Western Region: Christ Church, Blacktown

PARISH IN FOCUS: CHRIST CHURCH, BLACKTOWN

One suburb, many faces

The parish embraces an industrial area, a busy city centre, older Housing Commission-style homes and new McMansions and units. Blacktown has an indigenous community and a large Sudanese population together with people from many nations living amongst Australians of European descent. 

While traditionally a blue-collar area, white-collar workers are moving in to take advantage of relatively affordable home prices and close proximity to railway and fast road links to Sydney. The church has a Mandarin-Cantonese-speaking Chinese congregation and an Arabic-English-speaking Sudanese congregation, in addition to three English-speaking congregations.  The parish also runs a child care centre and an Adolescent and Family Counselling Service.

Aiming to improve

The church is aiming to improve its gospel ministry in a number of ways. These include better follow-up and integration of new people and a carefully planned and coordinated calendar for 2007. Plans are underway to increase the overlap between Sudanese, Chinese and English-speaking congregations and foster new links with the city such as lunchtime Bible studies in the library, developing a presence through special church services training in personal evangelism, as well as starting a holiday Bible club for children.

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