COMMUNITIES

I first came to BIC church as a stranger and ended up joining COOL Horeb. During my time here, I have been spiritually growing because I have been nurtured by the group leader who is like a spiritual father to me. We have grown tight friendship amongst ourselves that resembles family-like closeness.

I can also see the real application of Jesus Christ’s love, not through the show of talents or skills, but through caring of one another. This is one of the reasons I regularly attend COOL Horeb until today. I decided to commit to this community, grow and learn how to bless others and imitate to care for others as to how I have been cared for.

To bear the image of Christ does not mean to preach from a pulpit, but through loving and caring to one another in the community.

COOL is a place where we can worship together and listen to the word of God in a smaller group compared to a service. COOL also has a fellowship session where we can get to know each other and God in a super fun way.

So far, for almost a year, I’ve joined Next Gen’s COOL and the COOL community has helped me to learn a lot. In COOL, by listening to other stories, we can bless each other and also be constantly reminded to maintain our relationship with God.

I joined COOL Berea at the beginning of 2019 after arriving in Melbourne to continue my study in culinary management. At first, joining COOL was a struggle due to my study and work commitments. However, my COOL members have always been very supportive and along the way, by God’s grace, I am able to join every week.

Being part of Berea has helped me in my spiritual journey with God. I found encouragement through sharing from other member’s lives, how God has shaped them to become who they are now. It inspired me pursuing God more, asking God for wisdom and participating daily forgiveness. Because of this time constraint, reading scripture was very challenging, however, Berea emphasizes reading the scriptures in detail, discusses them in-depth and propels every member to apply it in our daily lives.

Their acceptance enables me to share my burden or life struggles without fear of being judged. Their advice based on Christian values has lightened the stressful adjustment to the new environment in Melbourne. Lastly, their diverse personalities and perspectives have enriched and broaden my way of thinking, have helped me to improve my communication skills, and to appreciate other people’ differences. I can say that this community is not perfect, but worth it.