Below are the stories of many Christians who through their Christian values and talents have made a positive difference for the world. Many of them are Australians and have impacted Australia’s society and development and values. There are opportunities for teachers within the Australian education curriculum, both primary and secondary, to incorporate these stories into our Australian schools curriculum.
Some of these Christians are scientists, and some have made social improvements for their societies. Some are Australians and some from other countries. Some have improved education opportunities for many. Some have been politically active and changed nations futures. Some have been artists, and some have been industrialists. There are men and women. All have made a difference. Use this material in school projects. All stories have an audio as they were broadcast on Songs of Hope radio program in Melbourne. Some of the stories also have an accompanying video.
Here are some possible assignment questions:
- Name three Christians who influenced science. How did their faith impact their work?
- Who was the first Methodist Christian minister in Australia? Did he set up any new churches? How did he get on with the authorities?
- Which Australian church sent missionaries to Korea?
- Who officiated at the Federation Day ceremony in Australia? Was this ceremony a Christian ceremony? Why do you say that?
- Does our queen have a religious responsibility? Why do you say that?
- Dolly Parton – singing superstar
- Novak Djokovic – tennis champion
- Caleb Dawson – microscopy researcher
- Charlie Daniels – entertainer
- John B Goodenough – Lithium ion batteries
- Catherine Hamlin – Saint of Addis Ababa
- St Patrick – Father of Ireland
- Henry Holden – car manufacturer
- Samuel Marsden – nation founder
- One people, one destiny (Australian Federation Day)
- The first Christmas in Australia
- Springbok captain a Christian
- George Coles – Australian retail giant
- J K Rowling – The richest woman in UK
- St Valentine – who was he?
- Rosa Parks – African American rights
- Moira Kelly – helped children around world
- T S Eliot – great poet
- Bill Ferguson stood up for aboriginal rights
- Johannes Kepler & the planets
- Gordon Moyes helped thousands
- Francis Collins cracked human DNA
- Charles Dickens – greatest writer
- Graeme Clark invented the bionic ear
- Ronald Ross – conquered malaria
- John McDouall Stuart – explorer
- Nicholaus Copernicus – scientific genius
- John Flynn – the greatest Australian
- Mother Teresa helped thousands
- Norman Borlaug- saved a billion lives
- Ossie Cruse – aboriginal activist
- Gallipoli World War 1 diary extract
- John Thornton – used his wealth for good
- Betty Cuthbert – star sprinter
- Constance Coltman – first female minister in UK
- Lynn Arnold – premier to priest
- Billy Graham
- David Unaipon story
- John Lang initiated independence from Britain
- Richard Johnson – First fleet chaplain
- St Benedict increased devotion to God
- First Christmas in Australia
- The Billings Method – contraception
- Charles Grant revolutionised Indian Education
- Mike Baird – NSW premier
- Kingston Christians and Matt’s Place
- Gerard Tucker – founder of Brotherhood of St Laurence
- Judi Dench – actress
- Jackie Pullinger
- Usain Bolt -running legend
- Dunkirk miracle
- Elizabeth Fry helped transported women
- J R R Tolkien – “Lord of the rings”
- Jan Hus – Czech hero
- Bono Vox – rock star
- Earl of Shaftesbury – social reformer
- Frank Crean – labor politician
- Helen Roseveare – doctor to Congo
- Isaac Newton – scientific genius
- Josephine Butler – initiated feminism
- Eugene Veith – successful business man
- Elizabeth Macquarie – met spiritual needs of colony
- James Simpson – invented anaesthetics
- Rain – Australia prayed for rain
- Louis Braille – inventor of braille
- Mary Glowrey – almost a saint
- Alfred the Great – made England Christian
- Desmond Tutu – apartheid activist
- Michael Cassidy – peace in S Africa
- Ayrton Senna – racing car star
- Paul Negrut survived persecution
- Flag – The Voice of the Australian flag
- Ramos-Horta – East Timor activist
- William Stawell – founder of Victoria
- Gregor Mendel: founded genetics
- Margaret Court – tennis great
- Queen vowed to uphold Gods laws
- Charles Sturt – Australian explorer
- Caroline Chisholm – the emigrants friend
- Eric Liddell – Olympian with principles
- Ida Scudder – extra-ordinary doctor
- Royston Siddons – founder of Sidchrome
- Henry Dunant – founder of Red Cross
- Mary Reibey – founded Wales bank
- Chris Riley helps thousands of youth
- Hudson Taylor – took Christianity to China
- Giuseppe Moscati – science & prayer
- Hana Ananda – Indonesia’s saint
- John Polkinghorne – scientist becomes priest
- David Larkin – school chaplain wins award
- William Arnott and Arnotts biscuits
- Joni Eareckson Tada – quadraplegic
- Santa Claus – who was he?
- Joan of Arc – inspired an army
- Samuel Leigh – first Methodist church in Australia
- Barry McGuire – singing star
- Andrae Crouch – gospel singer
- Rob Galea – singer, priest
- Mary MacKillop-Education for poor in Australia
- C S Lewis – life story
- Gary Ablett Jr – Australian footballers are Christians
- Hannah More – stopped slave trade
- Andrew White – church in Iraq
- St Mary’s Caulfield – had a world impact
- Brian McConaghy – social work in Cambodia
- Oswald Barnett got rid of Melbourne slums
- Top story for 2014-Ancient Rome
- Eva Burrows headed the Salvation Army
- Mary Rogers – heroine of a shipwreck
- Paul Brand – conquered leprosy
- Arthur Stace – Mr Eternity
- William Spence – Labour Party founder
- James Clerk Maxwell – genius
- David Bussau helps millions
- Corrie Ten Boom – hid fugitives
- Second Chapter of Acts
- Phil Keaggy – Christian music legend
- Father Damien helped Hawaii lepers
- Albert Schweitzer
- Steve Curtis Chapman – Christian music legend
- Hugh Evans: Young Aussie combats poverty
- Rich Mullins – Christian music legend
- Randy Stonehill – Christian music legend
- Roger Bacon invented science
- Amy Grant – Christian music legend
- Keith Green – Christian music legend
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer – life story
- Darlene Zschech – Hillsong
- Rosanna Palmer – Christian rocker
- Linda Shum helps disabled China kids
- Andy Sorenson – Aussie Christian music legend
- Michelle Tumes – Christian music legend
- John Dickson – Christian music legend
- Griffith Jones – reading and writing for Wales
- Ash Barker helps Thai poor
- Geoff Bullock – Christian music legend
- Nathan Tasker – Christian music legend
- Steve Grace – Christian music legend
- John Comenius – father of modern education
- Rebecca St James – Christian music legend
- Reuben Morgan – Christian music legend
- Gladys Aylward served China
- Pope who helped workers Leo XIII
- Robert Boyle founded modern chemistry
- Martin Luther King – African American rights
- William Wilberforce – stopped slave trade
- John Witherspoon – Scot a USA founding father
- Florence Nightingale – the lady with the lamp
- Henry Davies – impact on Korea
- Doug Nicholls – footballer and pastor
- Rembrandt – great painter
- Wes Hall – cricketer
- Norman Macleod – Scot
- Kiran Martin helps Delhi slum dwellers
- Blaise Pascal was the equivalent of Shakespeare – podcast
- Ancient Rome Christians
- Joseph Scriven – Top life story for 2012
- Michael Faraday made electric motors & generators possible
- Monique Lisbon – Easter Special
- Fanny Crosby – hymn composer
- Phillip Bliss & the hymn "Wonderful words of life"
- Horatio Spafford & the hymn “It is well with my soul”
- Bruce Downes – the Catholic Guy
- James Fanstone – Doctor helped Brazil
- Young Australian helps in clinic in Ethiopia