As of January 1, the parish of St Paul’s, Cambridge Park and St Thomas’ Cranebrook will be resigned to the history books, with Cranebrook becoming a separate parish. It is an exciting prospect, says Archdeacon Ken Allen, who says the split has been quite a few years in coming. “When a parish becomes its own unit there is an immediate encouragement to continue to grow,” he said. “It’s going to be a great encouragement to the locals; it’s [also] a challenge to them. It’s saying, ‘we want you to work really hard to reach the area and build it up’.”

St Thomas’ has been a small, struggling congregation propped up by the neighbouring St Paul’s. The large housing estate it is situated in had a reputation for crime and poverty, with few people staying long-term.

Senior Assistant Minister, the Rev Richard Goscombe became convinced that St Thomas’ was in desperate need of an integrated, comprehensive ministry plan. There had been a lack of continuity in leadership. But what really stopped the church from growing was a lack of coordinated ministry for kids and youth. When children hit their teens, parents would leave the church and go to St Paul’s. While Cambridge Park had a thriving youth ministry, Cranebrook had none.

These days it is a different story. Numbers have doubled in the past five years. The church now has a playgroup and two kids’ clubs, as well as groups for teenagers and young adults.

About 110 regular members now meet on Sundays, including 25-30 new Christians. The housing estate is undergoing community renewal. Development plans in Penrith Lakes will soon flood the area with thousands of new families. The move has also meant that St Paul’s is now free to concentrate on growing its own congregations and upcoming renovations.

“We’ve seen some great things happen,” acknowledges Mr Goscombe. With most of the regular members now involved in ministry, the church is well placed for outreach. St Thomas’ ‘wants to be strong enough to support the growth of new church plants, just as we have been supported and grown,’ Mr Goscombe says. “It does take a lot of effort to do it. We have a lot of growing to do but we’re on the way.”