Ridley College Podcast

🎙️ S4 E9 — Preaching to Uncle Bob: Evangelistic Preaching in a Post-Christian World with John Dickson
Episode Description

In this episode, Ridley Faculty member, Tim Johnson, sits down with the John Dickson — historian, author, podcaster, and public Christian — ahead of the annual Ridley Preachers Conference. Their conversation centres on one of the most important and underestimated skills in ministry: evangelistic preaching. Not the Billy Graham crusade kind — but the kind that happens every Sunday in local churches around the country, where real doubters are sitting in real pews. John makes a compelling case that the local church is still the most powerful evangelistic tool we have, and that any preacher — not just the gifted evangelist — can learn to preach in a way that has something for the doubter in the room. They explore the difference between evangelistic preaching and evangelism, the common missteps that lose sceptical listeners, how to handle questions about Christianity's goodness and reputation, what Aristotle's three elements of persuasion have to do with the pulpit, and John's one piece of advice for anyone preparing an evangelistic sermon this Sunday. Whether you're a seasoned preacher or just starting out, this is a conversation that will change the way you think about your next sermon.
The Ridley Preachers Conference takes place 27–28 August at Ridley College, Melbourne — in person and online. Visit ridley.edu.au/apc for details.

Got Questions?
Got questions about Ridley College? We'd love to hear from you! Whether you're thinking about studying with us or just want to know what life at Ridley is really like. No question is too big or too small. Drop your questions in the comments below or email us at pod@ridley.edu.au and we'll do our best to answer every single one. 👇

Study With Ridley
If you are interested in finding out more about studying at Ridley College or have any questions regarding any courses or units, we invite you to contact us via this link: https://www.ridley.edu.au/study/
Ridley Chapel Podcast
Be sure to check out our Ridley Chapel Sermons Podcast through this link: https://ridleychapel.transistor.fm/
Donate
This podcast is made possible through the generous donations of our alumni and supporters. We welcome your partnership with us in our mission of equipping men and women for God’s mission in our rapidly changing and increasingly complex world. If you’d like to contribute to our work, you can donate by clicking this link if you wish to donate: https://www.ridley.edu.au/donate/
Connect with Ridley College
Website: https://www.ridley.edu.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collegeridley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ridleycollegemelbourne/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/ridley-melbourne/
Study at Ridley: https://www.ridley.edu.au/study/

🎙️ S4 E8 — Why Youth Ministry Needs to Innovate And What That Actually Means with Chris Curtis
 
Episode Description
In this episode, Graham Stanton — Director of Youth Ministry Futures and the Ridley Centre for Children's and Youth Ministry  — sits down with Chris Curtis, CEO of Youthscape from Luton in the UK, fresh off the week-long YMF residential with 50 youth ministry leaders from across Australia. Their conversation picks up where the residential left off, exploring one of the most important — and sometimes misunderstood — words in ministry today: innovation. Chris unpacks his definition of innovation as: “The Spirit-led reimagining of mission and ministry in changing contexts, while remaining rooted in the unchanging person of Jesus Christ." They dig into the history of the word (spoiler: it started in the church — and it wasn't a compliment), the four levels at which innovation happens in youth ministry — structures, methods, language and tools — and what "creative destruction" really means for those of us who love the programs and traditions through which we came to faith. Chris also shares his observations on Australian youth ministry from the outside, why youth ministry is the R&D department of the church, and what a sixth-century Irish monk named Brendan might have to teach us about leaving the familiar for the unknown. A rich, wide-ranging, and genuinely energising conversation for anyone in or around youth and children's ministry.
Youth Ministry Futures
The youth ministry futures project has a vision to grow the number of long-term youth ministry leaders with the theological and practical wisdom to meet the challenges of sharing Jesus with young people in a complex world. 
We dream of a fellowship of people, committed to praying, promoting, and providing for local church youth ministries, to shift youth ministry from a part-time side hustle into a viable, long-term ministry calling, and see a reinvigorated system of healthy youth ministry in churches across Australia. Learn more: https://ymfutures.com.au/
Got Questions?
Got questions about Ridley College? We'd love to hear from you! Whether you're thinking about studying with us or just want to know what life at Ridley is really like. No question is too big or too small. Drop your questions in the comments below or email us at pod@ridley.edu.au and we'll do our best to answer every single one. 👇

Study With Ridley
If you are interested in finding out more about studying at Ridley College or have any questions regarding any courses or units, we invite you to contact us via this link: https://www.ridley.edu.au/study/
Ridley Chapel Podcast
Be sure to check out our Ridley Chapel Sermons Podcast through this link: https://ridleychapel.transistor.fm/
Donate
This podcast is made possible through the generous donations of our alumni and supporters. We welcome your partnership with us in our mission of equipping men and women for God’s mission in our rapidly changing and increasingly complex world. If you’d like to contribute to our work, you can donate by clicking this link if you wish to donate: https://www.ridley.edu.au/donate/
Connect with Ridley College
Website: https://www.ridley.edu.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collegeridley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ridleycollegemelbourne/
Study at Ridley: https://www.ridley.edu.au/study/

🎙️ S4 S7 — Inside Ridley: End of Financial Year Special with Rhys Bezzant & Bec Muir
 
Episode Description
In this special end-of-financial-year episode of Inside Ridley,  Rhys Bezzant sits down once again with faculty member Bec Muir as they wrap up a full semester at Ridley. They reflect on the Archbishop's landmark lecture on raising leaders for the Diocese of Melbourne, before turning to some of the big questions Ridley is wrestling with heading into the next year — the future development of the Ridley Online program, the growth of the Anglican Institute, the challenge of AI in theological education, and what it means to build genuine partnerships with churches around Australia and beyond. They also make a direct appeal: Ridley raises 40% of its own income, and right now they're looking for support to invest in curriculum, technology, the Anglican Institute, and a new partnerships manager. A warm, honest, and genuinely encouraging conversation about what Ridley is — and what it's reaching toward.

EOFY APPEAL
Tuition fees only cover 60% of our costs. Will you help us raise $400,000 by June 30. To give, visit ridley.edu.au/eofyappeal. All donations over $2 are tax-deductible.

Got Questions?
Got questions about Ridley College? We'd love to hear from you! Whether you're thinking about studying with us or just want to know what life at Ridley is really like. No question is too big or too small. Drop your questions in the comments below or email us at pod@ridley.edu.au and we'll do our best to answer every single one. 👇

Study With Ridley
If you are interested in finding out more about studying at Ridley College or have any questions regarding any courses or units, we invite you to contact us via this link: https://www.ridley.edu.au/study/
Ridley Chapel Podcast
Be sure to check out our Ridley Chapel Sermons Podcast through this link: https://ridleychapel.transistor.fm/

Donate
This podcast is made possible through the generous donations of our alumni and supporters. We welcome your partnership with us in our mission of equipping men and women for God’s mission in our rapidly changing and increasingly complex world. If you’d like to contribute to our work, you can donate by clicking this link: https://www.ridley.edu.au/donate
Connect with Ridley College
Website: https://www.ridley.edu.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collegeridley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ridleycollegemelbourne/
Study at Ridley: https://www.ridley.edu.au/study/

🎙️ S4 E6 - Discernment and Partnerships: Renewal for the Diocese of Melbourne with Abp Ric Thorpe
The Anglican Institute Lecture 2026
 
Episode Description
What does renewal look like in a diocese? And what role does theological training play? 
In this lecture, Archbishop Ric Thorpe explores the importance and shape of renewal in the Diocese of Melbourne, and the pivotal role that theological colleges play as the Diocese seeks to discern God’s future together. 

This lecture was recorded on 18 May 2026 at Ridley College.
Got Questions?
Got questions about Ridley College? We'd love to hear from you! Whether you're thinking about studying with us or just want to know what life at Ridley is really like. No question is too big or too small. Drop your questions in the comments below or email us at pod@ridley.edu.au and we'll do our best to answer every single one. 👇

Study With Ridley
If you are interested in finding out more about studying at Ridley College or have any questions regarding any courses or units, we invite you to contact us via this link: https://www.ridley.edu.au/study/
Ridley Chapel Podcast
Be sure to check out our Ridley Chapel Sermons Podcast through this link: https://ridleychapel.transistor.fm/
Donate
This podcast is made possible through the generous donations of our alumni and supporters. We welcome your partnership with us in our mission of equipping men and women for God’s mission in our rapidly changing and increasingly complex world. If you’d like to contribute to our work, you can donate by clicking this link if you wish to donate: https://www.ridley.edu.au/donate/
Connect with Ridley College
Website: https://www.ridley.edu.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collegeridley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ridleycollegemelbourne/
Study at Ridley: https://www.ridley.edu.au/study/

🎙️ S4 E5 —  AI, Young People & the Church with Anna Davy, Dave Chiswell & Joshua Millard
 
Episode Description
In this special episode, Ridley student and youth leader Anna Davy facilitates a rich and wide-ranging conversation on Artificial Intelligence or AI, born out of Ridley's annual Children's and Youth Ministry Training Day. Joining her are Dave Chiswell (Lead Trainer at Youth Ministry Futures, and Youth Minister at City on a Hill Geelong), and Joshua Millard (Youth Development Director of CMS Victoria) — two practitioners who care deeply about the same things but come at AI from quite different angles. Together they wrestle with some of the most pressing questions facing children's and youth workers today: What is AI actually doing to young people's formation? What's the difference between helpful and harmful friction? Why are teenagers turning to AI for friendship, therapy, and romance — and what does the church have to offer in response? What does a Christian theology of work and productivity look like in an age of artificial intelligence? Honest, thoughtful, and genuinely urgent — this is a conversation every youth and children's worker needs to be part of, and everyone in the church will want to learn from. 

Got Questions?
Got questions about Ridley College? We'd love to hear from you! Whether you're thinking about studying with us or just want to know what life at Ridley is really like. No question is too big or too small. Drop your questions in the comments below or email us at pod@ridley.edu.au and we'll do our best to answer every single one. 👇

Study With Ridley
If you are interested in finding out more about studying at Ridley College or have any questions regarding any courses or units, we invite you to contact us via this link: https://www.ridley.edu.au/study/
Ridley Chapel Podcast
Be sure to check out our Ridley Chapel Sermons Podcast through this link: https://ridleychapel.transistor.fm/
Donate
This podcast is made possible through the generous donations of our alumni and supporters. We welcome your partnership with us in our mission of equipping men and women for God’s mission in our rapidly changing and increasingly complex world. If you’d like to contribute to our work, you can donate by clicking this link if you wish to donate: https://www.ridley.edu.au/donate/
Connect with Ridley College
Website: https://www.ridley.edu.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/collegeridley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ridleycollegemelbourne/
Study at Ridley: https://www.ridley.edu.au/study/