Witnessing real change: Hayden’s story

Just as Hayden was feeling apathetic towards faith, God invaded his world by transforming the lives of significant people around him. Through this, Hayden was drawn to develop his own understanding of the person and work of Christ in an informed and tangible way. 

Hayden’s desire to continue learning more about Jesus and witness real change in the lives of others and himself led him to pursue ministry and study. He is currently working as the Associate Youth Pastor at Providence City while completing his Master of Divinity at Trinity.

Hayden grew up in a Christian family, but towards the end of Year 10, felt indifferent towards faith. He believed in Jesus, his death and resurrection, but didn’t really think much about the implications. During this time, he witnessed the transformation of his best mate’s dad, his mum’s commitment to her marriage, and the transformation of his friends as they attended their church’s youth group led by a passionate youth pastor.

“It was the first time I’d ever experienced Christianity that was alive. These were just real, everyday, normal people in the way that they prayed and talked about Jesus. When they worshipped him, I realised, ‘Oh, wow, these people are really being forgiven and transformed by God. They know what sin is and they’re so grateful that they’ve been freed from it, and they really want us to taste this goodness too.’ That just captivated me.”

By his own admission, Hayden “flunked out” of high school and worked odd jobs until he was able to attend university as a mature-aged student. By the time he was 21, he’d married his wife Katie and they’d moved to Perth to study. It was here that Hayden studied Creative Advertising and Graphic Design followed by a short but successful career as an Art Director in advertising agencies. 

However, while he loved his job, he wasn’t wedded to the idea of being an advertising creative. “It wasn’t my end goal, but I just kept on following the green lights that were being thrown at me,” he explained. After a few years working in the industry, Hayden felt his interest in ministry rise after hearing about the Ministry Training Strategy (MTS), but he was also hesitant. He decided to do an MTS apprenticeship at Providence City, assuming that, at the end of it, his trainers would tell him he wasn’t the right fit for ministry.

To his surprise, the opposite happened.

“I got to the end of the apprenticeship and they asked me if I wanted to keep working at Providence.”

“We had a youth group that I had been running, and I’d also established new branding and communications for the Providence Network. So, I joined the team full-time in those roles and continued studying one unit per semester at Trinity.”

For someone who never really planned to study theology, Trinity has been an eye-opening experience for Hayden. He began with a Graduate Diploma at Trinity while doing his MTS apprenticeship and will finish soon with a Master’s degree.

During his time at Trinity, Hayden has enjoyed getting to know the other students he shares classes with. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the people. The people that I sit around are really great and we have fun, we chat about big things and small things. I particularly enjoy the moments where I’m struggling with something and I can just turn around and chat to someone about it. That’s definitely been one of the highlights,” he shared.

Hayden admits that studying isn’t one of his strengths, but it is something that he is continuing to work at and feels supported in at Trinity from lecturers and classmates. “I don’t like reading and studying, but I want to be the person who has studied and read deeply. I enjoy the fruit of it, not necessarily the labour of it.”

God is continuing to grow Hayden in his knowledge and love of him through study at Trinity. Hayden reflects, “I’ve been taught so faithfully, and God really is doing something in growing me to know and love him more.” Hayden is unsure what his next move will be once he is finished with his studies, but for now, he’s “just happy to step out in faith and see where God leads me.”