Our Stories

An incredible mural has been painted on the side wall of St Kilda- Elsternwick Baptist Church. This mural is the work of a community of Aboriginal artists drawn from the Indigenous prison recovery centres – Winja Ulupna and Galiamble – and is a collaboration between the church, the local community and the local Jewish community.

Melbourne’s outer boundaries continue to push further out, and communities that once were small, quaint country villages, are slowly feeling the push of the urban sprawl. There is a greater need than ever to build communities of faith that are reaching out to people who experience loneliness, hopelessness and a life without a place to connect to God in meaningful ways.

If you drive down Flinders Avenue in Lara, 20 minutes north of Geelong, you’ll find something quite incredible happening during the day at a cafe called Little Teapot Café & Play. Parents are coming from near and far with their little ones to gather at this place that has beautifully made coffee,  good value delicious food and most importantly a very welcoming, inviting, friendly environment where parents can breathe while their children play in one of the three cute, fun, and most importantly, safe and contained play spaces.

Last weekend, over 400 youth and young adults from our BUV multicultural churches attended the 5^th IGNITE 2019 Conference at Syndal Baptist Church. It was an amazing opportunity for the 1.5 and 2^nd generation migrant young people to organise the two day conference and join together to celebrate the diversity of our church communities – worshipping God together as one and many.

This winter, we’ve experienced some of the coldest days in Victoria with temperatures close to zero in some areas. But in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, four of our Baptist churches have collaborated with ten other churches to provide warmth and shine the light of Jesus to those without shelter in the city of Maroondah. As part of the Winter Shelter Program, these churches open up their doors every night to provide shelter, food and support for homeless men in the community.

A group of 30 Karen and Karenni Baptists and Catholics youth went on a one-day pilgrimage together. The Karen Baptist youth were from Werribee Karen Baptist Church, while the Catholic youth were led by Father William Matthews, from Sunshine Catholic Parish. It was a great day for this group of young people with similar background to journey together through God’s words, prayers and a delicious curry lunch.