pra
HELPING AUSTRALIAN BAPTISTS SHARE JESUS
ENTREPRENEURS & THE GOSPEL Building a Bigger Picture New Suburbs, New Opportunities Swapping Sanctuaries for Sports Centres From Riding Waves to Making Waves Faith, Risk, Entrepreneurs and the Church
WINTER 2017 | ISSUE 75
From the the Director Director From
Officially, according to a 2015 report by the Bureau of Statistics, Australians This edition jobs of PRAC focused on entrepreneurs who aresurvey finding in full-time put inwe 38have hours per week. But the first detailed creative andmost innovative ways to share the Gospel JesusThe and Bureau live outsays their shows that full-time workers surveyed put inofmore. faith within local communities, and abroad. Most 5 million of their Australia’s 7.7 million full-time workers putofinthese morestories than 40 hours have someOf component socialput impact, community service orweek. intentional per week. them, 1.4of million in more than 50 hours per Around involvement mission. are allper examples 270,000 put and in more thanThey 70 hours week. of local churches, and /or church plants, responding to their local community. For many of us, weCrossLife spend more time at work do atabout church, David Eagle, from on the Gold Coastthan has we written theexcept of course forofthose bythrough the church. concepts Socialemployed Enterprise, the three areas of Social Investment, Officially, accordingand to aSocial 2015Innovation. report by the Australians Impact Investment HeBureau shares of theStatistics, experiences of in full-time jobs put in 38 hours per week. But the first detailed survey So what? I hear you say. Just this, how many of us would say our ministry CrossLife, a Baptist Church and the ways they’ve used these principles for shows that most full-time put in more. says is connected with ourcommunities. localworkers church surveyed rather than focused onThe ourBureau workplace. sharing Jesus in local 5 million of Australia’s 7.7corrected. million full-time workers put inour more than 40 hours The balance needs to be need to QLD refocus missional Anthony Palmieri from WA, and Tim We Lovell from have shared their per week.in Ofa them, 1.4embraces million putthe in more than 50 hours peratweek. Around activities way that reality that God is also work our experiences of changing the way you view your church buildings, andinhow 270,000 put in more than 70 hours per week. places of employment. the physical building can provide missional opportunities for community involvement, service and connection. For many of us,ofwe spend timeaatcollection work than do atand church, except of In this edition PRAC youmore will find ofwe articles a book review Jamie Freeman from NSW talks about engaging in business with a course for those by the church. that focus on thisemployed issue of ministry in the workplace. missional outlook while church planting, and using social enterprise to create socialhear impact in a developing country. So say. Just this, how many of usand...involvement would say our ministry Of what? course Ithis is you not an either or but rather a both, in the is connected withof our local church rather than on our Simon Heazelwood shares about being aasChristian, a business owner, and using missional agenda my local church, well asfocused recognising myworkplace. workplace The balance besupport corrected. Weenterprise need to refocus our missional his business toneeds create social and missional activities. as my mission field.toand activities in a way that embraces the reality that God is also at Through these stories we get a great picture of entrepreneurialwork waysin our places of employment. Baptists around Australia are using the resources God has blessed them with to find innovative ways to support their local communities and share In thiswith edition ofin PRAC findWe a collection of stories articlesencourage and a bookyou review Jesus them wordyou andwill deed. hope these that focus on this issue of ministry in the workplace. to think creatively about what opportunities God might be providing in your local context. Of courseJobberns this is not an either or but rather a both, and...involvement in the Keith Let me take this opportunity to say thank you for your generosity as you missional agenda of my local church, as well as recognising my workplace Director supported the Crossover 2017 Easter Offering, and your partnership with as my mission field. Crossover Australia us in helping Australian Baptists share Jesus.
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Building A Bigger Picture Finding missional purpose in the construction industry Simon Heazlewood doesn’t fit the stereotype of a construction boss and developer. He’s far too young and he’s too nice. A perfect gentleman and passionate follower of Jesus. The legacy of Simon’s construction activity is shown across north Brisbane. But, Simon’s driving force isn’t the building of a personal fortune. His faith in Jesus has shaped what he does and why. We spoke to him on one of his latest developments in the booming suburb of North Lakes, north of Brisbane.
What is the extent of your business and social enterprise activities? I own a construction company, Cornerstone Building Developments. We do all forms of construction. That’s the core of what we do. We launched a charitable organisation called Interseed. It’s main aim is for education in the community. We see a vision for schooling. From child care centres through primary and secondary education, to vocational level. We also see an international opportunity, from our involvement in other mission type activities.
What difference does being a Christian make to the business you lead? For those of us who are Christians our faith is everything to us. Our vocation takes up a majority of our week. As a business owner, I have a great responsibility to share the message of Jesus in everything we do. So that affects the way we do business and how we conduct ourselves; our ethics, core value system and the foundation of how we approach business. And how that integrates with our employees, our external sub-contractors, our clients, and our partners who we collaborate with to achieve various goals within the construction industry. We want to tell our staff, that as Christians we can do this. You don’t have to be ashamed of your faith; we don’t have to hide it, let’s express it in a respectful and loving way. Let’s do the very best that we can do, so that we win the respect of others through the way we excel.
What’s your understanding of your career, as a builder, developer and construction company owner, as a calling? I can’t say I had that divine moment where I felt I had an exact calling. But, I followed my passion for building things, developing
An interview with Simon Heazlewood
things and creating things. I’m always one to love a vision and God’s placed that in my heart, so I followed that pathway. As I seek him in everything I do (or I aim to), he has continued to open doors, shown me his blessing and providence in that pathway. As Christians we know that Jesus is everything to us. Why are we not giving all that we have back to him? Particularly with our vocations, where so much joy can come from. There’s an opportunity to integrate that beautifully into the business.
What drives your social enterprise activities? I love building, developing and construction but there’s an entrepreneurialism with business. Seeing business support a far bigger picture; something far bigger than ourselves. How we can make a genuine difference in community? How can I make a difference in our families and staff networks, so they can come along for that same experience and vision? When it comes to business, I realised there’s some great synergy whereby we can use business effectively to serve the needs of social enterprise. Often we see social impact as donations, and I’ve always thought that isn’t a long term sustainable model. We’re always looking at ways, in our foundations, mechanisms or support foundations, to keep social enterprises functioning into the future. Through Interseed we’ve developed Christian schools and child care centres, a not for profit funeral brand called Sovereign Funerals, and we’ve got some café’s we use as community connectors to bring people together.
Are you also involved in church planting? At the heart of our passion and vision is that the greatest opportunity is to plant churches and to share the message of Jesus in everything we do. We don’t want to focus on being busy doing good and miss the point of sharing Jesus with people. In everything we do we have that mindset. ‘How can we provide an opportunity for a church to plug into this initiative?’. Whether its a small church plant with vision for growth, a café, a school community, etc. Whatever we do, we’re always looking to put a church at the heart of it. We want to see people transformed by the love and message of Jesus. Simon Heazlewood is the owner and Director of Cornerstone Building Developments and the founder of The Interseed Foundation, a charitable foundation working in the areas of aged care, health care, education and church planting both in Australia and overseas. PRAC SUMMER 2017 | 3
New Suburbs, New Opportunities: become the glue! By David Eagle
The CrossLife heart is to invest in local community social infrastructure through local churches committed to Jesus’ priority ... “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden… In the same way, let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” - Jesus, Matt 5:14-16 Australia’s new suburbs are booming at growth rates between 2% and 10-14%. All forms of government and private sector are struggling to keep up with providing essential services for healthy, vibrant communities. Hidden in this booming growth is the reality that social fabric in new areas is flimsy. Sustainable development struggles to include community facilities; places where residents can meet, engage, laugh and struggle well together with life, away from the family home and away from their place of employment. The need for community nodes and hubs in high-growth areas around the nation is recognised by all levels of government, and social researchers. This creates an opportunity for the local church to thrive and grow. Jesus calls us to be lights in a dark world, living well to show the joy and security of life with Him as Lord.
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The CrossLife, a baptist church journey demonstrates how church buildings can sustainably bear fruit into the future. Through being involved in community nodes and hubs where churches, community groups and local businesses can thrive and serve together. By providing the ‘glue’ that strengthens the flimsy emerging social fabric and brings more people to the saving knowledge of the Gospel. Growth-oriented churches can grasp this opportunity to bring the Gospel of Jesus to the community through developing community hubs. Together we can do this using the Social Enterprises model, which incorporates Social Investment, Impact Investment and Social Innovation.
The CrossLife Journey The CrossLife story is woven into this new wave of kingdom growth across Australia as Jesus builds His church in our new suburbs. In the early 1990’s a church started meeting in homes in Helensvale, on the northern fringes of the Gold Coast, QLD. They outgrew their meeting places, and the community came together to build a church building in 3 days. Without realising, we had our first foray into Social Enterprise and Social Innovation. Skilled professionals, tradespeople and enthusiastic volunteers came together to build a church worship centre, housing 250+ people. The cost and time were both far less than a conventional building program. The Helensvale Baptist Church had its first, and current, permanent home.
The church numbers grew rapidly in the new and highly visible building. In 1995 the Church, underpinned by Queensland Baptists, purchased a decommissioned Nursing Home across the car park, converting it into the first Young Discoverers Childcare Centre (YD1); another foray into Social Enterprise. The Childcare Centre provided much needed childcare to a rapidly growing suburb, underprovided with community and social services. We did not require a commercial rate of return, as all operating surpluses were to be channelled back into providing social infrastructure and services in the community. For 20 years now YD1 has provided ongoing employment directly for all the staff of the centre, including support services. In the ensuing years the precinct has become home for a community centre, comprising two community halls and the Helensvale Senior Citizens Club. Providing child care was a step into Impact Investment. We had direct impact into the lives of up to 100 children, and their families, a week. Our Christian foundation and heritage were clearly on display – centre management were all members of the church, and the staff were Christian. The first years were a steep learning curve, and at times tested the financial resilience of the project. Faithfulness, prayer and commitment to God’s call, enabled us to not only persevere, but in 2012 take the next Social Investment step.
residents’, and 88% agreed Lakeside ‘is embraced by many local residents’. Further, 80% of respondents indicated they would be more than likely to ‘recommend a community hub like that of Lakeside Community Centre to be included in the development of a new housing community’. In addition 96% of respondents considered it at least ‘somewhat appropriate’ that the church provided the node, and 42% indicating it was ‘very appropriate’. One respondent commented, “It is an essential community service that benefits the entire community.” This Lakeside Community Node was recognised by the Planning Institute of Australia in November 2015, being awarded the Encouragement Award for Planning Excellence; recognising its innovation and showing the greatest promise of achieving the vision of excellence in Queensland.
Applying what we’d learnt, and the resources we’d been blessed with, material and spiritual, the Upper Coomera church plant was set in motion. Upper Coomera was a rapidly developing suburb; much like Helensvale 12 years earlier. Overlapping this, Helensvale Baptist Church and Southport Baptist Church had come together in a new multi-site church – CrossLife, a baptist church. The new Upper Coomera campus needed a home, the new suburb needed child care and other community services; so the vision for Lakeside Community Node was developed by CrossLife church. The Lakeside Community Centre opened in 2013, with the anchor tenant being our second Young Discoverers Childcare Centre. The other initial tenant was our new Upper Coomera church plant. We sought to serve the community by providing the centre for community meetings and events, and commercial and retail tenants; including a Coffee Shop, a Convenience Store. The community space is now used for mothers groups, health and wellness classes, community events, and Movies in the Park. It also hosts seasonal events, including annual Easter Bonnet Parades and Community Carols. In 2015 CrossLife petitioned McCrindle Research to complete a community survey on the effectiveness of the Lakeside node, with encouraging results. 90% of respondents agreed Lakeside ‘creates a central gathering point for friends and family to meet’, 91% agreed Lakeside ‘provides an opportunity for connection and community among Highland Reserve
CrossLife is now again using the Social Enterprise model in our new development, Hilltop; due for completion in October 2017. For CrossLife, it will provide another impact into the community where we can make Christ known, consistent with our Core Values of: • Desiring God • Declaring Jesus • Developing Communities The new Hilltop Development has been in prayerful consideration for over 5 years. Once again we have our anchor tenant, our 3rd Young Discoverers Child Care Centre; this time caring for children outside of school hours. The development adjoins the Upper Coomera State School. Between our close association with the school, and the two child care facilities we operate in the area, we can directly impact 800 families. This Social Impact in a new area is a precious gift from God that we seek to ensure honours His name in all that we do. This Community Node also has space for other tenancies: a medical centre, allied health professionals, a gym and fitness centre and other commercial facilities that will serve the local community. The large community hall will be used for church worship services on Sundays, and will be able to be used by other community groups through the week. There is also space and planning for adult education courses and a Men’s Shed.
How is this a Social Enterprise? What are Social Investment, Impact Investment and Social Innovation?
trading with a social, cultural or environmental mission – it trades in order to fulfill its social mission rather than to create a profit for private benefit. Whilst a social enterprise derives a substantial portion of its income from trade, it reinvests the majority of the surplus in the fulfilment of its mission. The Hilltop Development by CrossLife Church fits squarely in this definition: it derives a substantial portion of its income from trade and reinvests the majority of the surplus in the fulfilment of its mission. If we look briefly at the three individual components we see:
Social Investment describes a range of ways in which those with resources can contribute to solving social, cultural or environmental issues or create public value. These resources include financial and intellectual property. Examples can be found in support for families in difficulty, aged care, community development, health, education, employment, environmental management, civic participation, justice, housing, youth programs, and international development.
Impact investment describes investments that have the defining feature of being made with the intention of achieving a positive social, cultural and/or environmental impact and a financial return. This generates finance for addressing social, cultural or environmental issues and creating new public value. This describes the ethos, motivation and intention of this Hilltop Project. These entities reinvest the majority of all operating surpluses back into the provision of community services. Instead of paying dividends to shareholders surpluses are reinvested back into the community through the provision of extra amenities and services.
Social innovation describes new ideas that provide better solutions to social problems. It creates new value and better outcomes for society, that otherwise wouldn’t exist, and includes both processes and outcomes. In the case of the Hilltop Project, the key feature of social innovation is the intention to deliver new solutions and create value for the public good – this site and buildings are being developed with serving the local community as a primary goal. David Eagle is the Marketing Manager for CrossLife Properties Ltd which belongs to CrossLife – a Baptist church.
A social enterprise is an enterprise or organisation that combines commercial PRAC WINTER 2017 | 5
Swapping Sanctuaries for Sports Centres:
A Case Study – Lakeside WA
By Anthony Palmieri
During the 2006 Football (ie Soccer) World Cup, Australia played Croatia in the qualifying rounds. I found myself in Melbourne and there was an incredible atmosphere of excitement and expectation around the city. Thousands of fans flocked to Federation Square in the early hours of the morning to watch the game on big screens. When the siren sounded, it was a two all draw. Australia was through to the second round. The next day there was a photo in the Age newspaper, capturing the passion and emotional roller coaster of the fans. In the background is the famous St Paul’s cathedral, the fans are facing the opposite direction with their back towards the church. I reflected on this image… It has often been said that Australians are sports mad; fanatical in fact; athletes are idolized, referred to as heroes or gods, sporting conversation regularly contains a spiritual or religious fervour “the hallowed ground of the MCG...” Social commentators have discussed whether sport has become a substitute for religion, giving people’s lives meaning? Beyond those usual conclusions, to me the photo in the Age became a metaphor. Society as a whole has turned its back on “organised religion” or what they see as the “institutional church”. For many Australians “sanctuaries or cathedrals” have come to be symbols of the institutional church and thus recipients of suspicion. I asked myself the question, “what would Jesus do if he was at the game?” Would he be inside the church building waiting for people to come in? Or, would he be amongst the crowd, meeting people where they are at? Would he be watching the game and connecting with people? I have the privilege of pastoring a unique church that serves the community through a Recreation Centre. More than 7,000 people a week use and enjoy the range of sporting programs we offer. In 1986, nineteen people started a church in the southern suburbs of Perth. They met in various public buildings and grew rapidly. From the beginning, the thread that bound them together was the deep desire to reach out to the community. With this passion for outreach, in 1992 the church opened the Lakeside Recreation Centre. Why not build a church sanctuary? Is it the business of the church to be running a Recreation Centre? For many Australians the idea of walking through the doors of a church building on a Sunday is foreign. With much suspicion and misconceptions, the church building in its self is a barrier; even if they are interested. Lakeside’s ministries focus in and through the facility. The very nature of Lakeside is that it’s a meeting point, a third place, a hub where people connect and lives crossover. On the basketball 6 | PRAC WINTER 2017
Thousands converged on Federation Square to watch the World Cup match between Australia and Croatia. Photo: Simon O’Dwyer
court, in the Time Out coffee lounge or gathering on a Sunday morning for worship. We endeavour to make the centre a place where the ‘sacred’ and secular meet and cross on a daily basis. Part of our missional strategy is to run a great facility, which the community can enjoy and benefit from. Yes, we strive to be Christian in vision, mission, ethos and practical operation, but the facility is there for the whole community to use and enjoy. Lakeside now has a voice in the local community and is recognised as playing a very positive role in the development of the whole person. Therefore, we are allowed to speak into people’s lives. We should not underestimate the value of this. In turn, we have been able to break down many common misconceptions and misunderstandings of Christianity. While people may be suspicious of “organised religion”, you’d be surprised how many are interested in the things of Jesus. Particularly when you are willing to meet them where they are at, move among the crowd. Lakeside built a Recreation Centre instead of a Church Sanctuary because it was about creating a platform to be among people. As discussed, sport is a great platform. Almost two-thirds (65%) of Australians participate in sport and around 85% regularly watch sport[1]. When building our church facilities, we need to ask ‘how can we connect with people in our community?’. Are we building something that the society we live in have turned their back against? Or are we building a facility that will allow us to meet people where they are at? Anthony Palmieri, Senior Pastor at Lakeside Baptist Church, WA Anthony first walked into Lakeside more than twenty years ago to play basketball, not yet a Christian. Now he’s the Senior Pastor and a great illustration for the fruit that comes from swapping a sanctuary for a community centre. [1]
abs.gov.au : Australian Bureau of Statistics
From Riding Waves to Making Waves In conversation with Jamie Freeman
As a kid growing up in Sydney’s northern beaches and mastering the waves at the Dee Why break Jamie Freeman wasn’t to know just what God had in store for him in the years to come. Eventually he would make his living out of the waves, plant a local church in the surf club, engage in social enterprise work in cyclone hit Vanuatu and pioneer surfing safaris there. Apart from learning how to grow and establish a business, Jamie’s journey has been one of learning how to leverage business for mission and also for social impact, both in Australia and abroad.
Falling out of love with the church Jamie’s church planting journey was nearly sidelined years earlier, having nearly given up on Christian ministry because of bad experiences that are often the case in churches. God restored Jamie’s love of the church and Christian leadership through his time at working at Gymea Baptist Church. In partnership with Gymea, Jamie and his wife Ainsley planted H30 Church in Dee Why to reach the beach side community. “Our heart was to be on the eastern side of Pittwater road where there’s not many churches because it’s such an expensive area. We wanted to be close to the beach, and where people were. The surf club was the most ideal place. People on the northern beaches pour down to Dee Why beach on Sunday mornings to cafes and nippers, so we didn’t want to be in church when everyone else was out. We met in the afternoon, so we could participate in the local community. That captures the heart of how we planted and why we planted.” While planting the church Jamie had built a successful surf school with a business partner, which still operates today. Jamie points out the key ways being a Christian determined their business culture and connection to local church: “The surf school we had was created to facilitate and participate in mission. Our business and church plant were in Dee Why. It enabled us to be present in the hub of local activity every day; in the water, meeting people on the grass, in local cafes. There was a connection between our surf school and Christian surfers, running bible studies and surf lessons. As coaches, being in the water, there was a connection between us and the local church.”
What is a Christian business? Being a Christian also meant being committed to key principles of business operation: “If you use the principle that business can facilitate and also help you participate in mission, then that changes the way you go about dealing with staff and customers.
It changes the way you understand profit, and how you use it. It shifts the services that you offer and how you offer them. We were in it for mission and that shaped a lot of what we did. It affects how you treat your staff, pay your staff. It affected every area of our business. We grew the business by employing a number of young Christian surfers, and extended it beyond that with local surfers who we could build relationships with. We grew the business, with quite a number of coaches and we treated them really well. We paid them better than they would get anywhere else. What was interesting to me is that then a bunch of the other surf schools started to adopt that model, but they tended to use grommets as cheap labour, so they were forever wanting jobs with us.”
Using social enterprise to create social impact Following the Cyclone that devastated Vanuatu in 2016 Jamie felt called to go there and began enquiring about ways in which he could get involved. Through friends at Baptist World Aid Jamie gained some insights. After travelling there and surfing the local breaks, Jamie was able to meet a trusted local called John Stevens who could be the point person in a social enterprise venture. Jamie says “we didn’t want to set up a business in Vanuatu, we wanted to empower a local to start their own business and help them employ locals. One challenge is that expats own everything, get all of the money and often pay minimum wages to locals. We were committed to the idea of locals employing locals. The business itself outside of providing employment, empowers John to a range of things; such as after school coaching, surf competitions and prizes designed to help keep young people in school. We resource and coach him to make an impact in his local community in whichever way he can.” Check out H30 church here: www.h30.church If you fancy learning to surf check our Sherpa Surf School here: www.surfinglessonssydney.com.au If you would like to invest in Vanuatu and see a beautiful place check out Surf Vanuatu here: www.surfvanuatu.com Jamie Freeman is the Church Planting Facilitator for Baptist Churches of NSW & ACT, and is still a part of H30 Church in Dee Why with his family. PRAC WINTER 2017 | 7
Faith, Risk, Entrepreneurs and the Church An interview with Tim Lovell
We Baptists aren’t exactly known for being the entrepreneurial class. We’ve got no shortage of generosity, faithfulness, dedication and application to governance (and many other virtues). But we’re the managerial class, we keep things safe. There are, however, growing examples of what happens when entrepreneurial thinking is driven by faith and vision. In 1988 two men formed a vision, through which Goodlife Community Centre was born. The ‘church’ is a leisure centre at the heart of the Buderim Pines community in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. It’s the thriving heart of the local community, with the by-line ‘People Matter’ everywhere. Tim Lovell has been lead pastor of Goodlife for fourteen years. Goodlife is currently undergoing a massive reconstruction, significantly adding to the scope and function of the facility. Rather than two entities existing side by side (commercial and ministry) the centre is run as one whole. Each staff person is involved at some other level in serving. Tim is in the pool five days a week as a swim instructor, in addition to his other responsibilities. There aren’t too many churches that are (rather than in) the centre of their community, but Goodlife arguably is, and by design. Tim says “Goodlife was a vision to connect people in community. Initially it was to create a space where people could be exposed to faith and Christian values etc., within the context of sports. It was an outreach that could also fund ministry.” The key question about churches set up like this is what relevance the ‘church’ side has to the ‘community’ side of things. Tim says, “It’s firstly in the way you are treated and greeted. I believe in a set of values that permeate everything we do. You’re in an environment with a board displaying the global impact of Goodlife, so you realise there’s something bigger than squash courts and a gym here. A lot of it is simply initiating relationships with people, honouring people, greeting people. Everyone who accesses our leisure centre knows about our faith context. Even though many people don’t ascribe to that, but they love being in the context of a community where they are known and cared about. There is an invitation to ‘Good Story’, a program written to look at the context of Goodlife’s existence in the story of God’s creation and His pursuit of people. We conduct a lot of community events. We also invite people to ‘Discover Goodlife Night’. You are invited whether you are new to swim school, 8 | PRAC WINTER 2017
sports teams, café or Sunday morning. Everyone is invited. At that I lay out our vision, values, and biblical precedent for them. I talk it through in every day English, deliberately not speaking in language foreign to everyday people. Vision for me is essential, that’s the guidepost. I measure everything we do against vision. Our vision is loving people, serving, caring for people in excellence. We aim to create a space that provides hope, health and wholeness in every area of life; physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.” The Goodlife magazine is available throughout the facility and is described as “an extension of the Goodlife Community Centre. Our intention is to drop a bit of hope into your hands, encouraging you to find a place of connection and belonging because you are convinced that people matter.” The Goodlife vision document published in magazine format is also available which details the purpose, vision, values and global reach of the church. When asked about the legacy of entrepreneurs in the history of the church, Tim tells the story of Mike Jeffs and Doug Grinnan. They were praying in 1987 and developed a fivefold vision; to see an effective church operating in community, training established that would equip people to pursue that, mission borne out of that to the Pacific Rim and beyond, Christian television established in Australia and to pray until revival comes to Australia. Out of that was born Goodlife, the Pines Training Institute, global missions, and weekly prayer for revival, which continues. “Mike and Doug started by gathering as two families, from which the church grew. Both men were entrepreneurs and businessmen, with a heart for God who helped fund this people. The initial centre was built debt free.” The current facility and the scale of the redevelopment is a testament not just to the visionary founders but to all those who have helped make the vision reality throughout its life, including the current day congregation and leadership. It hasn’t happened without considerable risk and faith driven entrepreneurial vision. Tim Lovell is lead pastor of Goodlife Community Church, a Baptist church in the heart of Buderim Pines on the Sunshine Coast hinterland. Tim is also a learn to swim instructor at Goodlife.