Five minutes’ walk from the Bondi Beach site. Not bad…
Bondi is a beautiful suburb. The parish of Bondi has two centres, both overlooking the famous beach – one a few minutes’ walk away, the other perched atop the hill toward Bondi Junction and Bellevue Hill. The residents are largely well-off: the average income is $75,000; $87,000 when investments are included. Working residents are largely professionals, while just under one-in-five households speak a language other than English.
Blake Hatton is the assistant minister at Bondi, having graduated from Moore College last year. In his time here, including a stint as a student minister during College, he has observed five particular groups of people who make up the population of Bondi: Russians, Jews, backpackers, working vacationers, and the über-wealthy. With the exception of the über-wealthy – whose homes and vehicles are usually easy to spot – each of these groups is spread throughout the suburb.
Our team met an example of the Jewish set while leafleting some homes on Sunday afternoon. James, a fourth-year student, noticed some Hebrew script on the front door, and when it was answered attempted to translate it to the homeowner! They had a conversation about what it looks like for this man to be a Jew in Bondi in the 21st century, including daily reading of the Hebrew scriptures in the original language. It turns out studying Hebrew isn’t only good for preaching – it has evangelistic power, too!
Pray for ongoing conversations with people like this over the rest of the week. The team will continue door-knocking and leafleting to advertise several soft-outreach events later in the week, seminars about parenting and coping with the busyness of modern life.The largest age brackets are 0–4 and 35–44, and it’s these young families that senior minister Martin Morgan is keen to connect with in greater numbers. We’ll be running several school Scripture classes in both primary and high schools, as well as participating a weekly music class for young kids.
On Sunday, fourth-year student Tim preached on John 10.10 – ‘I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.’ In such a beautiful and wealthy part of the world, it’s a hard sell; but even here, relationships and life circumstances aren’t always what we wish them to be. Pray that as we meet and speak with Bondi residents this week they might realise their need for more – and that Jesus offers it to them.