After around 100 years of valuable service to the Grafton region, the Bent Street, Uniting Church (which was recently closed) is about to have a new lease of life with the leasing of the building to Victory Life Church. This church plant is by Abundant Life Church (ALC) based in Coffs Harbour, a church that has been ministering to the needs of the Coffs Coast region for over 20 years. Senior pastor Russell Jones said ALC has been called to minister to those struggling to make ends meet, as well as the many disadvantaged of our region. “So as part of the answer we were led by the Lord to establish a soup kitchen, which led to a small food pantry (helping hundreds of families), which then became Loaves & Fishes (L&F) food store, which has now grown to helping over 5,000 families in the region”, he said. “L&F has since COVID-19, become a regional distribution centre, which since the beginning of the year, has given away free of charge over 80 pallets of food (received from Second Bite), to a number of agencies in the Coffs, Clarence & Nambucca area”. Pastor Jones (who had worked in Grafton for eight years with Acmena), said the church is only a small Church, “but the Lord has given us a very large vision of helping many in need, not only in the Coffs area but far beyond”. He continued, “It is amazing how God works, our Coffs Church was a church plant from Grafton over 20 years ago, we are now doing a full circle, returning to Grafton to plant the “Victory Life Church” which is a Pentecostal Church and part of “Victory Life International”. He said the reasons for the move were threefold. Firstly they were called by God to do so; secondly, they were invited by local families to come and finally, wherever there are the needy and the lost, there is always a need for those who care and have the ability to help. Hence their symbol is ‘Australia with a heart in it’. The foundational team will consist of Senior Pastor Russell Jones, Senior Pastor Wayne Crowther & local Church Pastor Lindsay Jones. Pastor Lindsay will be responsible for the day to day duties of the local church. The inaugural service was last Sunday with a free BBQ lunch, followed by a family church service and COVID-19 distancing applied. For further info please contact Pastor Lindsay on 0455 086 826.