Good food for the body and soul | Barbeque church in Lithgow

This is the grounding inspiration behind BBQ Church, which will be held on the fourth Sunday of every month alternating between St Paul’s in Lithgow and Wallerawang Public School.

“BBQ Church is particularly open, easy and friendly for people who have never had church as part of their life in the past and perhaps have heard a little about Jesus but don't know much about him and intrigued to find out what all the fuss is,” said Reverend Smith.

The crowd meets together outside in the fresh air to share a meal and conversation followed by a casual service.

"It's not like church in the sense of the congregational singing. You turn up, you don't have to sing. You turn up, you don't have to say anything," Reverend Smith said.

"You just get a short talk about how a person's life has been changed by Jesus, a brief prayer, you get to hear some great songs and items and you get some food and just a chance to get to know other people who similarly have either discovered Jesus or are interested in discovering him.

"It's still the great message of who Jesus is. So it's still about how great Christ is in transforming lives, God's tremendous love for us and his desire to engage with us."

St Paul’s meets weekly in Lithgow and Portland and Reverend Smith is excited to engage with the people of Wallerawang to get to know them better.

He would like to see people come together who wouldn’t normally meet “to enjoy a low-key atmosphere with nice food and as well create a community where discovering who Jesus is becomes a normal part of that community in a nice, refreshing way."

"We would love anyone who has got a vague interest of who Jesus is or what God may be about, come along, check it out. We'd love to see you."

The next BBQ Church will be at Wallerawang Public School on March 26 at 6pm.

For more information call the St Paul's office on 6351 3070 or visit www.lpachurch.org.au.