Beyond the gorgeous grand façade of Collins Street Baptist Church lies a congregation with a huge heart for people of diverse backgrounds and lifestyles.  With open arms, the church welcomes a broad range of visitors, both Christian and non-Christian, and hopes to have a positive impact on each one.

“It’s not as much about programs as about presence; it’s more about responding to whatever comes up particular to our unique location,” says Katherine Jones, who works as the church’s Coordinator of Neighbourhood Engagement. “We have a wide range of interactions with all kinds of people. No matter who comes through our doors our prayer is to offer a safe and stable place within our neighbourhood and be known as a force for good. It’s a balancing act – we don’t know from one day to the next who’s going to come to the church or why.”

The front of the church faces the Paris end of Collins St and sits amidst theatres, designer fashion stores and up-market jewellery stores. Its classical Greek-style columns and Victorian bluestone steps provide one of the few areas along Collins Street where people can sit down, offering a welcome place to shoppers, arts lovers, sightseers, and city workers on lunch breaks.

The church is open to visitors regularly in the week and has a small verandah area out the front where people can relax, eat lunch or meet together. A basement room dubbed ‘The Kitchen’ is currently being renovated as a community space where meals for up to 40 people can be prepared and served.

“The Kitchen will be available to outside users as well as our church, and as we are refurbishing it we are starting to think about what kinds of events we will offer there. Some of the ideas so far included discussion groups for students, church lunches, a community singing group – we are staying open to possibilities and are enjoying having conversations around topics that are close to people’s hearts.”

In stark contrast, the back of the church faces Baptist Place, a well-known street-art laneway visited by people from all walks of life.

“We witness incredible demand at the church currently – there are many people experiencing homelessness, others struggling with addiction or mental health challenges. Sometimes an encounter is fleeting but it’s important to us, nonetheless. It can be challenging in the sense that we know we are not able to change people’s lives or circumstances with such short interactions, but we can always respond with compassion.

“My role is to enable us as a church community to do that, and also to make sure our worshipping congregation on the Sunday connects with what we’re doing during the week. The church created my role out of the desire to contribute to the welfare of the city and be a generative presence in the neighbourhood, not just standing back behind the stairs, but contributing positively to the neighbourhood.”

The church also serves as a central meeting place for regional Victorian Baptists, hosts concerts and training events, welcomes visitors, international travellers and school groups learning about Melbourne.

Katherine said many beautiful relationships had been built through the church’s interactions with the community and other churches. “We love to be a resource for other churches if they need a space in the city, although not everyone would think of us or know we’re here. Working with other churches and a wide range of people brings a richness and diversity to our worship together and our interactions with the community. It’s really lovely to witness people coming together. A particular highlight is the willingness of people who aren’t Christian but who have got to know us as a church, to lend their support when asked. A recent example was the fundraising concert held for the Ukraine Crisis Appeal in February. Numerous artists, journalists and an advertising agency from beyond the church offered their contributions pro bono, enabling us to raise more than $26,000 in one night.”