Sharing love with our neighbourhood

At St Paul Lutheran Church at Blair Athol, in suburban Adelaide, our congregation has a growing desire to strengthen our relationships with those around us, especially the children and families of St Paul Lutheran School and Playgroup, but also the wider community.

So, in 2024, our Outreach Ministry Task Group shared ideas with our church council for increasing connections and building bridges in our neighbourhood. This led to an application for a grant from the LCANZ Local Mission Seed Fund, with a project entitled, ‘We exist to share Jesus’.

As church members sought ways to build relationships, care for our school and playgroup families, and engage with our diverse local community while growing as followers of Jesus, we were blessed to receive the funding. This support has enabled us to engage cross-cultural coach Craig Heidenreich, who is walking alongside us throughout 2025, providing practical training and encouragement.

We are praying that this will be a year of deeper connection with those we live among. Recent migration from India and the Middle East has created a mission field right on our doorstep. Regarding faith, 33.5 per cent of our neighbours identify as Christian, 31.8 per cent practise Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam or Sikhism, while 30 per cent do not identify with any religion.

We feel the Lord is calling us to journey with him and learn how to love and serve our new neighbours. Positive developments are already occurring within the school and playgroup, where enrolments are increasingly multicultural. We hope these relationships will become bridges to the wider community.

To strengthen our efforts, we are forming a small missional team of ‘Bridge-builders’ who are committed to fostering connections with our diverse neighbours. We are becoming more sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s presence in our everyday interactions. With guidance from Craig, we are identifying local gathering places within our migrant community where we can simply be ‘present’ – praying, listening and building relationships.

One small step we have taken is visiting a local Indian restaurant to learn more about Indian culture and religious practices. Such moments of cultural learning are helping us take the first steps toward deeper conversations and friendships.

Once we develop a better understanding of our neighbours and how to welcome them intentionally, we aim to trial several outreach initiatives. These include engaging school and playgroup families by inviting them to worship services, followed by a shared meal.

These are just the first steps in our renewed vision for outreach at St Paul Lutheran Church. With faith, prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we trust that 2025 will be a year in which love comes to life in our neighbourhood. We invite our congregation and the wider LCA community to join us in prayer as we step out in faith to share Jesus’ love with those around us.

Julie Scholz is vice-chairperson of St Paul Lutheran Church Blair Athol, in South Australia.

St Paul Lutheran Church Blair Athol was one of 10 congregations that received grants through the inaugural round of the LCANZ’s Local Mission Fund. The fund has been established to help congregations, districts and agencies as they seek new ways of reaching their neighbours and their local communities with the gospel. Expressions of interest for 2026 grants will open in July 2025. Click here for more information.