C3BURWOOD - Our story is many stories. At our Welcome Lunches, we love to tell our story, and we love to hear the stories of everyone who comes to join us. Every new person changes us - and makes us better!
C3 Burwood was first started on April, 25th - 1984. Foundered with the name “Ecumenical Christian Light Fellowship” - by Ps Gordon Gibbs, originally set up as a Tuesday night “ministry to charismatic Christians of all denominations” - it wasn’t YET A CHURCH… but it soon would be!
Just a year and a half later (October of 1985), Ps Phil and Debbie Sammons joined the fellowship to help pastor this growing group of people.
Then, in 1990, under the name BURWOOD CHRISTIAN CENTRE, we finally became a church. Meeting regularly on Sundays - and at various places throughout Strathfield, Enfield and Burwood, the church grew and was established.
In 1997 Burwood Christian Centre became a C3 Church (Then known as Christian City Church Burwood), and has been C3 ever since - loving the heart beat of C3!
The next 23 years saw the church grow and change as people came and went - new congregations were started in India along with an outreach in Woolongong just outside Sydney as new leaders were developed and sent. Many new people came in - were loved, accepted and found the forgiveness of Jesus during these years. Towards the end of these years, Ps Phil and Debbie, after 35 years of ministry, made the decision to seek a new pastor to continue leading the church.
After much prayer and patience, the dreams and visions of Pastor Joel and Vanessa Reid (click here for their side of the story!) lined up perfectly with the timing of Ps Phil and Debbie's! February 19th, 2020 was the night that Ps Joel and Vanessa were ordained and installed as the next Senior Pastors of C3 Burwood. 2020 was year that none who live it will ever forget!
Ps Joel and Vanessa arrived for their first service on the first week of March 2020 - about 50 people came to that first service... then 35 came to the second... then 10 to the third... and on the fourth service, no-one came! The most significant event of our generation, Covid19, arrived. During the next two years, Covid19 became the defining feature of the church - the city, the nation, indeed - the whole world! We learned about Zoom, we started countless WhatsApp groups, we learned how to stream live on YouTube. We experienced two 3 month long lockdowns where no church was permitted to meet, and even after we could meet, we experienced restrictions, social distancing, giving people high fives with their feet... elbow bumps... mask wearing... room limits... singing/no singing... 2020 and 2021 were strange years.
Something of the old C3 Burwood was put to rest during those years. It's difficult to describe what those things were, but by October of 2021, C3 Burwood was not the same.
Since then, C3 Burwood has been experiencing a renewal - God has been with us in amazing ways. We've grown; people have found Jesus amongst us, people have returned to Him after long times away. We're excited about the future - C3 Burwood's vision is big, much bigger than a small church would normally dream of... We see C3 Burwood growing to become a new church, a place of Spirit filled worship, of supernatural encounter with Him, of developing in understanding His Word, of radically welcoming and loving community. But we don't just see one church, actually, we don't really want to just grow one church into a larger and larger church - that's not our call. What we see are 2, 5, 10... more churches in Sydney's Inner West and South West that all carry our LOVE - GROW - SEND heart. We intend to grow, but when we've grown, rather than finding a bigger place, and becoming a bigger community, instead we intend on sending people - 50 at a time (or there abouts!) - to start these new congregations...
So - that's our story... so far... and where we're headed as a church. You would be most welcome to come and join us, and become part of our story too!
Scroll down a little and meet a few of us.
C3 Burwood was first started on April, 25th - 1984. Foundered with the name “Ecumenical Christian Light Fellowship” - by Ps Gordon Gibbs, originally set up as a Tuesday night “ministry to charismatic Christians of all denominations” - it wasn’t YET A CHURCH… but it soon would be!
Just a year and a half later (October of 1985), Ps Phil and Debbie Sammons joined the fellowship to help pastor this growing group of people.
Then, in 1990, under the name BURWOOD CHRISTIAN CENTRE, we finally became a church. Meeting regularly on Sundays - and at various places throughout Strathfield, Enfield and Burwood, the church grew and was established.
In 1997 Burwood Christian Centre became a C3 Church (Then known as Christian City Church Burwood), and has been C3 ever since - loving the heart beat of C3!
The next 23 years saw the church grow and change as people came and went - new congregations were started in India along with an outreach in Woolongong just outside Sydney as new leaders were developed and sent. Many new people came in - were loved, accepted and found the forgiveness of Jesus during these years. Towards the end of these years, Ps Phil and Debbie, after 35 years of ministry, made the decision to seek a new pastor to continue leading the church.
After much prayer and patience, the dreams and visions of Pastor Joel and Vanessa Reid (click here for their side of the story!) lined up perfectly with the timing of Ps Phil and Debbie's! February 19th, 2020 was the night that Ps Joel and Vanessa were ordained and installed as the next Senior Pastors of C3 Burwood. 2020 was year that none who live it will ever forget!
Ps Joel and Vanessa arrived for their first service on the first week of March 2020 - about 50 people came to that first service... then 35 came to the second... then 10 to the third... and on the fourth service, no-one came! The most significant event of our generation, Covid19, arrived. During the next two years, Covid19 became the defining feature of the church - the city, the nation, indeed - the whole world! We learned about Zoom, we started countless WhatsApp groups, we learned how to stream live on YouTube. We experienced two 3 month long lockdowns where no church was permitted to meet, and even after we could meet, we experienced restrictions, social distancing, giving people high fives with their feet... elbow bumps... mask wearing... room limits... singing/no singing... 2020 and 2021 were strange years.
Something of the old C3 Burwood was put to rest during those years. It's difficult to describe what those things were, but by October of 2021, C3 Burwood was not the same.
Since then, C3 Burwood has been experiencing a renewal - God has been with us in amazing ways. We've grown; people have found Jesus amongst us, people have returned to Him after long times away. We're excited about the future - C3 Burwood's vision is big, much bigger than a small church would normally dream of... We see C3 Burwood growing to become a new church, a place of Spirit filled worship, of supernatural encounter with Him, of developing in understanding His Word, of radically welcoming and loving community. But we don't just see one church, actually, we don't really want to just grow one church into a larger and larger church - that's not our call. What we see are 2, 5, 10... more churches in Sydney's Inner West and South West that all carry our LOVE - GROW - SEND heart. We intend to grow, but when we've grown, rather than finding a bigger place, and becoming a bigger community, instead we intend on sending people - 50 at a time (or there abouts!) - to start these new congregations...
So - that's our story... so far... and where we're headed as a church. You would be most welcome to come and join us, and become part of our story too!
Scroll down a little and meet a few of us.