Since 1893, SIM has been sending mission workers to reach least reached communities with the Gospel. Families going overseas to serve need a whole support system as they go. Recognising and responding to this need, SIM founded and partnered with schools around the world to provide excellent, Christ-centred education for our missionary children. Over time, God opened doors for these schools to include children from the expatriate and local communities, including children whose parents are world leaders, business professionals, NGO workers, and embassy staff. Teachers serving with SIM are raising up the next generation of godly men and women, sharing God’s love with all students, and supporting our mission workers’ ministries. 

Bingham Academy is an International Christian School in Ethiopia with a vision to provide quality Christian education within a multicultural community. Robyn, a SIM Australia mission worker, is the Assistant Elementary Principal and Acting Librarian at Bingham, and also teaches English. She loves bringing a Biblical Worldview to students as they engage with literature, language and research.

Robyn first began to think seriously about serving as a teacher in missions when she was working in a public school and encountered missionary kids (MKs) on Home Assignment. When she attended Bible college, she continued to meet visiting missionaries whose children did not have access to quality  education. She also heard stories of people who were not teachers filling in gaps in international schools rather than serving in the way they had originally planned and the work they were equipped for.

“Global mission is a team sport: when players try to cover multiple positions, the team wins less often,” shared Robyn. “Front line evangelism is one position, Bible-translation another, but for those serving in those roles, full-time home schooling is a difficult double-up. My role is to teach MKs so their parents can carry out their roles at full capacity. The wonder of it is that I also get to teach kids whose parents are international businesspeople, diplomats and leaders; our students come from over 30 countries. I have a worldwide mission field right there in my classroom.”

At Bingham, Robyn teaches her students about the world they inhabit through a Biblical lens. A highlight for her is hearing testimonies of how the Gospel is being shared through the faithfulness of many working together. “Whenever I hear from parents about what they are working on and the impact they are having in the communities they serve while I’m teaching their kids, my heart glows and I want to bounce up and down because God is working in and through His team,” she said. “I’ve been here for seven years now, and I won’t tell you it’s all smooth sailing. But if you’re a qualified teacher and you want the opportunity to serve as part of a team that is reaching the unreached, our mission statement: teaching truth, equipping generations to change the world for God’s glory, could be yours too.”