Schoolies Outreach

Every year hundreds of year 12 graduates flood the streets of Byron Bay to celebrate their achievement of finishing high school. These few weeks of celebration is what they call schoolies here in Australia and consists of- lots of drinking, parties, and days spent at the beach. For over 10 years during this time of year we have been partnering with the organisation Red Frogs, to see these year 12’s stay safe and have an enjoyable time during their stay here.

Red Frogs started in 1997 in the Gold Coast as the founder Andy Gourley saw the need to have sober people around these schoolies to bring a positive influence and to be there as a safeguard. It is now running in 9 countries, and they also go to universities, music festival and sporting events. It is always such an honour to support this ministry and their vision!

Ambulances, walk homes, vomit bags, lack of sleep and bag fulls of the iconic red frog lollies pretty much summaries what are week involved. Every night we met and prayed together and would then break off into teams and hit the streets! We walked around Byron, chatting and connecting with schoolies and responding to calls that we got on the Red Frogs Hotline- if someone needed walking back to their accomodation, if there was an incident, someone had too much to drink or they just wanted company! We would go out every night from around 7pm-3am and then each morning we would do Pancake Cook-Ups at the schoolies apartments! This was such an intentional way to follow up with the schoolies that we met and continue to connect and pour into them.

During this week we were able to practically serve these schoolies and through that show them the heart of God- his kindness, his care, his patience, his intentionality, his protection and his love. Each night we had multiple questions from schoolies asking why we were doing this, and we were able to share about how our heart is to serve them and to support and shine a light on their generation. We had many opportunities to share our testimonies and our faith and engage in long conversations were these teenagers felt they could ask the questions they had stirring within them about faith and God. God showed us how through this week we were changing the perspective that this generation has on Christianity!

This week was an amazing reminder of the importance and significance of having a servant heart and serving others with pure intentions, and the power that has on people’s lives to see Christ through our actions as we become Jesus’s hands and feet! One verse continues to ring true about the heart behind this week and one that we encourage you to mediate on as you think about the ways that you can purely serve those around you!

Mark 10:45 “For even the son of man did not come expecting to be served by everyone, but to serve everyone, and to give his life as the ransom price in exchange for the salvation of many”.

- Redfrogs.com.au