Jethro Sobejko will begin his new role at Northshore Christian Grammar School (NCGS) in 2023 after travelling the length and breadth of Western Australia to prepare himself to serve the community of Alkimos.
The name ‘Jethro’ is not typical for baby boys raised in Perth (recent studies show that it comes in as the 1500th most popular name for bubs regardless of the era) but is memorable. In the Genesis story of Jethro of Midian, he gives his daughter Zipporah as a wife to Moses, who is a central figure for Israelite/Egyptian episodes to come. British band Jethro Tull was famous in Britain in the 1970s for their eclectic brand of rock and roll, and fans of the American TV series ‘The Beverley Hillbillies’ will remember Jethro Bodine as one of the main protagonists in the sit-com.
Our ‘Jethro’ has his own inimitable story – raised in Fitzroy Crossing (northern WA) and Leonora (eight hours east of Perth), Jethro remembers being very young when his mother urged him to ‘let Jesus into your heart.’
Encouraged through local youth groups and mentors, Jethro says that he grew in his faith over time:
“I remember becoming less and less ashamed of Jesus over time and becoming more comfortable with being a Christian. There was a sense that life ‘works’ when you have Jesus in the centre. Things seemed to make much more sense with a life centred around Christ.”
“My confidence in the Bible grew, and I came to the realisation that God does not expect perfection from us. He gives us Jesus, and he gives us grace as we strive to be more like Him each day.”
Completing a Biomedical Science degree from the University of Western Australia and a Graduate Diploma in Education from Curtin University allowed Jethro to begin his teaching career at St Stephen’s (Carramar Campus) where he spent his first twelve years of teaching.
A move to the Wheatbelt town of Mukinbudin (three hours northeast of Perth) and then the nearby town of Trayning allowed Jethro and his growing family to see rural Australia. Jethro served in the local church there and became the drummer in the local band ‘The Eastern Line’, which claims to be on Spotify and therefore holds a level of significance in the Australian country music scene!
Returning to Perth in 2022 to serve in Perth’s northern suburbs in a Department of Education school in Alkimos gave Jethro a chance to see the work that Northshore staff and students in the local area were doing.
“The buildings were going up – but the work is not complete yet. I feel excited that we can grow together at this time because we are all in this together – led by God.”
“The aim is to build culture about biblical concepts: serving God and serving one other.”
Jethro knows a bit about building culture, celebrating twenty years of marriage this week and raising four children with his wife while in rural Western Australia.
“There is a positive feeling around the campus and I know that this job will take significant time, and so the prayer for me and my family is to be able to fit everything together.”
The Sobejko family now worship each Sunday at Lake Joondalup Baptist Church and Jethro can be found behind the drum kit there, or helping out his wife in Kids Ministry:
“I’ve done some youth pastor roles in the years gone by, at Kingsley Church of Christ, and I think those experiences can help to meet young people and be of some service – because you never know what people are going through.”
“Years ago when I was a university student I was delivering pizzas as part of my casual job and a guy jumped into my car and tried to steal it during one of my deliveries! He was really expecting something nasty from me when I returned to the car to see him fumbling around with the keys, but we managed to talk it out and I even had the opportunity to pray with him and reach a diplomatic end to the situation. Trying to keep calm helped to diffuse the situation – and I am thankful that I learnt a lesson that day.”
Jethro will begin his role in January 2023.