The Salvation Army Bellarine Peninsula, led by Captains Peter and Diane Hobbs, is part of the evangelical arm of the universal Christian Church. To know more about The Salvation Army and our beliefs and values click here.
The Salvation Army Bellarine Peninsula is a growing and emerging family of Christians intent on being alive with Jesus Christ, mutually encouraging and spontaneously reproductive. We believe that it is our job to make disciples and the living Jesus Christ will build his Church.
The Salvation Army Bellarine Peninsula is raised up by God for the work of:
- Making Disciples
- Transforming Lives
- Caring for People
- Reforming Society
We understand the church to be a living entity and as such she is to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. To do this we are being intentional about seeing lives transformed, because we know the transformed life in Christ is the key to a true church multiplication movement. So we in faith and guidance from mentors have taken the Luke 10 approach to ministry, simply growing faith wherever life happens.
The basic idea from Luke 10 is to first of all pray hard (beg) for God to raise up workers for the harvest. Then we go looking for “people of peace”, that is people who take an interest in us and befriend us. We eat with them, over lunch, coffee, morning tea etc, then we confront them a little with the gospel. Now the word confront can turn people off, but our idea of confront is letting people know that God cares for them and their lives. As we build up rapport and trust with the people we simply plant the seeds of the gospel into their lives by getting them to read the Scriptures.
Sounds like a bizarre concept, but so far we have found people have loved the idea because they are spiritually seeking. We get them either to read Seven Signs of John or the book of Mark. Then like good gardeners we wait patiently for God to grow the plant, they get watered every time they read his word. We simply meet up with them to discuss what they’ve read and give them an opportunity to ask questions.
So at the moment we have a handful of seedlings growing, people reading God’s word on a daily basis, and basically God is transforming them. The aim is to build up a gathering around these people, that is with their family, friends and social networks. This gathering can meet wherever life happens, such as the beach, office, home, cafe, etc etc... Once this begins we will have the beginnings of a very exciting and alive greenhouse network of plants!
So we have simply taken the Great Commission, "to go into all the world and make disciples", and we believe in faith that as these young “Christlings” grow in faith, Christ will build his church. We don’t know what the Corps is going to look like and we are yet to start any programs, but as we get to know the community and as people get converted and feel led to start ministries for themselves we’re sure exciting ministries and services will develop.
These are exciting days for the Bellarine and we believe God is already doing an amazing work in people's lives.
If you would like to know more about The Salvation Army Bellarine Peninsula or support us then please look around our website where you’ll find teaching material and resources for Church Planting.
Currently we only have two other Salvation Army services operating on the peninsula, a Salvo Op Shop in Ocean Grove, and a Salvo Store in Drysdale, each selling furniture and clothes. We currently have a counselling network developing contact us for more info on that. Over time other services will develop as the need and personnel arises.The Salvation Army is also available to conduct Weddings, Funerals, and Child Dedications.
If you would like more information on anything you've read on this site please tell us what you would like to know. If you would like to support either financially or with your own time and resources please click here. Either way we look forward to hearing from you soon.