At 3 First Avenue in Eastwood stands a building erected in 1923 on land bought for £100. This is the meeting place for Eastwood Baptist Church. For over 100 years, this was a faithful church: They sent missionaries overseas. They ran Scripture in schools. They were generous in their giving. They planted new churches. They sent people to Morling College. Warwick Mason, now a Deacon at the church, moved his young family there back in 1990 as the church had plenty of things for children and teenagers to do.

Read more about the church’s history, here.

But today, the suburb of Eastwood is increasingly multicultural – and as the current members of Eastwood Baptist Church are majority elderly and white-Anglo, they no longer reflect the community. So, Eastwood Baptist was on a journey towards closure. Warwick was concerned, saying: “Eastwood Baptist was declining in numbers, finding it hard to fill positions and difficult to attract new people…We needed a substantial change.” Dr Brian Powell, who was serving as the church’s Intentional Interim Pastor at the time, communicated these problems with Ian Altman, the Baptist Association’s Team Leader for Gen1K Church Health.  

Meanwhile, a few suburbs over, some members at Pennant Hills Baptist Church decided they wanted to kiss their comfort goodbye and increase their fruitfulness. Rev. Jonny Lam, who was a pastor at Pennant Hills Baptist, says: “Some congregation members felt like they were sitting back and not doing a great deal…So we put it out to the Baptist Association that we’re looking to partner with churches around the state who might be looking for help, and we’re willing to send big groups out.” 

Warwick says that in the suburb of Eastwood are “lots of people that don’t know the Lord”. So, Eastwood Baptist’s leaders decided that it wasn’t God’s plan for them to just fade away: A revitalization should take place. Ian explains: “Our commitment to healthy churches has led to the intentional restarting of some of our churches that no longer have the resources to function effectively…We’ve seen some churches grow from 4 people to 120!” Ian put Eastwood Baptist’s leaders in touch with the leadership of Pennant Hills Baptist. Now, Jonny is the Transitional Pastor of Eastwood Baptist Church, which will relaunch in September this year with a new name, a new vision, a new way of functioning, and a renewed commitment to reaching the 100,000 people living within 3km of the church.

And with Jonny comes a group of 23 people from Pennant Hills Baptist keen to take part. He says, “We’ve got a mix of ages and ethnicities and people keen for different ministries. They’ve seen the opportunity that this partnership has created to do something significant for the Kingdom. A couple of them have particular gifts in language and understanding of culture/ethnicity. They see themselves being able to serve in a community like Eastwood in a way which they just don’t get to at Pennant Hills.” 

Historically, Eastwood Baptist Church has been one of our denominations’ most significant churches. Now, through collaboration, there’s potential for that to happen again! Warwick says, “We’re thankful to Brian Powell for helping us initially, to Pennant Hills Baptist for offering to assist us, and to Ian Altman for guiding us through this process.” Please pray for all involved in this revitalization, and for the suburb of Eastwood. And if your church is also in need of a ‘rebirth’, or if you feel compelled to leave your comfort zone and help start something new out of love for Christ, email health@nswactbaptists.org.au  

The GEN1K Goal: To become a movement of 1000 Healthy Churches by 2050

“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.’” – Luke 14:23

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