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== History of Grace Church (focusing on the English Congregation) ==
A small group of Chinese Christians who had been meeting in the [[Kogarah]] area, organised the Chinese Christian Fellowship (1978) on Sunday afternoons and was led by Rev. John Lu. In 1981 the Rev. Abel Chung commenced a long and fruitful full-time ministry. The church was renamed Grace Chinese Christian Church (1984) and started an English service. In 1987 Grace Church Kogarah purchased the property at the present address in [[Kogarah]] for further church development. The service was served by visiting preachers each week, and by the late 80s the attendance had reached approximately 40.
Rev. Keith Noldt served as the full-time pastor for the [[English]] congregation in 1995-2007, and the [[English]] congregation grew significantly over those years. Rev. Bob McSwan (ex-[[Kingsgrove]] [[Uniting Church]] pastor) served in the [[September]] [[2008]] to [[June]] [[2009]] period, and attendance did not fall during that time.
Albert Garlando is the current full-time pastor for the [[English]] congregation, starting in [[July]] [[2009]].
The [[English]] congregation has 120-140 people meeting weekly to worship God, and people of all ages and nationalities are invited to share in service.
== Congregations at Grace Church Kogarah ==
The English Congregation has the gospel preached in an environment that mixes the traditional and contemporary elements. It meets at the corner Overall values of Kensington & Premier Streets at 9am each Sunday. (Bi-yearly combined services at St George GirlsGrace Church are God' break the patterns word as authority, while [[Good Friday]] / [[Christmas Eve]] night services add to the pattern)dependence on God, close personal relationships, unity in diversity, everyone serving with joy, and mission.
The English Congregation meets at the corner of Kensington & Premier Streets at 9am each Sunday. Bi-yearly combined services at St George Girls' break the pattern, while [[Good Friday]] / [[Christmas Eve]] night services add to the pattern. It also has various bible discussion groups and is involved in various ways with the local community, such as the Annual [[Kogarah, New South Wales|Kogarah]] Bed Race. Overall values of Grace Church are God's word as authority, dependence on God, close personal relationships, unity in diversity, everyone serving with joy, and mission.
There are six other congregations at Grace Church. Two of these meet at the Acton Street [[Sutherland, New South Wales|Sutherland]] church plant and a Cantonese congregation meets at the Princes Highway [[Banksia, New South Wales|Banksia]] church plant next to an [[Islamic]] centre. A new [[Cantonese]] [[night service]] commenced at the main [[Kogarah, New South Wales|Kogarah]] site on [[22 February]] [[2009]], which runs weekly at 6pm. [[Foreign language]] night services are believed to be a rarity in [[Australia]].
* [http://www.hope1032.com.au Hope 103.2 (Affiliate)]
{{returnto}} [[Sydney]]
[[Category:Australia]]
[[Category:New South Wales]]
[[Category:Sydney]]
[[Category:Churches]]
