How Veta Morphus has Helped Me Grow Christian Leaders

One of the challenges of youth ministry has been the very transient nature of the work – youth ministry leaders can tend to come and go far too often, leading to inconsistency and a lack of long-term experience.  This is an interview with one leader who is bucking the trend!

Richard Schulze has been the Chaplain/School Pastor at Living Waters Lutheran College in WA for the past 9 years. Richard was the first PGS in WA and has delivered Vet Morphus at the school every year since.

So Richard, why did you start Veta Morphus at Living Waters?

The chance to run Veta Morphus was a key part of why I accepted the call to WA. I was concerned about the lack of opportunities for young people to develop as leaders in the church. When I saw that Living Waters wanted to invest so intensively in the Christian growth of year 11-12 students I was there.

Why was that important?

Christian discipleship and the training of church leaders is a passion of mine. Veta was – and is – by far the best resource that I’d seen for helping me, as a Lutheran Pastor, achieve that. These are the young people who who will become the pastors and ministers leading our churches. Over 9 years I’ve already seen a number of my ex-Veta students enter into ministry.

How does Veta Morphus help you achieve that?

I see Veta as a ‘sandbox’ for the Christian faith. It creates a supportive and encouraging space for students to try out their theology, their understanding, their practices of the Christian life and to see how it stacks up. This prepares them for living out their faith in uni and work, to stand up to the challenges that they will face and remain faithful through them.

9 years is a long time! Why do you think you keep running Veta peer groups?

Nine years has allowed me to see some of the results of the Veta program. I recently met one of my Veta graduates. She is a school chaplain, a contributing member in her church, and happily married. Other students have undergone great trial and, humanly speaking, are not on an upward path. However, I’ve found with all former students that Veta gave them a narrative to find their place in the world and to help others.

What would you say to someone considering running

Veta Morphus?

Veta allows the time and space needed to ask life’s real questions and prepare for a life of service. In Veta we begin the journey of discovering who we are, what world we are living in, and where God is calling us; in other words, what it is to be followers of Christ. If you want to do that with young people, then run Veta.