Training for Eternity

Fourth-year candidate student Jono Vavouris looks forward to being a pastor, but he isn’t sure yet exactly where he’ll end up post-graduation. He isn’t concerned, though. He’s thoroughly enjoying his journey at Christ College, and he hopes to stay present so that he can finish his final year well.

Born to a Greek father and a Chinese mother, Jono experienced what he refers to as a ‘troubled’ childhood, which started when his parents separated while he was quite young. Jono’s mother ended up raising him on her own, and he moved around all over Sydney. It wasn’t until he was studying at university that Jono heard the gospel for the first time.

Jono was 19 and studying a psychology degree at UNSW when a friend invited him to an evangelistic event run by Campus Bible Study (CBS). He attributes his difficult childhood to the reason he accepted the invitation, because he had already spent a fair amount of time pondering the purpose of life from a young age.

“ I vividly remember that moment when I entered the Bible talk,” Jono reflects. “I was given a Bible, and it was quite a surreal experience—this sense of warmth and peace already comforted me, and I started tearing up, and I was like, ‘That’s a bit weird.’”

As it turned out, the talk itself from the book of Galatians really spoke to Jono that day. The concept of total depravity was one that he resonated with, and it challenged him so much that he spent the entire summer holidays reading the Bible for himself. Back at uni the following year, Jono ended up connecting with CBS again and went through Simply Christianity before reading through Romans with a MTS apprentice. During that time Jono was convicted by Jesus enough to pray his first prayer, during which he ultimately gave his life to Christ.

“As I was reading the gospels over and over again, I just paused to really look at Christ,” Jono explains. “I felt a sense of, ‘Wow, Jesus is so gentle, and He’s so beautiful. He’s so caring, He’s so compassionate.’”

It wasn’t long before Jono felt a burden to share the gospel with almost anyone and everyone, and his newfound convictions were enough to change Jono’s mind about his career. He had originally planned to study Medicine after finishing his undergraduate degree, but he decided instead that he needed to spend his life caring for people’s eternal wellbeing alongside their temporary physical needs.

Those same convictions were then put to the test a few years later, when Jono experienced a really rough season—including a battle with depression. 

“Through it all, God was just so gracious and patient with me,” Jono reflects. He ended up working in child protection for a number of years, which he now sees as an important part of his spiritual formation. The next step for him was a two-year ministry apprenticeship with his church, which included part-time study at Christ College. And once he finished that, Jono enrolled full-time.

Jono says he didn’t have a firm idea in his mind of where he’d like to end up, but he had always wanted to be a pastor, and he knew that training at Christ College would equip him to serve the Church in any capacity. He has found it to be a wonderful experience.

“One of the joys has been seeing how God is at work in different people’s lives,” Jono shares, “and seeing how they are being spiritually formed, and how they’re being trained and equipped—I’ve really appreciated that, and it’s so valuable in lifelong ministry to see those friendships develop.”

Among many other things, Jono has also appreciated the input from his colleagues during class discussion.

“ A lot of the classes have more mature age students, so they bring in their wealth of life experience and convictions, and you see how it really applies the theology to people’s lives,” Jono says. “I enjoy being refined and sharpened by each person.”

When asked why someone might consider studying at Christ College, Jono explains that it’s not simply learning for the sake of it, but instead it’s training in a way that impacts people for eternity.

Jono says, “ I think studying at Christ College is where you really just train to be someone that serves the Church. Who wouldn’t want to do that?!”