Our Story
Pastors Phil and Tracy Shand started Faith! Christian Church Chadstone in 2006 with little more than a handful of pioneers from Faith! Christian Church Dandenong who wanted to make a difference in a “spiritually dry” community. With a lower than national average church attendance per capita, Chadstone was definitely in need of a new church.
The Church launch on Sunday March 5th 2006 saw a crowd of 177 people come mostly from the local community to check out this new church located inside Chadstone, Australia's largest Shopping Centre.
Meeting in a convenient and neutral venue such as Chadstone Shopping centre has resulted in many unchurched people visiting the church since it began. Overseas students coming to Australia to study in one of the three local uni campuses have also been attracted to idea of meeting in a venue where they can have lunch and hang out with friends after church is over. We also attract a lot of young families and professionals.
One of the key goals of the church has been to reach out and impact the local community and this can be seen in some large scale events the church has been involved in. Faith! CC Chadstone was able to help co-ordinate the first Oakleigh Community ‘Carols in the Park’ which drew a local crowd of over 2000 people in Christmas 2006 to Warrawee Park. The evening provided local families with celebration, entertainment and a chance to hear the Gospel.
Christmas 2008 we took a step of faith and booked the largest cinema in Hoyts at Chadstone to have our Christmas Carols Service. A total of 385 people came for a fantastic morning. The following year we filled the cinema with many totally unchurched visitors coming from the local community.
On March 1st, 2009 we moved into Hoyts Cinema 5 for Seven Super Sundays to see whether this venue suited our purpose for the future growth of our church. It was a great success with many new visitors coming to the Church and a 30% increase in attendance. We have now decided to continue meeting at Hoyts with Cinemas 7 & 8 as the venues for our Kids Ministry during the service.
Helping Hand Days have also allowed Faith! CC Chadstone to serve the local community’s most needy in a practical way. Together with We Care Community Services, the church has given away free food, clothing and toys to hundreds of low income families. We also run seminars of interest to the community such as Parenting Myths and Managing Your Money.
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