If you drive down Flinders Avenue in Lara, 20 minutes north of Geelong, you’ll find something quite incredible happening during the day at a cafe called Little Teapot Café & Play. Parents are coming from near and far with their little ones to gather at this place that has beautifully made coffee,  good value delicious food and most importantly a very welcoming, inviting, friendly environment where parents can breathe while their children play in one of the three cute, fun, and most importantly, safe and contained play spaces. 

The team at Little Teapot cannot believe it’s been nearly 3 years since they opened their doors! The current approx. 50 staff and volunteers involved in running Little Teapot know that they are part of something special. Whether a Teapot Team member is washing aprons, washing dishes, preparing food, paying the bills or welcoming each person at the door with a smile, each person involved is creating a home away from home. So many women can feel isolated when they have young children. Little Teapot helps not only the parents of the 240 babies born a year in Lara, but many more as well.  A ‘Little Teapotter’, Verity, described Little Teapot as ‘a big beautiful envelope of love and loveliness’ and Kat called Little Teapot ‘our new home away from home’. 

Little Teapot started in 2014 as a dream for a cafe where God’s unconditional love for people is poured out in extravagant measure. Their motto is ‘Tip Us Over Pour Us Out’. The Community Leader & Director, Sarah Chaney, shares: ‘Every day we have the honour of seeing this happen through a comforting hug or listening ear we may give one of our many regulars, through the way we are able to connect mums with other mums in our ‘New to the Community’ groups, through the suspended coffees purchased by the community we can share with those doing it tough or who have had a new baby, through to praying for each and every family at the beginning of every day as well as the many opportunities we have to do life with our incredible team of staff and volunteers. It’s love in action everyday, and although challenging at times, we all feel we are so blessed to be part of this adventure that we believe God has started.’

“We are a passionate community of staff and volunteers that dream of seeing every person connected and loved for who they are. Little Teapot is a faith based charity that loves helping people find community, belonging and acceptance. We want to be so much more than a family friendly café, we hope to be a home away from home.” 

Little Teapot works in partnership with Lifeway Christian Church in Lara. The church community has been so excited to be supporting the Little Teapot charity as it cares for and gives back to the families of Lara. There are also many generous organisations, individuals and businesses that have partnered with Little Teapot to enable it to be what it is today including Baptcare that invested in the vision in the early days to help make sure the doors were opened. Here are some recent highlights:

• Thousands of people visit Little Teapot each year as well as hundreds of treasured weekly, if not daily regulars!
• Little Teapot has recently started a small movement called ‘Teapot Mums’ a gathering of the mums groups that Little Teapot has helped create and other groups that come weekly to Little Teapot.
• In year 2, Little Teapot gave away 322 suspended coffee and cake vouchers via the local Maternal & Child Health Nurses and playgroups
• Each volunteer continues to find an accepting and safe community at Little Teapot where they gain confidence, new friends and connections and most of all acceptance no matter what they believe or their life’s journey so far. A number of our volunteers have become a part of the faith community at Lifeway Christian Church through Little Teapot.  
• We’ve seen multiple Little Teapot families be referred to one of the playgroups run by Lifeway Christian church as well as the Mainly Music program being run by the local Uniting Church, we also have the joy of welcoming families to some of our special Easter and Christmas services. 
• A number of families have joined Lifeway Christian Church because of the community outreach they’ve seen through Little Teapot.
• Little Teapot has recently launched afternoon High Teas on select days of the weeks and continues to be busy most Saturdays with lots of excited families there for their birthday party celebrations!

Little Teapot has also been very blessed by the generous support from the Bendigo Bank and the Geelong Community Foundation this last year, it’s an honour for these organisations to recognise the vital community work of connection and love that is happening at a cute café called Little Teapot Café & Play in Lara.

For more information please visit Little Teapot’s website www.littleteapot.co or head to their facebook page ‘Little Teapot Café & Play’

Melbourne’s outer boundaries continue to push further out, and communities that once were small, quaint country villages, are slowly feeling the push of the urban sprawl. There is a greater need than ever to build communities of faith that are reaching out to people who experience loneliness, hopelessness and a life without a place to connect to God in meaningful ways. 

Rob and Sue Tanner came to Melbourne in 2015 following God’s leading to move from NSW to Melbourne and establish themselves to minister to local communities. Having many years of church planting and pastoral ministry experience, their heart beats to a deep desire to connect people to God, each other and to take the love and hope of Jesus to a hurting world. 

With a passion and love for the church, they have continued to ask what it means to be the body of Christ. Why do we as the church expect those outside the church to understand why we do what we do? What is at the core of the gospel, and what does it mean to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the local community?

Connect Mitchell Shire vision is to create a place of community, of connection, and a place to explore what spirituality is. All ages, no matter what background have something of value to offer each other. At the core of every being on this planet is the desire to belong, to feel connected, to have a safe place to explore why we are here.

After hosting several community events in 2018 an opportunity came about with the provision of a venue in Kilmore to gather, connect and explore what it is that God wants to do in the communities of the Mitchell Shire.  

Since February, these meetings have focused on gathering people together to build deep friendships, share meals together and provide opportunities to explore spirituality in creative and relaxed ways. Connect Mitchell Shire desire to bring the love of Jesus TO the local community and together this group is exploring ways to do this.

Still in its infancy, Connect Mitchell Shire hope to establish new groups all over the Mitchell Shire. Groups gathering to explore ways in which God’s vision for this area can become a reality; by connecting people with God, connecting people with each other and connecting people with a hurting world.

Jesus’ last instruction to us before he ascended to Heaven called us to… Go!  Go into ALL the world; make disciples (followers of Jesus) of all nations; baptise them and teach them. This is the Great Commission, a mission that can only be achieved by working together. 

This is what it looks like to ‘Go! … Build deep friendships; meet with people of peace in places they gather; make lasting connections; and together discover what it means to grow closer to God. 

 

ON MISSION TO THE MITCHELL SHIRE

Rob and Sue Tanner have planted three successful, thriving healthy churches in Sydney and have followed God’s direct calling to move to Melbourne with a focus of connecting people with God, with each other and with a hurting world. Their heart is to build thriving communities of faith that welcome all people from all walks of life. A place of true community and connection. A place to belong. A place that reflects Jesus to a hurting world. 

Connecting with God – with each other in true community – and connecting with a broader hurting world.

come and have a meal with us

Every Sunday afternoon we gather at the Kilmore Memorial Hall from 4.00pm where we hope to make many new deep friendships… nourishment for our souls.

We explore together what it means to be part of a community of faith through various creative expressions. We look at God’s desire for humankind to experience lives of meaning and purpose. We seek healing through laughter and tears… nourishment for our minds.

We gather as a community of faith sharing all these things finishing with a weekly meal together… nourishment for our physical bodies.

                                                     

Acts 2:42-47 TPT
Every believer was faithfully devoted to following the teachings of the apostles. Their hearts were mutually linked to one another, sharing communion and coming together regularly for prayer. A deep sense of holy awe swept over everyone, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. All the believers were in fellowship as one body, and they shared with one another whatever they had. Out of generosity, they even sold their assets to distribute the proceeds to those who were in need among them. Daily they met together in the temple courts and in one another’s homes to celebrate communion. They shared meals together with joyful hearts and tender humility. They were continually filled with praises to God, enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord kept adding to their number daily those who were coming to life.

 

Proudly partnering with Jesus, North Church and the Baptist Union of Victoria