Post by Skip on Jul 26, 2004 18:28:56 GMT 10
Good Evans, it's a miracle
Kelly Ryan
26jul04
IT is football crowd meets rock concert and everyone is cheering for God.
Welcome to Melbourne's religious revival, with hundreds of jiving, jean-clad youngsters jumping with joy for Jesus.
More than 1200 people have discovered City Church Melbourne, founded just a few months ago by Pastor Russell Evans.
The South Australian pastor was convinced he could convert Victorians' love of sport into love of the Bible.
"Instead of barracking for their football team, I want to hear them cheering for God," he said.
The one-time jeans salesman and talented guitarist has extraordinary appeal to young people in particular. And, Praise the Lord, he is packing them in the pews.
The Assemblies of God minister has created a minor miracle in Melbourne's CBD.
While most churches despair over their dwindling congregations, Mr Evans has to divide his service to accommodate the swelling number of attendees.
More than 1200 flock to the Sunday sermons he conducts more like a rock concert than traditional church service.
Their numbers are remarkable considering City Church Melbourne is the new kid on the block.
They are even more astonishing given Mr Evans does not have his own church but moves from venue to venue, the changing location relayed simply by word of mouth.
Mr Evans' is one of the new "mega churches" which boast congregations of more than 1000.
With a staggering 12,000 regular worshippers, Sydney's Hillsong Church has won recent praise from Treasurer Peter Costello for the strong community values it promotes.
So successful is the church that Hillsong's recent album release went straight to the top of the Australian pops.
September 11 and the Bali bombing, the clean-cut popularity of Australian Idol's Guy Sebastian and the need among many to find relevance in an irreverent world are driving people back to religion.
"They're seeking meaning to their lives and they want to hear the message of God in their own language," Mr Evans said.
The father of two is not sure who makes up his growing flock of followers.
But he believes many are first-timers to church, old-timers looking for relevance, university students and young people who might otherwise be getting drunk.
Mr Evans is confident his is not a passing crowd, but a growing body of people with new passion.
He hopes to prove it by one day lifting the lid on Telstra Dome -- not with cheering footy fans, but chanting worshippers.
City Church Melbourne is cashing in on the international success and popularity of so called hot-gospel Christian services. The American-style, pentecostal, charismatic churches preach that money is good, music is great and that God's message must be told in the lingo of the day.
"What the church needs to do is to speak in the language of the day but not change the message," Mr Evans said.
"The message is the same. It is just the delivery to each generation is different.
"When Jesus spoke to fishermen, he spoke about fish, when he spoke to tax collectors he spoke about tax. Whoever he was with, he spoke about their deal."
By practising what they preach -- that it is vital to communicate in a youthful and colourful way -- AOG churches have grown from two dozen just 20 years ago to more than 200 today.
www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10247505%5E2862,00.html
Kelly Ryan
26jul04
IT is football crowd meets rock concert and everyone is cheering for God.
Welcome to Melbourne's religious revival, with hundreds of jiving, jean-clad youngsters jumping with joy for Jesus.
More than 1200 people have discovered City Church Melbourne, founded just a few months ago by Pastor Russell Evans.
The South Australian pastor was convinced he could convert Victorians' love of sport into love of the Bible.
"Instead of barracking for their football team, I want to hear them cheering for God," he said.
The one-time jeans salesman and talented guitarist has extraordinary appeal to young people in particular. And, Praise the Lord, he is packing them in the pews.
The Assemblies of God minister has created a minor miracle in Melbourne's CBD.
While most churches despair over their dwindling congregations, Mr Evans has to divide his service to accommodate the swelling number of attendees.
More than 1200 flock to the Sunday sermons he conducts more like a rock concert than traditional church service.
Their numbers are remarkable considering City Church Melbourne is the new kid on the block.
They are even more astonishing given Mr Evans does not have his own church but moves from venue to venue, the changing location relayed simply by word of mouth.
Mr Evans' is one of the new "mega churches" which boast congregations of more than 1000.
With a staggering 12,000 regular worshippers, Sydney's Hillsong Church has won recent praise from Treasurer Peter Costello for the strong community values it promotes.
So successful is the church that Hillsong's recent album release went straight to the top of the Australian pops.
September 11 and the Bali bombing, the clean-cut popularity of Australian Idol's Guy Sebastian and the need among many to find relevance in an irreverent world are driving people back to religion.
"They're seeking meaning to their lives and they want to hear the message of God in their own language," Mr Evans said.
The father of two is not sure who makes up his growing flock of followers.
But he believes many are first-timers to church, old-timers looking for relevance, university students and young people who might otherwise be getting drunk.
Mr Evans is confident his is not a passing crowd, but a growing body of people with new passion.
He hopes to prove it by one day lifting the lid on Telstra Dome -- not with cheering footy fans, but chanting worshippers.
City Church Melbourne is cashing in on the international success and popularity of so called hot-gospel Christian services. The American-style, pentecostal, charismatic churches preach that money is good, music is great and that God's message must be told in the lingo of the day.
"What the church needs to do is to speak in the language of the day but not change the message," Mr Evans said.
"The message is the same. It is just the delivery to each generation is different.
"When Jesus spoke to fishermen, he spoke about fish, when he spoke to tax collectors he spoke about tax. Whoever he was with, he spoke about their deal."
By practising what they preach -- that it is vital to communicate in a youthful and colourful way -- AOG churches have grown from two dozen just 20 years ago to more than 200 today.
www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,10247505%5E2862,00.html
