A new Aboriginal church plant launched this week to the sound of didgeridoos and clapsticks.
Church planter, the Rev Jonathan Lilley was pleasantly surprised with the turnout to the opening of Shoalhaven Aboriginal Community Church, with 41 Aboriginals showing up for the service in a school hall.
"I was a little bit blown away," he says. "I was expecting 10 or 15, but people just kept walking in."
Mr Lilley has been working in indigenous ministry in Nowra since becoming the first Aboriginal Moore College graduate in 2007.
This church plant aims to meet the need of the large Aboriginal community in the area, with over 3000 Aboriginals in Shoalhaven alone.
The previous indigenous church met in the bush and ended 60 years ago. Since then many of the elders have been praying for an Aboriginal church and leader.
"It wasn't really my decision to start a church. It was more the community that wanted it," Mr Lilley says.
While many do not understand the need for specifically Aboriginal churches, Mr Lilley says it is very important for his people.
"Churches say "Why can't they be more like us?', they expect Aboriginal people to assimilate into a culture that's foreign to us."
Mr Lilley also notes that class and education differences present a barrier, with many Aboriginals feeling out of place in mainstream churches.
While he says his church plant is in the spirit of Connect09, reaching people who haven't heard the gospel, there are still plenty of Aboriginal communities which are untouched.
"The biggest need is for building up young leaders; I only know a handful of Aboriginal church leaders and we need more."
Another challenge facing Aboriginal ministry is the high death and suicide rate, which Mr Lilley says has been very hard to deal with. The rate of suicide and attempted suicide among Aboriginal males in Shoalhaven is two times higher than that of the general Shoalhaven population.
But funerals have presented an opportunity to share the gospel, especially since about 700 Aboriginals have attended each funeral.
It is this strong community spirit that Mr Lilley can already see at Shoalhaven Aboriginal Community Church.
"There is a community and family feel in the church already. Everyone greets each other with a kiss and hug, then we all say goodbye to everyone when we leave," he says. "If the church gets really big it will take us a while to leave!"
