Christian Berechree is getting creative about presenting the gospel to his peers. With beer... sort of.

He and his four housemates opened their Epping home to more than 30 people a month ago, welcoming them in for a few beers and biblical debate and discussion using the title “Three Beers For Jesus”.

The idea grew after Christian, a member of Soma Church in North Ryde, realised he needed to speak to people about Christ where they felt comfortable. “I noticed people were much more likely to engage with Christianity and discuss faith if it was on a personal level, probably because they felt like they had a greater right of reply in that context,” he says. “It made me think about how I could reach people my age and share my faith with them in a relaxing, non-threatening – for them – environment.” 

Facebook responses to the invitations varied from “Thanks for the invite, do you mind if my boyfriend joins me? He enjoys a God vs science chat” to “You should know better than anyone that I would decline”. 

Michael Santos, an MTS apprentice at MBM in Rooty Hill, found combining the gospel with an ordinary social activity made it easier to invite peers and facilitate biblical discussions. “It was especially easy because it was to do with beer,” he says. “There was opportunity for discussion [with a friend] at the end when the food came out and there was background music. He thought it was good.”

Christian believes Three Beers was helpful for taking Christianity out of the church and making it real for people. “My best mate...is genuinely interested in Christianity,” he says. “Ask him to become a Christian, though, and he’ll run for the hills. He’s the kind of person who needs an event like Three Beers [where] he can hear the gospel from people he knows and respects.

“A lot of non-Christian friends are scared of church but hopefully they’re not scared of my backyard.”