July has been a month of celebration and praise at Church @ The Peak, with the church becoming an independent provisional parish a decade after being planted. It started as a plant from Beverly Hills and Kingsgrove in 2008, and now more than 100 people gather weekly at Peakhurst South Primary School.
“Church @ The Peak was born out of Archbishop Peter Jensen’s mission imperative to plant more congregations and churches in our Diocese in order to reach 10 per cent of the population for Christ,” says the Rev Stuart Maze, rector of Church @ The Peak.
“The intent was, and still is, to reach the lost in our suburbs. [To do this] we need more points of connection and ministry centres to make this happen.”
Humble Beginnings
Mr Maze says that becoming an independent provisional parish is an exciting time for the church community. “I am thankful for the people God has put around me to support me in this ministry. I’m thankful for God sustaining me and our church, Beverly Hills Anglican for their support over the past 10 years, the people at Church @ the Peak, and the support and encouragement of local churches – especially our friends at Mortdale Anglican.”
From humble beginnings with a small team praying for Peakhurst and making local connections, Mr Maze has witnessed slow yet steady growth.
“One of the most exciting things was seeing so many of our members coming to faith or reconnecting with God, some after many years of not going to church. One of the dads who joined us right from the start hadn’t been to church since his Sunday school days, but he loved rediscovering the Bible and the wonderful news of the gospel.”
Dean's story of coming back to Church
Another member of Church @ the Peak who reconnected with their faith was Dean Watson. Now a father of three, Dean Watson and his wife Ashley first visited the church in the early days of their relationship.
“I walked away from Christianity in my teens, it was never for me,” he says. “When I met my [now wife] at work, she had no Christian background but was always interested in studying religion. When she found out I had a background of Christianity, she asked if we could go to a church.
“For us, Church @ the Peak has been an important place. It’s not only because of the church, but because of God opening our eyes and dragging us along. The church has sown the seeds. It’s where we became Christians.”
The Watsons have been through many trials in the past two years, and the overwhelming love and support each of them have felt from their church family has been a great help. “Our youngest has had four cardiac surgeries and he’s not two yet,” Mr Watson says. “The support from our church has been amazing. They’ve been praying for him, and telling others to pray.”
Reaching the Peakhurst Community
Mr Watson hopes that his experience of Church @ the Peak can be the experience of many others in the Peakhurst community.
“I want to see more people become Christians through the gospel being spread by our community. There has been a number of them, not just Ashley and I, which is always amazing to watch. We love to see existing Christians grow as well. I’m passionate about bringing people to the gospel that don’t currently know it. My desire is to see us grow through new people who haven’t accepted Christ before.”
A similar desire is shared by Mr Maze and the church leadership.
“Our vision is to see all of Peakhurst and beyond transformed by the good news of Jesus,” Mr Maze says.
“We recognise that it’s the gospel that transforms hearts, so we want to do that in whatever way is possible under God.”
