Introducing Our Newest Team Member: Elizabeth Burns

Elizabeth Burns joined our VBC team in November last year as a Compliance and Administration Officer. Her role will focus on ensuring VBC’s documentation remains fully compliant with the VET system, as well as preparing for audits, and supporting trainers. Read her story below, and be encouraged by her faithfulness. We are grateful to have her on our team!

Born and raised in a Christian home, Elizabeth grew up going to church, attending Sunday school and participating in a Bible study group. However, it was during university that her faith was seriously tested and deepened. While studying at university, she unknowingly became involved in a sect. “They basically hunted Christians from other denominations to make them part of their sect,” she explained. It was widely known around campus at the time.

Although she did not stay long, the experience had a lasting impact. “Fortunately I didn’t get very far but it gave me the conviction I needed to know my faith a lot better. So I jumped right into exploring not just being a ‘yeah I sort of understand all this and I trust my leaders and that'll be enough’ to realising that I needed to understand things fully.” As a result, Elizabeth undertook an MTS traineeship at her local church and then went on to study at Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC), originally with the intention of working in parish ministry as part of a church team in Sydney.

During her studies, however, God began challenging her to consider international ministry, something she was very reluctant to do. She remembers being confronted with two questions: “Are you willing to do whatever God would have you do?” and “Are you willing to go wherever God would send you?” Elizabeth shares, “I could do number one. Number two, no way.” That response convicted her that she needed to “give it a better go,” she shares.

She decided to travel overseas, visiting missionary friends around the world. Her plan was to spend six months in an English-speaking location, but illness changed that plan. Instead, she began her trip in Tanzania, spending nine weeks there, before travelling on to explore other mission societies and ways of doing ministry. Through this process, she realised she could commit to short-term mission work. She applied for one year in Tanzania, which became two years, and later returned to Australia to apply for long-term missionary service.

A key turning point came when people asked her to teach English. Elizabeth admits, “I was not at all equipped in that area of my life… I’d avoided English essay writing and everything until I’d done my theological degree. I was more down with the sciences.” With no resources other than Bibles, she began teaching English directly from Scripture. Her students became curious about the Word, and clarified a deep conviction for Elizabeth, “that local Christians needed to actually understand God’s word themselves,” she shares.

Elizabeth lived in Tanzania during the early 2000’s, and at that time, much of the church there believed only ministers needed to own Bibles, and most people had only primary school education. After further training in Australia, Elizabeth returned to Tanzania as a missionary to work in a small Bible college, equipping these primary school educated believers to lead churches.

This approach closely aligns with the vision of Vocational Bible College. As Elizabeth explains, “you don’t need to have huge amounts of academic learning to be able to train and equip people to read God’s word.” She is passionate about equipping everyday Christians, saying, “once you become a Christian, you don’t need to become more academic. I think we often get confused that to be a Christian, you’ve got to be a full-on academic. And it’s just not right.” While traditional  theological education is valuable, she adds, “we don’t need all our leaders to do it. We need everyday leaders who can relate to everyday people.”

Elizabeth spent 17 years in Tanzania serving as a missionary with Church Missionary Society (CMS). During that time, she trained students in a small Bible college, worked in village churches, and carried significant administrative responsibilities. She helped start schools, including a nursing school, and was involved in systems management and strategic planning through the diocese. Her core passion however, was planting Bible studies in local villages. She shares, “I had a little team where we went out together and just trained people and encouraged people to pick up God's word, look at it, and then think about how it applied to their lives.”

After returning to Australia at the end of 2017, she took some time away from work, and later began working in administration with CMS in Sydney. She served in the role for five years, until the job at VBC became available, and she expressed, “I think this sounds like something I could get involved with”. Combining her studies of a Bachelor of Business, Bachelor of Ministry and a Master of Arts in Ministry, plus her experience of business administration, and her passion to equip people in churches who’ve got a passion for serving God, the role was a natural fit.

We thank God for Elizabeth, and her heart to serve God and the impact she has had on people all around the world. Please be praying for her as she continues to learn about VBC, and the complexities of compliance and documentation, especially during this season of growth and transition.