Get to Know - Aaron Chan | Staff Stories

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi, I'm Aaron. I am currently 27 years old and I'm from Hong Kong. I am the Academic Administrator specialising in Data Administration and Timetabling here at St Mellitus College. I've been in this role for over a year, joining after completing my Master’s degree in Post-Colonial Geopolitics in East Asia. I come from a family of four: my parents and my (evil) younger sister, who are all still living in Hong Kong.

What is your faith story?

I was born in a Christian family and started to go to church when I was a baby. I have been educated in Christian faith-based schools with a Baptist background since kindergarten—even my alma mater is a Baptist university. So, I was raised in a Christian nutrient-rich soil with biblical knowledge and concepts of God from a very young age.

Although I called myself a Christian, during my teenage years I began to have doubts about my faith. I felt that I wasn’t truly experiencing the faithfulness of God in my life at the time; everything was stopped at my brain in cognition only.

The turning point of my faith was when I was 18. My grandma, who I was very close with and who lived with my family, passed away quite suddenly due to illness. She was not a Christian for most of her life; even though my parents shared the gospel with her for 20 years after their marriage, she chose to honour a promise she made to my grandfather before he passed, not to accept the Christian faith. However, in her last 24 hours, as my father asked her one last time if she would accept the Christian faith that Jesus was her only saviour, she finally firmly nodded her head in her acceptance. In this moment, I had the privilege to witness her sprinkling baptism in the Intensive Care Unit. At that time, I suddenly had a sense in my mind that God had planned for this moment to be the time for my grandma accepted Jesus as her saviour and to become a Christian, no matter what she experienced. God had never let her go because of her unacceptance, but had always been with her. I would say this was the first time I felt God’s faithfulness, grace, love, and existence around me.

In the same year, I decided to be baptised to show my firm and deep devotion to God as a Christian, a follower, and a disciple of Christ, who is still the same now and in the future.

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about nurturing and witnessing people grow in relationship with God by building fellowship, especially new believers. I always feel excited and privileged to see people grow with God, to have a deeper understanding of Him both rationally and sentimentally, and to become more Christ-like in the process.

What aspects of St Mellitus inspired you to choose it as a place to work?

Innovation and creativity are part of the College’s DNA, and I've found the following to be true of St Mellitus College:

1) People are concerned with actions and applications to the external situations and internal conditions they face.

2) People are always humbly learning and seeking improvement and growth within themselves to look for the best appropriate solution or action.

The deep and sincere dedication to faith among my colleagues here is truly inspiring. We are not just colleagues but also brothers and sisters in Christ, united as parts of Christ's body. This has deeply impressed and inspired me, shaping my understanding of the "workitude" and servitude I should embody both in the workplace and through formation.

This reminds me of Romans 12:1-2, where it says “to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”.

I am confident to say that with my experience at St Mellitus, we are really practicing this verse in real life.

Last but certainly not least, people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, denominations, and specialties are all genuinely valued here, which made me feel warmly welcomed and included from the very first day. I consider this a model of how a church should be in quality and I am enjoying this environment where I can find myself growing professionally, formationally, and spiritually.

What do you find most fulfilling about your role at St Mellitus College, and what impact do you hope to make?

Prior to relocated to the UK, I had been a secondary school frontline teacher for two years, so I understand how critical good support is, not only for those in teaching roles but for smooth organisation of the college operationally. Just like a lush and flourishing tree requires deep and widespread roots for support and nutrition—roots that no one may notice—I found my fulfilment at work to be much like what the roots do for a tree. When I consider myself contributing to the college by refining operations and supporting others—enabling us as a team to do better, regardless of our roles and tasks—I find fulfilment in being a subtle yet supportive presence here.

I would like to bring more East Asian perspective to the college to enrich our lens and understanding on various topics, work-wise and faith-wise, which I believe may stimulate more discussion and growth among us as a theological college and as a part of the body of Christ. Although we are on the same planet and have the same faith by believing the same God, we are in a lot of things different quite significantly due to having different histories, developmental processes, cultures, political dynamics, or just simply to put in, from different parts of the world and contexts.

What’s one key lesson or piece of wisdom from your past experiences that you bring into your work every day?

Everything you do—and don't do—is your “work.” So, be aware of what you're doing, how you're doing it, and what your actions convey through your work.

However, the key to distinguishing what to do or not to do lies in understanding why you work, as this supports the purpose of your entire effort. So, don't just work—take time to regularly reflect on your work and the reasons behind it.

If you could have a coffee with any historical or biblical figure, who would it be, and what’s the first question you’d ask them?

This is quite a tough question, but I think I will choose Joshua, the son of Nun. Joshua's personal developmental curve fascinates me.

As the successor of Moses, who became the second-generation leader of the Israelites and led them into Canon from the desert after the 40-year drift, even though he was described as a great warrior (Exodus 17:13), one of the twelve spies sent to Canon, one of the only two having faith in God in their reports (Deuteronomy 1:19-38), and the assistant of Moses for 40 years, which should have given him experience in leading and managing the Israelites, he still needed God's courage and strength. Joshua had deep faith in God, but he had to still be reminded to “be strong and courageous; do not be afraid and discouraged” multiple times by God, by Moses, and even by the Israelites (Deuteronomy 3:28, 31:7-8, Joshua 1:6-9, 1:16-18). It seems Joshua struggled with a lack of confidence and fear, despite being chosen as the second-generation leader of the Israelites.

So, my first questions to him would be how he felt when he was first appointed as Moses' successor and what his mental journey was like in becoming the leader of the Israelites. It seemed like a transformation or growth, moving from being called "Joshua, son of Nun, the assistant of the servant of the Lord, Moses" (Joshua 1:1, CUNP) to being endorsed as "Joshua, son of Nun, the servant of the Lord" (Joshua 24:19, CUNP).

If you had to describe your role at St Mellitus College using only emojis, which ones would you pick?

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