Two Chefs, a Pub and an Art Show

So what do two chefs, a neighborhood pub and an art show all have in common?  They are all a part of the ministry of Life Church in New Castle, Australia.  This Life Church is not be to be confused with maybe another LifeChurch.tv you have heard about.  While this Life Church may have far less people, they make up for it with a tremendous missional drive and desire. During the first four days of our trip to Australia Kevin Wilcock, the Pastor of the church was our host.  How do I describe Kevin?  The only thing Kevin loves more than a good drink and a party is probably his family, his church and Jesus!  Kevin is a wild character; but he has a creative passion for helping people find their way back to God. 

In the few days that I spent with Kevin his church did the following:

• They have hired two chefs on their staff so they can use their church facility to feed the homeless and hungry.  Every week they serve more than 800 meals.
• They opened up their church as an art galleryon Friday night with both christian and non-christian artists displaying their art for the community.  One young man sold his very first painting.  Kind of cool that an artist gets to launch his professional career in a church building.
• Kevin had a party in his neighborhood on Saturday night he called, "Jazz in the Vines".  He hired a local jazz band and invited 150 of his neighbors over for the evening.  They all came with their food and their drink and a great time was had by everyone.
• They announced they were starting a new service in the local pub called The Kent that would meet on Sunday nights.  The poster advertising the "2 beer service" is to your left.

All this took place just during the few days I was there...while holding a leadership conference!  They are doing a lot more than that too!  They have AA groups, SA groups, NA groups and more.  They host jazz concerts with local professional jazz musicians at their church.   

I left his church inspired to be more missional, more engaged in the community an more intentional about using all our resources to reach out to the least, lost and lonely and help them find their way back to God!

Comments

[D. Richa]

Love it. Can't wait to hear more!

[Sara Bills-Thwing]

Well, Dave, I can tell we at Community are going to be VERY busy when you get back! Love that you are able to learn so much from other churches - and I know they learn a lot from you, too. AND, I love that we are able to follow you down the path that God has chosen for His people. Being His hands and feet in His Kingdom on earth is the ultimate career!

[Kristin Ruther]

It must be fun to see all the creativity of people in different regions reaching people with message of the gospel. Keep spreading the message and enlightening us on how to make an impact. Thanks!!

[Kim Miller]

Hi there Dave,
good to see the good times continue for you here in Oz. I hope somebody has picked up the project to teach you how to say, "G'Day, Mate" properly. :-)

Those concerts that we do here at Life Church are more than just local people. Our regular performers are -
Renee Geyer, Australia's greatest woman blues singer,
James Morrison, Australia's top jazz trumpeter,
Vince Jones, the 'grand uncle' of Australian jazz,
Bodacious Cowboys, a Steely Dan tribute band made up of the cream of Oz musicians.

I love helping serve meals at the concerts. Not only for the wonderful music, but it puts me in touch with people who are always asking, "How does a church manage to get Renee Geyer to perform at their place?" I just tell them that God does good stuff.

Those people pay top money for their meals. Two days later I'm helping handing out free lunch to the homeless and hungry. All from the same kitchen.

Enjoy Oz!!
Kim Miller
kimmiller.id.au

[Andy]

What a great example of breaking down the "walls" that can often separate churches from their communities. Missional indeed.