Stories
Read about how God's been at work
We love reading and sharing stories of how God is at work amongst his people at Syndal.
Emma's Story
(Shared at her baptism on Sunday, March 19, 2023)
I have known Jesus my whole life, as I grew up in a Christian family. That doesn’t mean my faith walk has been straight forward.
One of my biggest struggles has been understanding the nature of salvation.
A few years before my family and I started regularly attending church we would do a bible study together each Sunday. One
Sunday we were reading through a passage in Luke and my Dad, who was leading the study, said something along the lines of ‘salvation is a gift from God we cannot earn.’
At the time my response was ‘well that’s incorrect’ (and I said so aloud).
My Dad and I ended up having a bit of a heated debate on the topic and in the end my assumption that we need to earn salvation was tested. I was about 13 at the time, and now it honestly kind of amazes me and horrifies me that I thought about salvation in this way.
After that conversation, it took a lot of Bible reading to come to the same conclusion as my Dad, and even longer to really change the beliefs about salvation that have always been so deeply rooted in me.
I now truly believe that Jesus came to earth to die for our sins and forgive us so we could have a relationship with God. Through that action, God saved us. It isn’t something we earn, rather we receive it when we have faith in Jesus.
While I had learnt that intellectually, believing it deep down inside was a very different story. For a long time when I thought of heaven I wasn’t sure I would get in, because I knew I hadn’t done enough to be worthy of it.
But I now realise that’s the point: We can never be worthy of what Jesus did when he died for us. That’s why Jesus did it. Because we could never be righteous before God in any other way. We could never be saved any other way. He drew near when we were so far from perfect.
With God’s help, I have come a long way in changing those internal beliefs and letting that change how I live. I am definitely not all the way there yet, but I’m learning to trust God in that journey.
I was a bit nervous to get baptised today - partly because of the number one fear which the majority us share: public speaking.
But I was also nervous because I didn’t feel ready for it. Like, I’m not perfect yet. I still struggle to enact my beliefs and there are plenty of new and emerging struggles. But I also know if I wait to be perfect to be baptised, I never will get baptised. Also, in a bit of poetic sense, I think - the fact I still have issues, makes now the perfect time to be baptised. Getting baptised now when I know I’m not perfect, is one of the best ways to action my belief that God saved me because of his grace, despite my imperfections, and that he meets me, he meets us, right where we are.
Wallace's Story
(Shared at his baptism on Sunday, February 5th, 2023)
Today i am getting 'The Dunk'.
My family and I started going to Syndal in 2004. My understanding of God was that he was a caring and powerful God, able to move mountains and oceans for his people… but not for me. You see, I had experienced some family dramas that lasted through most of my childhood, and when I would pray I wouldn’t see or experience God or his guidance.
In about year 10 I decided that I would try living a good life by listening to Jesus’ teachings and 'living righteously'.
Surprise, surprise...I couldn’t do it.
At the end of High school I decided to do a summer missions trip that I had heard about from church, called Blue Moose. It was there during the training session that a very hard question hit me: “Why did I decide to follow Jesus?”
It was a question I didn’t have a good answer to. During the 2 weeks on Blue Moose I decided to change the testimony I had prepared, instead choosing to answer that question in the middle of the trip.
At Blue Moose I saw people praying expectantly for God to to change people's hearts and although all the prayers didn’t get answered, some did. It was then that I saw that God’s desire isn’t to just ensure we live a “good” and happy life, but he is drawing people towards him into relationship, and he wanted to use me in that inspiring work.
In hindsight, over the next few years, I saw how God had placed around me people and things that have grown my desire to make him known to the people in my life. I met a friend at Uni who was pivotal in me joining a group called Power to Change. I’ve found encouragement and accountability through close friends like Way, Tom & Jonah. I’ve been challenged and grown in my time as a Fuel Youth Leader and seeing the boys I lead become men of God. And even in the place I work now, with the opportunities I have to serve God and others in my career. All these things have fueled and taught me about God’s love for people and God’s love for me.
So why am I getting baptised now? I know that my identity won’t have changed simply by getting dunked. But I see Baptism as an important step in my faith journey - it’s a way of telling others and symbolically showing that I have made a decision to dedicate my life to following Jesus. I want to continue to play my role and be part this church as we seek the direction that God has for us. That's why I'm here today and I want to thank you all for coming and observing a special moment in my life.
Annabelle's Story
(Shared at her baptism on Sunday, July 31, 2022)
Whilst today we are celebrating and acknowledging my decision to get baptized, the journey to this event has been a long time in the making. I was exposed to Christianity from an early age by going to Sunday school. This allowed me to learn more about the Christian faith, God, and the bible.
Although I grew up in this environment, I still experienced one of the most painful times of my life in my preteens. Through continual teasing and exclusion from kids at school and my dad leaving and not returning, I felt like my heart had shattered into a million pieces on the floor and was beyond repair.
I fell into a dark place believing the destructive lie that “I wasn’t enough”. I wasn’t enough for my father to stay. Not smart enough, not pretty enough, not good enough. This led to looking for acceptance and inclusion from others as a form of escaping the pain that I was experiencing.
When I moved up to Melbourne in 2019, after living down on the Mornington Peninsula for many years, my Mum decided that returning to her roots would allow me and my twin brother to find a strong youth group - which we did here, at Syndal Baptist Church. In March 2020, I went on my first Fuel Youth Camp and that camp changed me forever.
On that Saturday night, after a weekend of being slowly transformed by God through prayer, having deep conversations with others and hearing different sermons being preached, I decided to give my life wholeheartedly to God without holding back that night. And at that moment, I was brought to tears. Absolutely sobbing my eyes out uncontrollably as I experienced the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. It felt like a giant hug, and I truly believed that I was enough for the first time in a long time, it felt like a heavy weight was lifted off my shoulders. That lie that I had carried for so long, finally lost its grip on me.
A slow and lengthy transition has occurred since then as I continue my faith journey with God. A transformation from believing the lie “that I didn’t measure up” to being more than enough with God for the rest of my days. So, my commitment tonight acknowledges an honouring of the commandment given by God regarding a follower becoming baptized, and my continuing my personal relationship with Jesus as well as recognizing the role of Syndal Baptist Church and my family and friends have had on my journey.
Elise's Story
(Shared at her baptism on Sunday July 31, 2022)
I've been coming to Syndal my whole life.
Living in a Christian household means that unless I'm sick or have a performance or rehearsal of some kind, I’m going to be at church. One of my favourite parts of coming to church when I was younger was to watch my parents worship lead or to hear if I’d been included in a story Pa told to start off a sermon - I’m happy to say as the oldest grandchild I was included in many.
I've always said I'm a Christian. But up until grade 5 it was always a faith that was instilled in me through and because of my family. I never realised that following God was a choice I needed to make on my own. This was until when I was about 10 I went to a Hillsong conference in Sydney with my Mum and sister. There was one point during the kids program where we were told to close our eyes in prayer and invited to raise our hands if we wanted to follow and start a journey with Jesus. It was a no-brainer for me because I thought ‘well I go to church so obviously I want to follow Jesus’. It was then explained to me by my parents that some people who went to church with their families didn't always end up knowing and loving God the way they did.
Not long after, I neglected my relationship with God and began to struggle with listening to and watching things which I now know were not helpful at all. Close to the end of year 7, I asked God for help and to take control of all parts of my life again. Over the course of the next few months, God became more real to me.
I changed what I was listening to and watching. I started doing daily devotions. I began to see how my prayers were being answered and how Jesus was working in my life. My faith really started becoming my own, not just my family’s. God has given me the confidence to talk about my spirituality with non-Christian friends at school and Australian Girls Choir. I’ve loved having some of those friends join Fuel and watching how Jesus is working in their lives as well.
I don’t always enjoy school and life is often infuriating and exhausting, but I’m learning to include Jesus more and more in how I make decisions and think about life. I’m being baptised tonight because Jesus is making a difference in my life, I want others to know that and I want to keep following him for the rest of my life.
Tara's Story
(Shared at her baptism on June 19, 2022)
I grew up in a Christian home with my parents and my three older brothers. As a family, we regularly attended the Salvation Army church (sometimes I went willingly and sometimes not). Regardless of my intentions, attending children’s programs and Sunday services helped me learn more about the bible and God.
While many people might say that a Christian upbringing cemented their faith and were less likely to question things at a young age, I was more drawn to difficult and often taboo topics. Curiosity was, and is still a big part of my faith. Unfortunately, many of the tough questions that I asked my kids program leader would be diverted to my father, and would later lead to a difficult conversation he would have to address with a 7-year-old. I would ask things such as “why didn’t God just get rid of the devil if he’s so powerful?”. Thankfully, my father and mother never shied away from such questions or topics, which helped develop my faith.
My curiosity also led to doubt, making my faith journey challenging at times. The common questions of “why do bad things happen to good people?” and “am I being punished for something I did?” particularly stuck with me. I struggled to understand how others, and myself at times, could suffer from such horrific and undeserved things without any interference from God. For this reason, and for a short period of time, I attended church unwillingly, with bible teachings going in one ear and out the other. But God never gave up on me as he continued to show his goodness through the worst of times.
When I was in year 12, I felt a strong conviction from God to talk to my friend at school who was also Christian. We chatted about faith and the Baptist church that she attended. With God's help, I essentially invited myself to her youth group and started attending New Hope Baptist Church on Sundays as well. I was amazed at how different faith looked like in this church compared to the one I grew up in. I developed a personal relationship with God for the first time in my life, and truly understood the purpose of faith. Whilst New Hope facilitated this growth, I still felt that I wasn’t done exploring churches.
In 2019, Jayden invited me to Alpha at Syndal Baptist and I decided it was important to attend on Sundays as well. As soon as I walked into the auditorium, Syndal felt like home. I was immediately welcomed by Larissa and found my place in the young adults community. I would always mention that I was affiliated with Jayden, which was often met by a laugh and an eye roll as everyoneknew Jayden.
When COVID struck and we went into lockdown, I was worried that the community that I had just become a part of at Syndal might disappear as everything transferred online. However, even during quarantine, I found myself a part of the community. Over the past few years at Syndal, I have developed amazing friendships and even found a boyfriend! To be able to share my story, life achievements and battles with these people has taken a huge weight off my shoulders and guided my faith journey. My strengths and gifts in Christ have always been encouraged at Syndal, and has led to my involvement in youth ministries, worship teams, and young adults’ leadership.
So, my commitment tonight not only demonstrates a public declaration of my love for Jesus Christ, but also acknowledges my dedication to the work Syndal Baptist Church continues to do in my own life and in the local community.
Isaac's Story
Shared at his baptism on June 19, 2022
I am extremely blessed to have grown up knowing God all my life since my family brought me to this church - as God has been there my whole life, trying to reach me throughout my struggles with self-worth.
Since I was in early primary school, I had little self-confidence and my parents will confirm to you that I was always an extremely anxious kid.
I always had loving support from friends, teachers and especially my family, yet I always felt distant and struggled with finding belonging in school and church settings.
Amongst these issues, when I turned eight, my physical health went into severe decline and I withdrew into my home until I was bed bound with a chronic illness that sapped me of all my strength and energy. I had inherited Chronic Fatigue from my family’s difficult medical history; more formally known as ‘the ancestral curse’. For the remainder of primary school due to my constant exhaustion and little ability to focus, I was home-schooled by my family and tutors.
In this time thanks to the efforts of my dedicated parents and late grandfather, Dr Lewis, my health improved enough to attend secondary education part-time. Since my illness had begun, education never got any easier. My only goal was to absorb enough information to pass subjects so I could go straight home and collapse in bed. I was in social isolation too, where poor attendance combined with never really finding my group led to a lot of depressed thoughts.
It was at this point in my life I began to face some of my worst adversaries, hopelessness, and poor self-worth. I felt that the world had never wanted me, and that God had forgotten me in his ability to heal.
Recognising I needed a change, I was encouraged by my parents to attend part of a CYC camp in 2017. I seriously doubted my ability to attend for more than two days. But God acted through a preacher on one of the worship nights and I was called out to reaffirm my faith in him. In doing this, God gave me a strength that I had almost forgotten I had once possessed. I was emboldened with confidence and worth, with energy and vigour that hurled me through the whole camp.
Since seventeen, God has been helping me accomplished so much that I never thought possible. I completed my VCE, got accepted into university, ascended to a double degree, have maintained many jobs, now lead at youth group and attend church regularly. He has further given me a home in the church, among such caring leadership and community that mean the world to me.
And yet, I have never been fully healed. While I have evolved significantly from what I was, I struggle every single day with the limitations of my physical body and part of what makes these accomplishments so big for me is that there is still so much difficulty in achieving them.
Every day, and I mean every day, I wrestle with the same voices that are so constant in my experiences. Why has God never fully healed you? Why is the world constantly tearing me down?
Yet I know looking back, that despite struggle, God has provided for me, and I owe every victory in my life to him. Though we may disagree on when I am to be healed, I am made better by having God in my life no matter what. And though I still waver in confidence and am anxious about the future, I know that just as God has done before for me, he will lead me higher than I ever thought possible.
Belinda's Story
Shared at her baptism on Sunday, June 19, 2022.
Most of you will not have met me before as I have been connecting in with Syndal Baptist through our online services from early 2020, at the start of the pandemic.
Growing up, I went to church of a different denomination and was following its doctrines and theologies to be a good person. I thought I needed to be like this and like that by conforming, but then I realized that it was really distracting me from following Jesus directly. I really came to know Jesus when I noticed that the world is getting so dark and evil and I prayed for everyone’s safety. I am a very empathetic person and I feel so much if I can see people or the world suffering. I asked for God’s presence in my life and he came. I feel like he was trying to wake me up spiritually.
When Jesus woke me up, I felt as though I was separated from the world. I feel like I don’t belong in this world and I am in a separate world with God. I realised that worldly and material things are not important to me anymore and I do not want to have unnecessary material things in life. I just want to have a simple life and focus on Jesus. I also asked him to use me as an instrument and to show me the way and whatever he wants me to do for him. I even felt more empathy for humanity after being awakened. I was also asking for more of the presence of Jesus in my life after he awakened me. There was one time that I was calling his name after praying, I asked him to come sooner and I felt goose bumps for the first time in my life after calling his name.
I'm ready for a renewed life with Christ. And I want to be baptized to receive more of the gift of the Holy Spirit as I journey every day seeking for the Lord and his righteousness. I believe that in being baptized and submerged in water, I am totally letting go of my old self and ready to live a new life in Christ.
Gabe's Story
Shared prior to his baptism on Sunday 15th May, 2022.
“Growing up in a Christian family, I’ve always been a regular at church. Though I showed up to Sunday school, the 10 AM service, my reason for going to church was my parents. Being a Christian was about following a set of dos and don’ts back then.
I also wanted others to think that I was a good person. I suspect that I was chasing approval from my peers at school. I told everyone that I was a Christian like it was some kind of moral badge of Identity by going to Church on a Sunday morning, I was somehow better than my friends that didn’t. Deep down though - I felt myself drifting further and further away from God. When I prayed during high school, I would often pray for God to give me good grades, and for exams and tests to go well. As if our mighty God was a God who served my own interests, on my own terms.
Looking back, what I lived for was incredibly selfish and hypocritical.
When I became a Uni student though, I was led to the Christian Union, where I met Christian friends and saw how they were living their lives for Jesus, in a way that I wasn’t doing. I realised my need for God and a personal relationship with him. It was then that I started taking my faith more seriously, praying, and then reading and studying the Word of God closely and more regularly. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ had been in the back of my mind the whole time, but what changed was a realization that Jesus died for all my sins, personally taking the suffering and consequences for my selfish actions. The realisation of the love of Jesus was demonstrated on that cross, giving his own life was enough for me to trust in Him.
Now, I believe that becoming a Christian is way more than growing up in a Christian home and going to Church every week. Becoming a Christian is more than just something you inherit from your family. We’re born into a broken world as slaves to sin. What I didn’t recognise was that I needed a Saviour to unchain me, so that I can have a new life.
This is why I’m excited to be baptised and share with all of you that I love Jesus, and He is my Lord and Savior. Yes, I will face spiritual battles, temptations and adversity. I know that being Baptised isn’t a magic bath that will power wash all my problems away. However, as put aptly in Ephesians 6, I can face these problems with the belt of truth buckled around my waist, a breastplate of righteousness and my feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Faith in our loving God that I can say is my own.”
Tony's Story
Shared prior to his baptism on Sunday 13th March, 5pm service.
"I had grown up in a Christian home, and went to every youth group available to me.
So I always had an awareness of God, but I was what I call a 'textbook kid'; the kid who would recite what the “correct answer'' was, without really understanding the context of what I said. And as I was starting to get into my senior years of high school I really started to struggle with depression, and I didn’t understand what that was or how it affected me.
I had no motivation to do anything that didn’t bring me a fleeting sense of joy, and that laid root to some addictions that held a lot of power over me.
The most prevalent being an addiction to video games; I would bunk off school to play games and I never did any school work. These things seeped into my life past high school, and I was stuck in a continuous cycle of starting new things and - regardless of how much I enjoyed them - losing all motivation before giving them up.
I ultimately gave up on myself too.
Things started to turn around slowly for me when I met up with my granny on a trip to Northern Ireland (where my family are from).
I remember being bewildered by how different her faith was to what I had lived, and how strong her faith was.
After promising her I wouldn’t get any tattoos or piercings, I left Northern Ireland with a curiosity about this faith I thought I knew.
I became more involved in the church, joining in the 6pm service with my brother and sometimes on my own. But while that seed had been sown, I quickly entered that same motivation-less cycle as before.
At the start of last year I was terrified of what the future held for me; I was 22, could barely hold a job, didn’t have any accreditations nor was I working towards any, and I remember thinking “What the heck am I gonna do?”.
But then last year, when I was leading on Fuel Camp (12 months ago to the day), during the last worship session I had a transcendent experience where God quelled all of my fears and gave me a sense of peace I had never known.
It was in that experience I made my mind up to follow Christ and a desire to seek out God was born in me. In the time since, God has been providing for me in great ways and it really does feel like he’s just completely kickstarted me into life.
A lot of the addictions I had have been cut out of my life and while I still struggle at times with depression, it does not have the same power that it had over me.
I am so incredibly thankful for the work Jesus is doing in and through my life and that’s why I want to profess my thanks to Christ and my commitment to continue following him as I get baptized tonight.
Elim's Story
On Easter Sunday, Elim Tai was one of seven individuals from our Cantonese Congregation to publicly display their faith through baptism.
This is the testimony she shared with those on the day:
As I've grown up, I've become more and more aware of the fragility of our world.
The uncertainty and instability of our society and the injustice and pain that comes along with it have sometimes angered and overwhelmed me. However, when it threatened to overwhelm me, God gave, and gives, me hope and strength that provides me certainty in all this chaos.
Jesus is reaching out and speaking to me.
However, I wasn't always able to realise how he was speaking to me.
I learnt through the Bible that God spoke to people through writings on the wall, through dreams, through burning bushes, through angels, through visions. So, I built up an expectation of how God would speak to me, and set a boundary on what I could experience.
It wasn't bad for me to have expectations, but rather than expecting to experience God, I expected HOW and WHEN I would experience him.
So, when he didn't speak to me - when I had time or where I wanted him to, when I couldn't hear him when I was in deep prayer or worshiping in the dark with blasting music - I began to doubt my own faith.
I am still in the process of learning, but God has shown me so deeply that he doesn't only speak to us through those specific ways.
Another way he speaks to us is through others.
Even though we are all sinners and imperfect, he is using us to speak to others. He uses moments with friends and family, whether intentionally or just in a conversation on a random day, to remind me of his love, his conviction and his mercy.
I'm not getting baptised today because I have now learnt all this (I am still learning), but it is because of his unending love and mercy shown through Jesus' death and resurrection who has saved me from my shortcomings, that I am able to do this.
Baptisms in Mandarin Congregation
On December 13th, 2020, our Mandarin Congregation baptised 6 people at the beach at Edithvale. God has been at work powerfully in the lives of each of these people. Below is the story of Ms. Gu, who was baptised on the day:
"Before believing in the Lord, I had cultivated Buddha for 10 years. In the later period of Buddhahood, I felt more and more depressed and suffering. I always felt that something was wrong. But in my mind, I still believed there is a god.
If it is not the Buddha I cultivated, who is this god? Where is he?
While I was feeling helpless, I learned that Syndal Church had an Alpha course. After I participated in the study, I discovered that the God I believed existed was Lord Jesus. What’s even more amazing is that during my studies, through the church’s brothers and sisters praying for me, I experienced the presence of God with me personally, which convinced me that the Lord Jesus I now believe in is the true and living Lord. I am determined that I am willing to follow the Lord Jesus. May the glory be to the Lord. Amen!"
Summer Mission Update: Blue Moose
By Sophie Tucker (Team Leader)
Blue Moose Summer Mission in Ocean Grove was a great success, praise God!
We saw God move within our team and with those we met in the community both in ways we hadn't expected but in ways we had prayed for.
One example of where we saw God working was within the team. We had a team of 18 young adults, most of whom hadn't met each other before. Everyone got along so well, and got along side each other to encourage and build up one another. The team was so passionate and excited to get on board with what God was doing, which made for awesome team unity.
Another way we saw God at work during Blue Moose was in our interactions and conversations with the people of Ocean Grove. God seemed to always bring in the right people at the right time, which led to some great conversations and solid relationships being formed.
A few members of our team had the opportunity to share the Gospel with some of the locals who they had connected with, and one girl has now started regularly attending the church in Ocean Grove and is keen to learn more about who God is!
We are so thankful for all the prayer and support we received, and It was such an amazing experience to be a part of, and to partner with God in the work he was and is doing in Ocean Grove.
Summer Mission Update: CYC Camps
By Jayden and Mikyla Battey
Thank you to everyone who committed summer camp ministry with CYC (Christian Youth Camps) to God in prayer! We had an amazing summer with over 1800 campers hearing the Good News throughout December and January.
Jayden kicked off on Boxing Day setting up for ADANAC Family Camp, where entire families joined together to delve deeper, seeking to understand how the gospels impact our family life. We explored how the truth of Jesus changes the way we respond to our families – how we forgive, reconcile, establish healthy patterns and connect with faith communities.
Then, heading into January, Mikyla led our 3IXTY teen camps, with over 160 teenagers hanging out in Philip Island. The teens heard about how we understand light and darkness given the crazy year 2020 was. We fleshed out how being a Christian doesn’t make every situation feel good, but that we do have an unshakeable hope in every situation.
There are so many highlights from camp (not the least of which is the fact that a number of campers made a decision to follow Jesus).
One story in particular gave us encouragement for the ministry - seeing a camper who had been on camp 12 months before. This teen camper was an atheist but took a Bible home from camp a year ago, with the intention of disproving Christianity. In the process of reading the Scriptures through the year, this teen had an encounter with Christ and decided to become a Christian. He said “I was reading, and one day it just felt like Jesus gave me a big hug. All of a sudden I knew it was true!”.
We were reminded how powerful Scripture is, and what a privilege it is to journey with many campers year after year.