Mark and Delma Tronson initiated their faith financed sports ministry in 1982 in association with Heads of Churches, and like many other Missions, they were required to raise their own funding for both their living needs and their ministry expenses.
In a recent interview on the Australian Missionary News IPTV, Delma Tronson said that when they moved from a secure income into faith financed mission, she laid her heart out before God, saying this was in His domain and trusted the Lord to provide .
Mark Tronson saw two essential areas to maintain his ministry. The first was to gather together five praying ladies who would commit themselves to pray 'every day' for their marriage, their children and their ministry.
The second was a monthly newsletter to a network of people they knew, of whom they requested in faith, sufficient financial support for their family living and ministry. As well as monthly news items with accompanying photographs, this newsletter contained a bible teaching.
As a Christian mission, Mark and Delma Tronson believed that a bible teaching was a critical component for the newsletter as there were numerous people on their mailing list who were either, fellow traveller Christians who didn't attend a church, and non-Christian people. The bible teaching would provide these people with Christian input.
In the intervening 27 years, they have only had two bible teachers.
They have always held that Christians need a wide array of non-Christian friends from all walks of life as this provides a continuing balance to one's own Christian walk, and allows one to gain practical skills in evangelism, when the opportunity arises.
Their circles of friends at that time centred around Delma's involvement in their community through the primary school and local committees, and Mark's part-time industrial padre ministry at Shell Australia in Sydney.
Their first 'monthly newsletter' bible teacher was the Reverend Simon Manchester, a Sydney Anglican Minister who had served in London for some years under the tuition of Dick Lucas, specialising in 'lunch time bible teaching sessions' to the City of London businessmen.
He is still a highly sought after international conference speaker and currently serves as the Rector of St Thomas North Sydney. When visiting Sydney, Mark still occasionally meets with Simon over breakfast.
About ten years ago, Simon Manchester 'retired' from this position and Mark Tronson sought out Vic Matthews, an itinerant bible teacher who has been to Russia teaching theological college students, and who also specialises in 'Pastor Seminars'.
Heads of Churches released Mark and Delma Tronson after 18 years of leadership of the Sports and Leisure Ministry in 2000 (having negotiated and appointed chaplains to 150 professional sports) so as to establish Well-Being Australia which largely provides Respite facilities to Australian Institute of Sport athletes and coaches.
Mark suggested to Vic Matthews that he might prayerfully consider becoming a Well-Being Australia board member, an invitation which he accepted. During the past decade, Mark Tronson says that Vic has been a stalwart at Board level and has provided the annual bible teaching to the members of Board. This has kept Well-Being Australia focused on the tasks at hand.
For the time being, Mark Tronson will provide the monthly bible teaching article for the newsletter, which is also published on the internet and has been gathering an increasingly large international audience. However, he would like it to be known that he is actively seeking a third bible teacher.