Anjalie returns to her alma mater as Youth Minister

Anjalie Upasena

Hi there! My name’s Anjalie and I’m fortunate enough to be a Youth Minister at St Clare’s College this year. I’m 18 and I come from a family of three with me being the only child! I’m currently studying Medical Science at ANU and discovering all about life after school.

Although I graduated last year, I’m privileged enough to be able to go back into my old high school and to serve as a Youth Minister.

My faith was fostered and nurtured in the culture of Youth Ministry especially at my high school which gave me the opportunity to be a part of a Youth Ministry Team and to associate myself with like minded young people who were also interested in discovering and growing in their own faith.

What Youth Ministry offered was a personal, relational aspect to faith and to God himself; it wasn’t just restricted to traditional ways of thinking but it enabled me to accept faith as something of my own and helped me realise how important it is especially during my teenage years.

Seeing how important and critical faith was in my own life and the need I had for God to intervene and be present in my everyday made me realise how young people just like me in their own high schools are thirsting and longing for a love to satisfy them- however many do not know that this love is actually God’s.

This was one of the main reasons why I decided to become a Youth Minister- to give young people the opportunity of knowing Jesus just like I had been presented with when I was their age. Being placed at my own old high school meant that I am able to go back and build on those existing friendships I’ve made with a lot of the girls and to see them grow and change into beautiful women of God. 

One of my many highlights of being a Youth Minister at St Clare’s is being able to go into different RE classes and to just have normal conversations with the girls and to meet them where they are at.

One of the key first steps to evangelisation, before even talking about God is to take the time to know that person and to become their friend; because we’re all called to accompany each other on this journey.

I’m excited for what is to come of this year and to continue to help all the girls discover that they’re beautiful daughters of God made for a sacrificial love.