Why Box Hill? We get asked this all the time. Often it is asked in this way.
Why Box Hill? Don't we need more churches in the West/South East?
Why Box Hill? There are several good churches in the surrounding suburbs?
Why Box Hill? There are lots of churches in Box Hill. Why would they need one more?
I understand these questions, I like these questions. I've asked these questions myself :)
These are our answers:
The purpose of our church is outreach, rather than being "another options" for Christians to go to.
We need good churches in Melbourne. And we need good churches spread around Melbourne so that Christians can have good Bible-teaching churches to go to where ever they live. So churches need to planted all over Melbourne, particularly in areas where there are none. This is a good thing. And in order for there to be evangelical options all over the place, we need this to happen.
But while our church will be an option for evangelical Christians, that is not the purpose of our church plant. The purpose of our church plant is to reach the lost. And for that reason we are not necessarily picking an area with no other good churches around, rather we are picking an area where we feel there will be good avenues for reaching Non-Christians. And Box Hill- with its accessibility for friends, it's "hub" nature, with it's dence population structures, and close proximity to community gathering spots- it's is great for that. We are not aiming to grow through lots of Christians changing churches, but rather through conversions. And the reality is- there are plenty of Non-Christians to go around.
We need a core team
It would be great to have more people planting churches in the Western and South Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. But for us we feel that is not the best fit, because we are not the type to plant a church on our own. We need a team, and the reality of our contacts and potential core-team members, they are all in the East. One day, we pray that our church can plant other churches, perhaps in these less churched areas. Who know- a team from our Box Hill Church might head West to Church plant- we might even go with them :)
But we feel for the moment , given that we need a team to plant, then the East seems like the best option.
We know it well
Tim worked for the Whitehorse local council for Three years, assisting with plans for the Future of Box Hill. We have lived close by, we have shopped there. We have friends there, many who aren't Christian. When we first starting thinking about Church planting I got out the Melways and my eyes went straight to Box Hill. It seemed like a good fit for us.
We have a passion for Cross-Cultural Ministry
Tim and I have never particularly sort-out working with people with an ethnically Asian background. But in student ministry and in the church we ended up going to in Sydney, we have been blessed with lots of oportunities to work with Asians, and we have loved them :) In particular we have loved the blessing of our International church here in Sydney. In our church you will find people from all different backgrounds: Western, Asian, European, and African. We all have different background, but we are all family, working together for our same Father. We love the idea that God might bring together a multicultural family like this in Box Hill, an area which is ethnically diverse.
And so when we were thinking about planting, Box Hill seemed like a good fit for all these reasons. We also have access to a unit to live in in Balwyn- so while not a thing which decide where we plant- it seemed like another reason why Box Hill just seemed to work.
In all this, we are doing our best, with careful prayer and with the wisdom that God gives us, to make the best decisions for the Kingdom. We are putting ourselves in God's hands, and praying that he will use us to honour him.
I hope these posts have been helpful in answering your questions. If you have anymore that you would like us to cover, please feel free to email or comment on this post.
In Christ,
Belinda
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