With the help of a BUV Mission Grant, Dandenong Baptist Church has engaged a youth pastor to lead and expand programmes supporting local youth amongst the local community and in particular, lead the new Nexus Youth group. These programmes are part of Nourish DBC –the not-for-profit ministry of Dandenong Baptist Church focussing on supporting disadvantaged youth, working with whole families across generations, and providing mental-health support.
Nourish DBC began in 2015 as a weekly community meal and devotion reaching out to the local marginalized communities, including homeless, asylum seekers, and people facing various forms of disadvantage. Now, it has expanded to provide a weekly study lounge, Nexus youth group, Sunday morning service, and annual youth camp. The youth pastor has been overseeing these activities while engaging with the young people and their families to build this growing faith community.
“The Nexus Youth activities are widely enjoyed by the kids and valued by the parents. The programs are also highly respected and valued by local agencies such as local council and even Victorian Police,” said DBC Pastor for Community Engagement Naomi Paterson. “Our team spent time discerning the gaps in services that the local community could access, prayerfully establishing programs that directly meet these needs. For example, our Study Lounge is a space where young people from Grade 6 to Year 12 can bring along homework or assignments and access informal tutoring through our Nourish Nexus Youth leaders. Within a community largely made of up migrant families, doing well academically is highly valued, and this program serves as a key point of connection between local families, the broader church and Nourish Nexus Youth programs.”
The Nourish DBC team have seen encouraging growth among those attending the activities provided, as people learn about the Christian faith. The young people enjoy hearing the devotions shared, and recently some former Nexus Youth kids have moved on to join DBC’s Young Adults ministry. Several are attending an Alpha course at DBC. “The annual camp later this month will be a great opportunity for the kids to grow in confidence and strengthen friendships. The hope is that they will also connect more deeply with Jesus, as they learn from Scripture in the devotions and Sunday message shared.”
It is through the collaboration of a variety of groups related to DBC that the support and activities of Nexus Youth are formulated and carried out. Nourish DBC and Nexus work closely with Cornerstone Contact Centre, a community support hub for the disadvantaged and the homeless, which operates at the church. Where care for the family is needed, Cornerstone is able to provide material aid for those over 18 and connect them with local support services. Other collaborations include the youth group recently welcoming new members from DBC’s Sinhala service, along with young people from DBC’s Officer campus, to strengthen unity and connections across the various services of DBC.
Nexus Youth are from varied cultural and faith backgrounds, forming a real cross-section of the Greater Dandenong demographics. “A pertinent challenge is navigating the generational and cultural gap between migrant parents and their children who live in the tension between two cultures. By working holistically with families, we are able to navigate these challenges.”