Our Suburb
Granville is one of Sydney’s older suburbs, being settled since the 1850’s and named as Granville in 1880. Granville is part of the City of Parramatta and is pretty much in the centre of Greater Sydney. The suburb is traditionally working class at the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. A considerable proportion of this population is intentionally transient. These days there is a growing population of professionals from Granville working in Parramatta or commuting to the city.
There is a strong multi-cultural feel to the area. At the 2011 census, there were 13,989 residents in Granville. More than half of people were born outside of Australia, with the top countries of birth being India, China and Lebanon. Three quarters of people spoke a language other than English at home. The most common other languages spoken at home were Arabic 18.1%, Cantonese 5.5% and Mandarin 4.8%. The housing in Granville was evenly spread between detached houses and higher density units or apartments. 46.3% of residents were renting their home and this was higher than the national average of 29.6%.
The land is divided fairly evenly between residential, commercial and industrial uses. The suburb contains several public schools both primary and secondary as well as a large TAFE. Granville is well served by public transport, bus and train. The shopping centre in Granville, along South St, is a vibrant centre which reflects the multi-cultural nature of the suburb. Our church property sits on the corner of this street, with a large amount of passing foot traffic, making it a prime location for ministry in this area.
Our Church
There has been a Baptist Church in Granville for over 100 years. In the last decade Granville Baptist Church joined with South Granville Baptist forming the Granville Community Baptist Church. The church currently has 46 members and an average weekly attendance at the Sunday Service of about 60. The congregation ranges in age from babies and toddlers to those well into retirement.
A typical week for our church involves the 10:00 am Sunday morning worship service followed by morning tea, Playtime on Tuesday morning, prayer meeting on Wednesday evening, After School Kids’ Club on Thursday afternoon, free English classes on Wednesday and Friday mornings, Bible study on Friday evening. More details regarding these ministries.
Our buildings
The church property consists of the church building which is heritage listed, a large hall with stage and kitchen facilities and plenty of storage areas, a two-story building (Jubilee Hall) which has four rooms downstairs (kitchen, meeting room, playroom and storeroom) and three rooms upstairs (two classrooms and the church office). The church building, the hall and the meeting room of Jubilee hall are accessible to people with disabilities. Due to population density, parking around our church can be an issue. The church has two manses. One is currently being rented. The other is being considered for knock-down rebuild with the intention of being used as a manse or rental property depending on future needs.
Jesus Christ has made an indelible mark on human history and He continues to do so through His followers. Yet many people do not realise that the values western democracies are built on originate in the life and teaching of Jesus – the equality of all, servant leadership, care for the poor and marginalised, dignity of women and children, education, to name just a few.