the real australian - The Bush Church Aid Society

Tracks Of Grace
BCA supported ministry is helping a dairy
farming family make a difference for
Jesus on one of Australia’s most beautiful
islands. One look at Philip and Kelly
Lancaster’s dairy-themed mailbox and you
can tell what gets them up early in the
morning.
They operate
one of fourteen
farms which supply
the milk that
makes King Island’s
famous cheese.
Together with
their four schoolaged
children they Philip and Kelly Lancaster
are also active
members of All Saints’ Anglican Church,
where Rod and Christene Oldfield serve
as BCA Field Staff. Dairy farming runs in
Philip’s family and he was born on the
Island. Kelly moved to the island when she
was ten and the couple first met at a dairy
farmers’ discussion group. They were the
second last couple to be married in the old
All Saints’ church building before it burnt
down just over a decade ago. A key turning
point in their spiritual journey came when
they had their first child, Kara, baptised and
decided to move from being Christmas and
Easter churchgoers to regular attenders.
“But I didn’t take anything in until I started
going to Bible study,” recalls Kelly. “The first
two books we studied were Romans and
Acts.”
Another milestone that they consider
helped them immensely was an Alpha
Course and the encouragement of other
congregation members. The Lancasters have
been a key part of the group that started a
Friday evening fellowship for people looking
for a more informal experience than Sunday
morning church. Kelly continues to be part
of the Women’s Bible study and Philip is
part of a small group
doing the Certificate
in Theology and
Ministry (the distance
course administered
by BCA’s David
Rogers-Smith).
Philip and Kelly are
encouraged that their
children enjoy being
part of church and are willing to identify as
Christians even when they get some ribbing
from schoolmates. They recognise that
they don’t get the same opportunities to
meet with other Christians their age as do
teenagers in larger centres. “We’re praying
for growth in the church and for people to
be converted, says Philip. “We’d also love
new Christian families to move here so our
kids can have Christian friends their age.”
King Island’s school only takes students
up to Year Ten so like other parents on the
island the Lancasters will have to make
some important decisions about the future
education of their children. No matter what
the future holds, they are confident in God’s
care and are actively looking for ways to
bless others as God has blessed them in
Christ.•
Mark Short National Director
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