Welcome
Hey there! It’s so nice to meet you!
You are probably wondering about the who, what, where and when’s of The Olive Branch, so let’s get them out the way first! Perhaps this will help…
Who are we?
We are a thriving and growing multigenerational Church, based in Ararat, Victoria, who seek to Grow Faith, Bring Hope and Show Love in our community. Both the Church and our Pastor are affiliated with The Churches of Christ in Victoria and Tasmania.
Where are you?
We have an awesome facility at 23 Palmerston Street, Ararat. For those more local, we are on the corner of the Pyrenees Highway and Queen Street.
When are your main services?
We meet at 10am every Sunday at our facility at 23 Palmerston Street.
What are your services like?
Honestly? We’re pretty relaxed! Usually we’ll sing a few songs of worship to Jesus, take communion together and listen to a short talk which helps us grow in our faith journey. No-one is obliged to do anything, so you’re more than welcome to come and say hey without any pressure.
Services usually run for between 60 and 75 minutes and are followed by an awesome morning tea, prepared by our very dedicated and wonderful volunteers.
Our Team
As a Church, we believe we are all called to play our part in serving both our Church and local community, but some have roles of leadership within the Church.
We have an incredible leadership team who are committed, skilled and experienced in Church life. Do allow me introduce you to a few of them, and assure you that we are in safe hands!
Craig
Elder
Craig, a Scottish import of 12 years, is a wonderful asset to our team and Church. He has a heart for serving the community and longs to see people find Christ and develop their relationship with Him.
Before taking on his current role as Marketing Manager for a local business, Craig ran his own business in the retail sector and was an Officer in the RAF.
Craig is a committed family man, who has a wonderful wife and two children, who all love Jesus. In his spare time he loves playing Golf, eating a good meal with friends, dog walking and getting out into the wonderful Australian countryside.
Greg
Elder
Greg is a born and bred Aussie, and has a rich heritage within the Churches of Christ movement. He has a wonderful servant heart that is fully committed to our Church family and is our attention to detail guy! We love it!
Greg has a background in Mechanical Engineering and currently operates as Agricultural Division Manager of a local thriving business.
Greg loves catching up with family and travelling around Victoria with his wonderful wife Carolyn (he has a particular soft spot for Echuca!) He loves running and is passionate about seeing our Church grow.
Chee Sheng
Elder
As a local General Practitioner, Chee Sheng brings a wealth of wisdom to our team and Church family. He is passionate about seeing young people achieve all that God has for them.
Chee Sheng has been a General Practitioner for over 30 years and loves serving the Ararat community in this capacity having done so since 2008.
In his little spare time, Chee Sheng loves a good read. He particularly enjoys reading Theology books. He is a husband and father of two boys.
Lorraine
Prayer Overseer
Lorraine is just a gentle gem, full of the Holy Spirit, with a wonderful heart for people, and organisational skills honed during decades of service in the Lord’s Church. These qualities are certainly required as she embarks upon co-ordinating prayerful responses to the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of those within The Olive Branch and our local community.
Wayne
Property Overseer
Wayne is awesome, fun, and loves anything practical. As Managing Director of a local business, Wayne brings wisdom and practical brain into our team. He is critical in the development of our facility in Palmerston street In his spare time, Wayne plays tennis, enjoys collecting firewood, loves a parma and wholeheartedly barracks for the Cats.
Kate
Secretary
Kate is a busy lady being CEO of a busy home whilst being the “go to” administrative professional for a number of local businesses. Kate is a keen Gardener and avid reader and someone who has a passion and gifting to plan and organise events in which people feel enjoyment encouragement and edification without any fuss being made
Anita
Treasurer
Anita is a Chartered Accountant who having put her career on the backburner for a while has dedicated her life to serving Christ. Her enthusiasm for ministry is infectious and this added to her giving her all to ensuring that pastoral matters are taken care of makes her an invaluable and well loved member of the Church family.
ALL ABOUT JESUS
As a Church, we are passionate about Jesus. Let me briefly introduce you to Him.
When God created the world, he made it perfect. He also gave clear instructions to the first humans on earth, to avoid eating from a certain tree. Unfortunately, humans went against those instructions and brought sin into the world. This caused a separation between humanity and God (what we as Christians, call sin). The Bible (which Christians believe is divinely given to us by God), explains that all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God and that the punishment for this sin is death.
But God loved us so much, that he doesn’t want us to experience this! He made us for relationship with Him and is committed to that. Therefore, he sent Jesus, His only son, into the world, so we wouldn’t have to face the punishment for our wrongdoing!
Jesus led a perfect life, but took our punishment of death on a cross. Amazingly, three days later he rose again, having conquered death!!
He did this so that we don’t have to live apart from God anymore, but instead, we can live in relationship with Him. We can simply admit our wrongdoings and ask Jesus to forgive us for them, which we know He will. We can also ask him to help us live as he wants us to and believe he will help us to do so.
Want to know more?
Why not come along to one of our services and chat to one of our team, or simply email obcararat@gmail.com and someone will happily get back to you.
CONNECT
Connecting is easy. Here are some ways that you can connect in to The Olive Branch Family.
New to Church?
Sometimes checking out a Church can be a bit daunting. There’s a lot of unknowns, a lot of people and sometimes, a lot of jargon which you might not understand!
Here at The Olive Branch, we want you to feel comfortable and welcome, and try not to use the weird jargon Christians sometimes use! We’d love to connect with you at one of our services (10am on Sundays, 23 Palmerston Street, Ararat). Our services are welcoming, non-threatening and relaxed.
If you’re not quite ready for that jump, we are more than happy to meet you outside that time. Feel free to email: obcararat@gmail.com if you fancy an informal coffee (and cake!)
Regular at The Olive Branch?
We believe that everyone plays in important role in the growth and health of our Church. There are many ways you can connect including;
Attending Sunday services and connecting via our wonderful morning teas afterwards.
Serving on team – contact obcararat@gmail.com if you wish to serve.
Attending Life Group which is currently held at 7pm on Tuesdays at 23 Palmerston Street
We are always looking at new ministries that will connect us as a Church to community. If you have a heart for any missional work, please contact obcararat@gmail.com