Each year, MTS supports and resources local recruiting conferences across Australia, creating intentional spaces for Christians to step back and consider how they will live their lives, all for the kingdom.
In 2025, these gatherings took place across NSW (Katoomba, the South Coast, and Newcastle), Queensland, Tasmania, and Victoria — each shaped by its local context, yet united by a shared gospel conviction.
Together, these conferences sit under the MTS All For the Kingdom banner — the overarching vision and framework behind MTS recruiting conferences nationally. While sharing a common purpose, each local context is given the freedom and authority to name and shape their event in ways that best serve their region: Challenge in Tasmania, Spur in Queensland, Mission Minded across NSW, and All For the Kingdom in Victoria. What unites them is not necessarily branding uniformity, but a shared commitment to raising up and training gospel workers via ministry apprenticeships to win the world for Christ.
These conferences exist to facilitate, motivate, and, at times, lovingly agitate the training of ministry apprentices around the country. They are places where trainers bring delegates, apprentices bring the next generation, and Bible college students and ministry workers spur on those just behind them. Deliberately local and relational, each conference keeps returning to a single question: How will your life be all for the kingdom?
MTS resources these gatherings to help Christians prayerfully consider how God might use their lives for the advance of the gospel. Throughout the duration of the conference, delegates are immersed in Bible teaching, peer groups, mentoring, electives, and conversations that together form a compelling vision for vocational ministry shaped by Jesus’ total lordship.
What follows is a closer reflection on how this vision took shape at All For the Kingdom Victoria in 2025.
A conference shaped by the gospel
The rhythm of the All for the Kingdom (AFTK) conferences are intentional to the call and urgency of needing workers for the harvest. In Victoria in 2025, Rory Shiner led four All-In sessions centred on the theme ‘One with Christ’, tracing how union with Christ shapes creation, identity, and the Christian life. These sessions framed gospel ministry not simply as a career choice but as a whole-life response to God’s mercy.
Two defining features of all AFTK events are Peer Groups and Mentoring. In Peer Groups, delegates are grouped according to their stage of thinking about ministry, creating spaces that are both safe and purposeful. Together, these groups open the Bible, pray, and speak honestly about hopes, fears, and next steps.
For Liz Chan, a delegate at AFTK Victoria, this was a standout part of the weekend. “They [Peer Groups] were such a unique and encouraging time reflecting on how we can use the gifts God has given us to serve his kingdom.” That kind of shared reflection is intentional, helping delegates realise they are not alone as they discern what faithfulness to God and his call on their life might look like in this season.
Liz also shared, “The openness and vulnerability of the delegates was surprising to me as they shared their gospel ministry convictions and the challenges they have faced, and how much I resonated with many of them!”
Alongside Peer Groups, 1:1 Mentoring provides a dedicated time with someone who is training for, or currently serving in, gospel ministry. These conversations help delegates think carefully about their own lives, ask honest questions, and consider what a faithful next step in ministry might be.
For Ricky Chan, Liz’s husband, the encouragement was both personal and practical. A highlight was “spending time with others at a similar stage of thinking regarding ministry,” while something unexpected was “being encouraged by Belinda (a pastor’s wife) about the joys of having both parties in the marriage being trained through an apprenticeship.” AFTK creates space for these nuanced conversations, recognising that ministry decisions are rarely made in isolation.
A challenge for all gospel workers
AFTK Victoria is not simply for delegates. Trainers, ministry spouses, Bible College students, apprentices, and key ministry leaders also gather, particularly through ‘Passing the Baton’ sessions that strengthen the wider ecosystem of ministry training.
Victor Khor, an AFES campus pastor and trainer, came “to be encouraged by like-minded peers and also input into the Victorian ecosystem of training apprentices.” For him, one of the highlights was “meeting and chatting to people in or considering ministry, being encouraged by their mindsets and convictions.” That mutual encouragement is vital in a context where training the next generation of gospel workers requires perseverance and shared conviction.
Victor also names why AFTK is uniquely important. “To convict and train churches and Christians to keep training apprentices and making it a priority.” He adds, “It’s also the only conference in Victoria specifically for people thinking about vocational ministry!” That local focus makes AFTK a strategic moment each year for gospel workers and churches across the state.
A local conference with long-term impact
Ultimately, AFTK Victoria exists to serve the local church and the long-term health of gospel ministry across the state. Through mentoring, electives on topics like resilient ministry and work versus ministry, and countless informal conversations over meals, delegates are helped to see both the cost and the joy of giving their lives for Christ.
As Ricky reflects, he is asking, “How can I best use my gifts to serve the church in the present while preparing for an apprenticeship in the near future?” That question captures the heart of AFTK. It is not about rushing decisions, but about forming convictions, strengthening resolve, and equipping people to take faithful next steps.
In a crowded conference landscape, AFTK conferences remain distinctively local, relational, gospel-shaped, and unapologetically focused on raising up the next generation of gospel workers, all for the kingdom.