About Soul Revival
Location: Kirrawee, Sydney | Context: Urban | Denomination: Anglican | Leadership: One senior leader plus ministry team |
Soul Revival
The leader of Soul Revival Kirrawee, Stuart Crawshaw, describes the journey of Soul Revival from it’s beginnings as a youth oriented ministry, to an inter-generational church community, intentional about creating belonging across age groups and maintaining a relevancy in Australian society.
As you approach the church building itself, it is a modern, industrial space converted to large hospitality spaces, learning spaces and worship spaces. Visually, the intent to welcome people is seen in the coffee machines, kitchen spaces and long tables, inferring that you’ll most likely meet someone, sit next to someone and speak to someone within this space. Its design had that goal- to welcome newcomers and create a sense of belonging.
The coffee van, BBQs and other strategies use hospitality and food to connect with the wider community in the Sutherland Shire. They also make it easy for anyone to participate from the moment they arrive, whether that’s someone sharing a coffee, or a group of men in conversation around the BBQ as they cook together. The goal is connection and getting lost in real authentic conversations would be part of the culture and DNA that the leaders describe. This church aims to be culturally relevant, familiar and accessible to people who don’t normally attend church.
The wisdom and learnings of the leadership team is also central in their language, revealing a solid study of sociology, history, leadership, church health, community development, third place communities and indigenous cultural practices. Innovation fuelled by learning and informed decision making, appears to be this church’s practice as they have shaped and re-shaped ministry over the years.
Intentional strategies have brought an inter-generational mix to this place, with a focus on leadership development in younger people. The result is that it has drawn this group of people to create a style of worship gathering and a faith community known familiarly as “Soulies”.
Stories from Soul Revival
Browse through some of the stories and wisdom that leaders of Soul Revival shared with us, on how they enliven their ministry and church life.