Kathryn was in the Ordination stream in the Baptist Union in 2019 when she heard a Church Planter tell a story about church planting. In her words, while listening to the story of an 18-year-old-church plant: “I heard something in the story, and something came alive in me.” Being an associate pastor at Mill Park Baptist in the northern suburbs of Melbourne at the time, she shared her experience with the leadership there and began to discern the call to plant. And then COVID hit.
Kathryn reflects that part of her experience of the COVID pandemic was freedom, in that it stripped back some of the excesses of modern church life, and made way for a ‘cocoon of growth and development’ where she was free to dream and pray about the call to planting. During this time she further discerned her sense of call with trusted others, and it only became stronger. Her church was supportive of her and the call to plant, and made plans to bring it to fruition.
Mill Park Baptist released Kathryn to begin planting Donnybrook Community Church (DCC) with a small team in the new housing estate of Olivine in Donnybrook in June of 2021. Olivine houses a lively and diverse community, with 20 percent of the population from an Indian background. She began working one and a half days per week, which increased to three days in her second year, and has now increased to four days a week. In the early stages, the church met as a house church in local members’ homes. It launched publicly in June of 2022, and has just ticked over one year of public meetings.
Being bi-vocational has been of great benefit to Kathryn during this time, and not just from a financial perspective. She feels her work as a counsellor has given her credibility within the community, especially in the wellness space.
Perhaps one of the happiest eventualities for Kathryn and DCC is the confluence of the arrival of two other strong Christian presences within the Olivine community alongside their own, while the community as a whole is in its infancy. There is a local Placemaker, akin to a Chaplain to the whole local community, as well as a café called “Shared Cup”, an initiative of the Baptist Union where those who struggle to find employment can find it, and all profits are returned to the community. These three bodies collaborating means that the community can be served in vastly more ways than if only one of these three were present.
For example, Kathryn meets regularly with Michelle Mitchell, the local Placemaker, and it is through this relationship that Michelle introduced Kathryn to Nimi. Michelle knew that Kathryn is keen to run an International Expo with food, music, and dancing at some point in the future, so when Michelle met Nimi in the course of her daily work, and learned that Nimi, a Punjabi woman, had extensive experience in community work, she introduced her to Kathryn. Kathryn and Nimi met and discussed what an International Expo could look like in Donnybrook, and in the course of that meeting, Nimi learned that Kathryn was a pastor. Nimi expressed her desire to learn more about Kathryn’s faith and work, and now they are studying the Bible together.
Similarly, the members of DCC have inaugurated and established a quarterly event called “Raise Your Glass” which happens at Shared Cup. The aim of the event is to build community connections for locals, and to nurture an affirming and pro-social culture. It is an evening meal with a guest speaker (themes have been the importance of community post-pandemic, the love languages, or most recently a trivia night in place of a speaker), and an opportunity to publicly acknowledge local residents. There is a section of each event called ”Toasting not Roasting” where anyone may stand up, raise a glass, and toast a community member for their positive contribution to local life, large or small. This is a brilliant antidote to the Australian pastime of demonstrating acceptance by verbally roasting one another, and at the same time shows that the church is a place where that can be sidelined in favour of genuine affirmation and warmth. Each “Raise Your Glass” event includes the offer of opportunities to talk further about any of the themes of the evening, and information about upcoming community events.
In terms of City to City Australia’s (CTCA) assistance and involvement with this process, Kathryn is most grateful for being part of the Church Planting Cohort. In that group, she says, “...in the early formation stages (of DCC) they were there to discuss all the ‘firsts’. It was so helpful to have a live conversation to help with what we were experiencing in real time.” Some of the relationships she formed in that cohort are ongoing, and continue to be a source of support and nurture for her. Kathryn also highly valued the sustained support, prayer, encouragement and ‘the right questions’ from Brett Mitchell, her CTCA coach. She says that CTCA has supported her ‘on every level, with funding, training, and coaching’, and that each of these three has been key.
Of the path of a Church Planter, Kathryn observes that “it’s a slow path, and not necessarily efficient. Self discipline of the ego of the leader is involved, and it doesn’t appeal to everyone.” On the flipside, reflecting on the context in which she has planted, Kathryn says “To be able to shape culture in a new housing estate where everything is rising up all around you is incredible”.
