Eastern is a Higher Education Provider in its own right. However the opportunities now available to students have significantly broadened, with new avenues for interdisciplinary Christian education, and cross-institutional credit for a range of subjects.

In announcing the collaborative partnership in Ambassador, December 2016, Principal Tim Meyers said the new relationship would “significantly strengthen and broaden our capacity to serve the church, and equip God’s people to live for, and testify to, our Lord Jesus Christ. Being able to offer biblically focused courses at Eastern College Australia across a range of disciplines, including education, counselling, visual arts, the humanities, chaplaincy and community development, in addition to the existing courses at MST in theology, Biblical studies, mission and ministry makes for a rich, and profoundly valuable learning environment for all our students.”

“Today, you’d find it hard to differentiate an Eastern student from an MST one” Tim says. “The sense of community transcends school boundaries. The same applies to our support staff, who are now largely merged together. And while our respective faculties generally work within their natural teams (MST English, MST Chinese and Eastern), we are also seeing a sharing of teaching and delivery as well, with MST and Eastern faculty teaching in both institutions.

“Every day at MST and Eastern we see God at work, bringing about a beautiful convergence of theological truth, identity, calling and vocation in ways that shape women and men long after their studies here are over,” says Tim. “We are so thankful for this unique privilege.”

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil,” Ecclesiastes 4:9.

One of the ways the partnership between Eastern College Australia and MST is already bearing fruit, is through the Centres of Excellence, which operate across both schools. The most recent of these is the Centre for Missional Engagement (CME), led by Dr Kirk Franklin, formerly the International Director of the Wycliff Global Alliance. CME aims to bring fresh thinking around definitions and expressions of mission, both locally and globally, with a strong focus on leadership and church resource. Similarly, the new Centre for Theology and Psychology (CTP) aims to provide an ‘incubator’ for research, collaboration, teaching, and resourcing the church, Christian schools, mission and the wider Christian community in critically important areas of mental health awareness, Christ-centred well-being, identity and counselling.

Education, Theology

A Lifetime Together for the Gospel

For over one hundred years, the Belgrave Heights Convention (BHC), which began as the Upwey Convention just two years prior to the founding of Melbourne Bible Institute, has been one of our most treasured partnerships. 

In 1918, when World War I was finally over, a number of leaders from across various denominations within the Melbourne Church, felt led to establish a Convention whose focus would be on expository preaching and teaching, following in the spirit of the remarkable Keswick Conventions being held in the Lakes District of England.

At the time, a leading Melbourne tea merchant had been making his beautiful country estate in Upwey available for Bible studies, which were run by MBI’s first principal, CH Nash. The motto of those meetings, “All One in Christ Jesus,” based on Galatians 3:28, was also used by the Keswick Convention.

“Its motto ‘All One in Christ Jesus.’ finds its origin in Galatians 3:28.”

Those early founders could see the value and potential of the Upwey area for such a convention, being quiet and restful but close enough to Melbourne. Not surprisingly, CH Nash was involved with the birth of the Belgrave Heights Convention, and sat on its Council for many years. Indeed, as former Chair of BHC, Rev Dr David Price, who was himself for many years also Principal of the Bible College of Victoria, writes “Nash was often the preacher at the Convention, and his Biblical expositions had a tremendous impact upon thousands of men and women.”

So close was the relationship between MBI and the Convention, that one of the days of the convention was specifically called “MBI Day,” which became an annual highlight. Testimonies of students would be shared, and the ministry of MBI featured, leading to many new students enrolling to study at the College over the years.

Sally Minett, a recent graduate of MST, compiled a Centenary book of BHC, “A River Glorious – the Story of
Belgrave Heights Convention.” Sally writes:

“In 1950, 22 acres (nine hectares) was purchased in Belgrave Heights (formerly a golf course) where ‘those attending may enjoy the twofold blessings of Christian fellowship and exquisite scenery. And in an incredibly short time the auditorium was dismantled and reassembled, with some interior improvements, just in time for the 1950/51 Convention. As building materials and builders were still in very short supply (it was only six years since World War II had ended), God’s provision and undertaking were evident over and over again.”

“God’s provision and undertaking were evident over and over again.”

Easter, 1960

Another standout at the annual Convention was the Global Mission meeting, in which people were challenged by stories of God’s work from around the world. These precious times at BHC led to a wave of enrolments at MBI, as students prepared for mission service both in Australia and overseas.
Recently, an elderly, former MBI student who, when asked what it was like to study at MBI, replied: “It’s just wonderful. Like being at Belgrave Heights Convention every day!”
Present BHC Chairman and former MST lecturer Richard Coombs stated, “Over the years, the Convention has been a key source of students for MST, For many former students, the Convention remains an annual meeting place that helps them stay in-touch with one another.”
Today, BHC continues to welcome another generation of MST students, as they become involved with the mission stands, children’s work and more.

So close was the relationship between MBI and the Convention, that one of the days of the convention was specifically called “MBI Day,” which became an annual highlight. Testimonies of students would be shared, and the ministry of MBI featured, leading to many new students enrolling to study at the College over the years.

Sally Minett, a recent graduate of MST, compiled a Centenary book of BHC, “A River Glorious – the Story of
Belgrave Heights Convention.” Sally writes:

“In 1950, 22 acres (nine hectares) was purchased in Belgrave Heights (formerly a golf course) where ‘those attending may enjoy the twofold blessings of Christian fellowship and exquisite scenery. And in an incredibly short time the auditorium was dismantled and reassembled, with some interior improvements, just in time for the 1950/51 Convention. As building materials and builders were still in very short supply (it was only six years since World War II had ended), God’s provision and undertaking were evident over and over again.”