Wollongong, Australia

Aussie Mission Team

In early 2005, God planted the seed for this vision and since then, that seed has grown and will sprout up in Wollongong, Australia in 2009. In January of 2005 the Whaley and Griffith families made a prayerful covenant before God to move one another toward missions and possibly a team. In the beginning of 2007 the Mullins family joined this God-given vision for Wollongong.

As a team they have also been preparing with the observation and support of both Missions Resource Network (MRN) and Kairos Church Planting Support (Kairos) since 2005 and 2006, respectively, having gone through MRN’s thorough team-building process. They have also partnered with Kairos for a robust church-planting coaching system, being coached by Amos Allen. During this team-building time, the Whaleys have been mentored and prayed over by Evertt and Ileene Huffard, Kent and Nancy Hartman, Alan Phillips, Dale and Sheila Hartman, Stan and Gena Granberg, Bob Hesselrode, Dwight Albright, Dana Baldwin, Frank Cunningham, and others.

Wollongong, the City

Wollongong is a city of 300,000 people on the southern edge of Sydney. This city is located in the Illawara district whose population is closing in on 500,000. Wollongong is a diverse city with several immigrant population groups, a strong international university and one of Australia’s largest ports. It is highly influenced by the greater Sydney culture and commerce. The team envisions God calling together (ekklesia, 1 Cor. 1:2) a network of diverse churches (diaspora, Jas. 1:1; 1 Pe. 1:1) in the Wollongong area out of the large number of people who presently do not follow Christ.

The Whaley Family

The Round Rock congregation is excited to partner with the Whaley family. Jason and Nicole have demonstrated such a passion for reaching out and are dedicated to God’s Kingdom in such a way that is exciting to witness.

Prior to formal education and team formation, God was forming Jason and Nicole as a family for his missional purposes. Jason taught in Vacation Bible Schools while growing up in the Stillwater and Perkins churches (Oklahoma). He served as Social Service Director in his club at Oklahoma Christian. Upon graduation, Jason served in Australia through the Helpers in Missions (HIM) program under the oversight of the Memorial Road church’s elders and the mentorship of ministers in Australia including Kent Hartman and Frank Cunningham. God worked on Jason a lot during this time in preparation for what he could not have fully imagined.

God also was working on Nicole. An Australian growing up in Brisbane, she became a Christian through an American teacher and his family’s spiritual influence. Nicole later taught English in Japan for three and a half years, during which time she shared her faith boldly with Japanese people. She was an example of a true seeker of God and God was using her as a catalyst for new seekers who would consider following Christ. She led a popular English Bible Class every Sunday night for about two years through a ministry in the Mito Church of Christ.

Periodically, the Whaleys considered whether God might be calling them to Japan instead of Australia, but God seemed to confirm their decision to work in Australia with greater confidence.

Since moving to Memphis in January 2003, Jason and Nicole have studied and trained more formally for this mission and are nearing the point of seeing their dream realized. You already know that Jason graduated from Harding University Graduate School of Religion (HUGSR) with a Masters of Divinity in May 2007. All three men on the team are HUGSR graduates.

As you know, both Jason and Nicole were involved in the Park Avenue Church of Christ in Memphis from January 2003 to May 2008, teaching various Bible classes, especially pre-teens, teens, and the Second Chance Class—involving young adults whose homes were not Christian. The Whaleys also co-led a team at Memphis Workcamp after Jason had led teams for the two consecutive years prior.

At the moment, Jason and Nicole and their kids, Ella (b. 2008) and Noah (b. 2009), live in Wollongong. They entered the country in January 2009 and began seeking opportunities to meet locals and learn the culture by volunteering in community service opportunities. They are becoming locals there, hopefully in the same way the Son of God became flesh and lived among us.