Aaron Boyd Interview

Aaron Boyd Interview

Hello All!

An interview made by our welcome and outreach team for Aaron Boyd our camp speaker.

Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Aaron Boyd. I'm married to Gabby who works as an Occupational Therapist. We have a pet cat named Gracie. We attend Bundoora Presbyterian Church and I work for the Christian Union at La Trobe University Bundoora. My ministry basically involves seeking to share the gospel with students on campus, encouraging students to follow Jesus, training the next generation of Christian leaders and sending them out.

What are your passions\Interests ?

I enjoy running, reading, preaching, good food and drink, bushwalking/hiking and watching pretty much any sport on TV - especially supporting the Melbourne FC and the Aussie Cricket Team.

How did your come to Christ? Turning points in your life?

I grow up in a Christian family and can't really remember a time when I would say I wasn't a Christian. Having said that, I didn't really understand the gospel until I was 15. At a conference I understood for the first time that God demonstrated His incredible love for me by sending his Son to die in my place for my rejection of Him (Romans 5:8-9). Following this during my time at University I sort of had a crisis of faith. I studied an Arts degree and was confronted with many different philosophies and worldviews. I had to decide if I really thought Jesus was the only truth or just one option among many. Once I'd decided that Jesus was the only truth - the only way people could know God - I wanted to spend my entire life urging people to follow Him.

Our theme for the year is 'reaching out and gathering in', what would you say are some of the most important attitudes to have when sharing your faith?

Our motivation for sharing our faith should be the love of Christ (2 Cor. 5:14). We must be convinced that Christ died for the sins of the whole world and everyone should have an opportunity to hear the gospel. Our attitude in sharing our faith should be the same as our attitude in the Christian life in general. We know that Jesus is the truth and the gospel powerful so we should be confident and bold. On the flip side, we know that we are only Christians because of God's grace so we should be humble and gracious to others. In summary, motivated by love in an attitude of confident humility.

What is the most difficult part about 'reaching out'?

There are many difficulties with reaching out and it's difficult for me to pin-point one. Some of them include: lack of clarity in our own understanding of the gospel, lack of love for people who don't know Jesus, lack of relationships with people who don't know Jesus, lack of sufficient relationship building/conversational skills, lack of conviction in the truth and power of the gospel.

What would you like to see from the Youth coming out of this camp?

Above all, i hope the youth will grow in their understanding of the gospel and their love for Jesus. As well as this I hope the youth are encouraged that God is a missionary God who is seeking to save people from all nations through Jesus. Finally, I hope some young people will be challenged to think about what part they might personally play in God's mission to seek and save people who don't know Jesus.

Thank you very much for your time Aaron- we look forward to hearing you share God's truths about outreach with us at the upcoming camp at Merrick's lodge.