By Ann Marie Angebrandt
A NEW church will open soon for Point Cook and Sanctuary Lakes residents.
The Lakes Christian Church, part of the Assemblies of God Church, will initially meet at the Jamieson Way community centre.
Pastor Mark Barnard said the founding congregation would comprise about 20 people.
However, he expected the number to grow along with the population of the area.
“We’ll be finding the pulse of the community and seeing what’s needed,” he said.
The new church will be administered as part of its mother organisation, the Hobsons Bay Christian Church in Newport in its early days.
Mr Bernard acknowledged that the communities in Point Cook and Newport had different needs.
“In Newport, we have a lot of battlers and provide things like food packages,” he said.
“In this area, we want to involve families, kids and business people with a range of programs and services,” Mr Barnard said.
In addition to working with the local community, the church helps establish and fund charities in Asia.
Mr Bernard has just returned from Malaysia and Indonesia, where he and his wife helped set up an orphanage for children who lost their parents in recent earthquakes.
“Above all, we want to be relevant to the community,” he said.
“There’s no use preaching something on Sunday that can’t be used on Monday.”
Services at the new church start this Sunday at 5.30pm.
