Every year at Brisbane Adventist College begins with a choice: will we stay on the edge, or will we dive in? In our 2026 Commitment Chapel, students, staff, families, and special guests gathered to dedicate the year to God and to launch our new spiritual theme, “Dive in,” drawn from Moses’ ancient invitation in Deuteronomy 30:19–20 to choose the life God offers. This year, that invitation is not just about a single moment of decision, but about a year of courage, trust, and wholehearted participation in the life Jesus holds out to us.
A year to “Dive In”
Deuteronomy records Moses standing before God’s people, setting out a stark contrast: “life and death, blessings and curses,” and urging them to choose life by loving God, obeying Him, and committing themselves firmly to Him. At BAC in 2026, “Dive In” takes that ancient call and brings it into classrooms, playgrounds, sports fields, staff rooms, and family homes. It speaks to the nervous Year 7 walking into high school for the first time, the Prep child clinging to a parent’s hand, the senior wondering about exams and futures, and the staff member facing another big year of service: don’t just test the water—step in, trust God, and let Him carry you.
Our principal and leaders reminded us that this theme is for everyone. In a special prayer of dedication, BAC was set apart once more as a place where knowledge, wisdom, insight, and energy are offered back to God, and where every child is loved, chosen, and valued.
Voices of leadership and public service
Commitment Chapel also featured an address from state Member for Mansfield, Ms McMillan, who spoke candidly about serving around 39,000 constituents and working in the demanding space of child safety and domestic and family violence prevention.
“I couldn’t do my job without God and the strength that He provides,” she shared, adding that visits to schools like BAC are often the most positive parts of her week. Her message to our community was simple and genuine: you strengthen me, I need your support and prayers, and none of us can do what we’re called to do without the backing of both family and our Saviour.
Following her address, the charge to student leaders captured another facet of “Dive in.” It was the invitation to lead “without fear or ego,” to set the example, inspire others, and keep Jesus at the centre of their influence. In a world where leadership is sometimes seen as a way to platform profile and performance, Ms McMillan challenged leaders to dive into a kind of leadership rooted in love, service, and humility.
New chaplains
This Commitment Chapel marks another BAC chapter for our two new chaplains, who are holding the fort while Pr JP and Pr Annalise are on leave. Stephanie Scott (Chappy Steph), who will work with Primary students, and Ashlon Ghazali (Chappy G), who will work with Secondary students, introduced themselves through stories and games that made students laugh, think, and relate.
Chappy Steph took us back to childhood trips to Sizzler. She painted the picture of the famous buffet—salad bar, pastas, cheesy bread, dessert bar piled with lollies and toppings—and the family rule for her and her four siblings. You must eat at least one plate of salad before dessert, and it must be only one plate of dessert. On one occasion, her younger brother had a different plan. Instead of limiting himself to a single plate of ice cream, he went back and shovelled as many jellybeans as possible into his mouth. It ended, as many students gleefully guessed, with a pale face and his partly digested meal all over the table.
Speaking of choices and consequences, Chappy Steph said that if her brother had trusted his parents' rules, he would have felt satisfied and sustained. His decision to ignore the rule left him emptier, not fuller.
“Dive in” is about trusting that God’s way leads to fullness, even when it asks us to wait or obey.
Chappy G took a lighter approach to a serious theme with a round of “Would you rather?” Would you rather Vegemite or no Vegemite, pizza or ice cream, to be invisible or able to fly, take tiny shuffling steps or only enormous strides? Then she pivoted: some decisions are fun and silly, but others carry weight.
She linked back to Deuteronomy 30: 19-20, where Moses presents a life‑shaping choice and points God’s people toward the path of life with Him.
“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life.”
She reminded us that in 2026, that invitation is still valid. Will we live with God at the centre, or try to do life without Him? Will we hang back in the shallows, or dive into a fulfilling, purpose-filled life with Jesus—even with all our doubts, questions, and imperfections?
Diving in, just as we are
At the heart of Commitment Chapel was the invitation: "Dive in or not?" This is a question for every student, every staff member, every family. Dive in as you are. God doesn't need the polished, perfect version of you, but the real you: the "you" filled with anxiety about new classes, the "you" who already regrets choices from last year, the "you" who is tired from work or parenting, the "you" living a life that has brought you to breaking point, the "you" wrestling with faith.
This theme is not about proving ourselves to God, but about trusting that He has already chosen us and is ready to meet us in the "deep end."
As BAC steps into 2026, “Dive in” is an open invitation: to wade out from the edges of faith, learning, community, and service; to risk deeper trust in Jesus—and to discover that, with Him at the centre, this year can be more than just another school calendar. It can be, in Moses’ words, “the key.”
