When Amy and Tom first joined the Red Frog Crew six years ago, they both signed up for different reasons. 

 

“I think I was in first year uni and I just decided to do it,” Tom shares. “I went down there, registered by myself, I didn’t know anyone. I thought it sounded awesome!”

 

For Amy, it was a bit different. “When I first did Frogs, about three years out of school, I did it because everyone else was doing it. It was like the ‘thing’ to do,” Amy shares. “I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know how I’d deal with the vomit and the drunk Schoolies. But when I got down there, I realised I loved it, and God did want me there!”

 

Six years later, here they are, ready to do it all again.

 

And why do they keep coming back? Because God keeps bringing them back every year.

 

“The environment is awesome because everyone is there for the same goal and mission: to demonstrate God’s love and be a practical support to the Schoolies,” Tom says. “You’re there with 10 to 15 other churches, all different. But to me, it’s a ministry that’s the representation of the body of Christ. Everyone is united.”

 

Tom continues: “I have this memory from Night 4 a few years ago, when everyone was feeling really tired. All the leaders gathered together for a time of worship. It was simple – just a guitar and cajon – and the voices of 100 or 200 people. For me, that was ‘it’. It was the united body. It was everyone from all different walks, worshipping together, and praying for God’s hand to be on the Gold Coast.”

 

For Amy, she is drawn in by the ability to connect with the Schoolies when they are open and interested in engaging.

 

“When I was a team member, in my first couple of years of Frogs, we ran into a guy, sitting by himself sitting on Cavill Avenue, which is the ‘hub’ of where everyone is walking. We’d already connected with him in his hotel room before this moment. We sat down with him, and he was asking so many questions about faith, and we were able to share the Gospel. As we were doing that, another team passed by, so we shared together with him, and the guy gave his life to Christ!”

 

For those considering becoming a Frog for the first time, Amy and Tom have some thoughts:

 

“Have realistic expectations,” Tom says. “It’s lots of fun and it’s such a cool community, but it can be tiring. It is a mission. Go in expectant to see what God will do. Ask God, ‘where are you going to use me?”

 

Amy says if people are having reservations about going, know that they aren’t going in there alone! “It’s such a supportive space to be equipped to go out. There is training and support to help you as you step out,” she says.

 

Whenever we purposefully reach out to serve others – whether it’s to the Gold Coast as a Frog or to our neighbours living beside us – we always end up growing and learning something new about God and ourselves.

 

Amy and Tom share what serving as a Frog has taught them. “It’s given me confidence in sharing the Gospel and my testimony. Every year it gives me fresh revelation that God works through everything, He’s ordaining things to come, and He sees the bigger picture,” Amy says.

 

“It’s encouraging to walk away and see God is moving in every space, not just Schoolies,” says Tom. “You can take your passion, your hobbies, your work and use that as an opportunity to invite God in, wherever you are. So being a Frog leaves you more equipped to share the Gospel in everyday life,” he says.

 

There is four weeks to go until Schoolies 2023! Click here to sign up and join the Red Frog Crew. Or to sponsor a Frog who is already going, click here.