What started in a garage with four families and 18 members in 2011 has led to the Burmese Chin Community of the Australia Zophei Church opening a brand new, state of the art building, in the western suburb of Melbourne, Ravenhall.
The opening was celebrated at the end of April with the 130 member congregation welcoming 100 guests for the event.
The new building which has seating capacity for 400 people, also boasts a ping pong arena and two volleyball courts and Pastor Andrew Sawmhal is always quick to challenge you to a game!
“From the 2011 launch of the church in one of our members garages, we were able to purchase the land that this new church is on with the support of Baptist Financial Services in 2013, which we paid off in 2016, allowing us to move forward with another loan from BFS and develop the plans for this new facility”, Pastor Andrew said.
“Our story is a real testament to the goodness of God with the build being completed in under a year – much faster than expected. Now our focus is to pass the leadership of the church, and this amazing new facility, onto the next generation to steward and grow”, he said.