Local Church News

There’s more to creating a new congregation than adding a new time slot to the church sign and putting out the tea and biscuits. Dianne Jensen talks to Duncan Barlow, pastor at Toowong Uniting Church, Brisbane about what it takes to build a healthy Christian community. After seven years with the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in Indonesia, Duncan Barlow and ...

After 40 years of running day camps, it’s clear that the folk at Redlands Uniting churches just love going bush. Journey ventured down the dirt roads of a campsite south of Brisbane to find out why everyone keeps coming back. It’s easy to see the attraction of the Karingal Scout Campsite at Mt Cotton, the site of the Redlands day ...

Sometimes little acts of hospitality go a long way to strengthening the community. Ashley Thompson talks to Granite Belt Uniting Church minister Rev Kaye Ronalds and Stanthorpe Uniting Church member Jean Pyle about their efforts to reach out to young families. Since Easter last year, the Stanthorpe congregation has been providing weekly hospitality to the parents and siblings of young ...

Hope was on the horizon when winter rains brought smiles back to the faces of western Queenslanders. Ashley Thompson checks in with Longreach Uniting Church minister Rev Jenny Coombes. Although 80 per cent of Queensland remains drought declared, the Longreach community has had their spirits lifted by the wettest winter on record. “Since the rain has come, morale has lifted ...

It may be a perennial party favourite but ping pong is at the heart of a nation-wide campaign to help end the exploitation and trafficking of young people throughout South East Asia. Ben Rogers reports on the Ping Pong-A-Thon and one Uniting Church teenager picking up the paddle to make a difference. In 2011, a group of Aussies endured a ...

A small congregation in one of Queensland’s iconic tourist destinations is demonstrating the power of the Gospel to draw people together. Dianne Jensen talks to members of the Magnetic Island Uniting Church. Christians from all denominations and none have found a church home at the Uniting Church on Magnetic Island, a tiny piece of paradise just off Townsville. There hasn’t ...

A partnership launch between UnitingCare Community and Redcliffe Uniting Church brought a children’s favourite to town. Journey reports on the event and what’s in store for the community’s families. Bob the Builder, the beloved children’s television icon, recently came to Redcliffe to help launch the Building Strong Families partnership-program between UnitingCare Community and Redcliffe Uniting Church. The event attracted hundreds ...

Zimbabwean-born Johnson Makoti often gets phone calls out of the blue from people who have heard about the new prayer and deliverance ministry at the Atherton Uniting Church. Dianne Jensen reports. After only a year in the job, Rev Johnson Makoti’s hands-on approach to spreading the word of God has created a stir in the North Queensland town of Atherton and ...

One thing that brings children together is their love of drawing. Dianne Jensen finds out why KidzArt is booming at Southport Uniting Church. Exploring spirituality through art is just one of the things which makes KidzArt an effective mission of Southport Uniting Church. The innovative program was started four years ago by Rev Dona Spencer to provide a creative Christian ...

A church partnership between the Cunnamulla and Karana Downs Uniting Churches has resulted in a much-needed building upgrade. Journey reports. Last month members of Karana Downs Uniting Church, west of Brisbane, celebrated with Frontier Services Cunnamulla Patrol minister Rev Sunil Kadaparambil on the completion of a restumping project for the Cunnamulla Uniting Church. This restumping project is the result of ...