One hundred and twenty people gathered at Wollondilly Anglican College in Tahmoor in February – a fortnight before the Jesus is___ mission began in the Wollongong Region – to relaunch a church originally established in 2004, when the college began.

The congregation included some foundation members, representatives from local churches as well as school leaders and staff.

When the church initially met it was a plant from other Anglican churches in the Wollondilly parish, but it has now relaunched as an independent congregation under the umbrella of Evangelism and New Churches.

It was time for a designated minister, a focused vision and an alignment of resources. The area is already seeing residential and commercial developments as Sydney continues to sprawl further southwest.

At the relaunch, lead pastor the Rev Jim Dayhew was commissioned, along with his wife Jenny.

“We are focused on serving Wollondilly Anglican College and the broader local community in the southern Wollondilly area,” Mr Dayhew says. “As a former Anglican school chaplain I see lots of opportunities to connect through chapels, seminars, pastoral care, sport and events like the Moore College Mission coming to the region for the ‘Jesus is___’ mission."

The regional bishop, Peter Hayward, agrees. “There are huge opportunities across the whole greater south west area of Sydney,” he says. “The relaunch of Christ Church Anglican, Wollondilly under the leadership of Jim Dayhew is exactly the initiative that is needed to meet the rapid growth.”