Tim Lithgow’s life has been one of faithful service, adventurous spirit, and deep commitment to the mission of Bible translation. Growing up as a missionary kid in Papua New Guinea, Tim finished high school in Brisbane before studying at QIT (now QUT). He then spent 12 years flying helicopters in the Australian Army before joining Wycliffe Bible Translators in 1995. There, he returned to PNG to serve as a pilot for Bible translators, transporting both expatriate and local workers to remote areas. Leadership roles soon followed, eventually bringing Tim and his family back to Australia in 2013 for further studies and senior leadership within Wycliffe Australia.
In 2022, Tim returned to Papua New Guinea, continuing to serve in the Bible translation movement. When Wycliffe sought to strengthen its new internship program with trained mentors, Tim found himself enrolling at Brisbane School of Theology, undertaking a Graduate Diploma of Christian Mentoring.
“The Christian Mentoring course was far deeper than what Wycliffe was looking for,” Tim reflects, “however, I persevered because I believed this course would also grow me to not just mentor other people, but also to help grow other mentors.” He appreciated the structure of the course—three-day intensives followed by shorter sessions—perfect for those in the thick of ministry life. Tim also found great value in the camaraderie and learning shared among fellow students.
While he initially saw the mentoring course as leadership development rather than a call to mentor directly, God had other plans.
“Within a few months, a young man who was the manager of another department asked me to mentor him. Structurally we were both peers as department managers, but he was wanting to learn from my decades of experience and knowledge of PNG culture. A year later another young man asked me if I would commit to pray with him, and mentor him. He then developed a relationship with a young lady here, so they asked if we (my wife and I) would provide them “courtship mentoring”. So, I have eaten humble pie and written to Peter Moore to acknowledge that God has led me into mentoring roles.”
Tim’s story is a reminder that God’s plans often unfold in surprising ways—and that the seeds planted during study at BST continue to bear fruit across the world.
