Where others could get questions answered about Christianity is what motivated Andrew Baartz to start a city ministry to workers in Sydney's CBD.
"It's a city ministry that grows by word of mouth, where contacts encourage others to become involved and to serve one another," he says.
Andrew and his wife Rachel share offices with a small investment bank on Bridge Street in the CBD. A boardroom is used regularly for Andrew's ministry meetings.
"The ministry grows by word of mouth. It is essential about discipling (rather than a pulpit), that our contacts in the city encourage others to become involved in serving one another," he says.
"[It's] a ministry that creates an outreach to people who have had little or no exposure to Christianity and the gospel".
Andrew has a degree in commerce and is a graduate of Moore College.
He has worked at St Matthias, Centennial Park, where he was involved in ministry to students at the University of New South Wales.
He began ministering with St Philip's, York Street in 1993, where he has been involved in Thursday lunchtime meetings for city workers.
"When I was working for a chartered accountant I found myself in conversations with people about Jesus and the Bible," Andrew says.
"People are busy, inundated with many, many messages and the objective is to raise the message of Jesus above all the "white noise; in the background.
"What helps people focus on your message is the kind of person you are and the perceived difference you can make in their lives.
"There are the constant questions about working in business: How do you serve God, and not mammon, when you are working with mammon all day long? How does belonging to Jesus shape your dealings in business? How do you manage people within a large corporation?
Andrew and Rachel also run weekend conferences and day seminars with Campus Crusade for Christ aimed to encourage godly marriages and parenting.
"The key concerns for men in the city revolve around how to be better husbands and fathers, as well as the more expected ethical issues in business,” Andrew says.
"Our objective is, the same as church, to encourage people to live a life of love and good deeds as they wait for Christ's return.”
Andrew Baartz may be contacted at andrew@baartz.net or 0411 101 723
This is an edited version of a story by Barry Blair that was first published in The Link, the newspaper of the Diocese of Armidale.
