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His Story

Celebrating 98 years of God's faithfulness... 

Origin

Punchbowl Baptist Church was first established in 1928 by Mr & Mrs Tuck. They were ordinary people who did extraordinary things for the Kingdom of God. They caught the vision that “the fields were white ready to harvest” and did something about it. They personally canvassed the whole of Punchbowl seeking Baptists and exhorting them to unite to form a local Baptist Church. The church started with 40 members. The President of the Baptist Union Rev. CJ Tinsley, Rev. FJ Duntley attended the 28th June 1928 Punchbowl Baptist Inauguration.

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This was the orignal church which was built in 1930 at Arthur St.

Golden Jubilee - 1978

Punchbowl Baptist Church celebrated 50 years in 1978. 

The Filipino Connection - 1990

In 1990, the Leadership of Punchbowl Baptist Church decided to call Pastor Rolando Aranzamendez. Pastor Rolando was shepherding churches in the Philippines until he migrated to Australia in 1988 with his family. 

The Youth in Action (YIA) was also formed this time. Aris Roberto who eventually studied at Morling College became the YIA Youth Pastor. Adrian Graham who became an elder of PBC was also one of the leaders of YIA. Adrian is part of the original congregation before 1990s.

From 2003 to 2016 - Various Pastors

In 2003, PBC called Pastor Louis Evangelista who was one of the current leaders. 

PBC also established its Youth Group called "Revolution" or "Revo" established by Pastor Jason Webb. Our home grown youth leader, Marbz Diaz, led the Revo after Pastor Jason. We thank the Lord for blessing us with this group which was growing to the point that they numbered around 40 every Friday night during their meetings. Pastor Marbz pursued studies at Morling College followed by several of the Revo people who joined the "Plunge" program of the college. It was only these years when "Gawang Laya" mission project to the Philippines fluorished. Every year, many of the youth spent 2 to 3 weeks in the Philippines on mission exposure.

AIn 2004, PBC called Pastor Ray Brindley along with his wife, Pura. The couple served the church until 2007. This was time when we developed a partnership with Rev Stevenson Tama from Grace Baptist Church at Machilipatnam, India.

Pastor Marbz Diaz then became Senior Pastor from 2008 till 2014 when Rev. Ray Brindley left. Pastor Aris Roberto became the Interim Senior Pastor until 2016.

From 2017 to Present

Rev. Andrew Rutley (formerly an army chaplain) and his wife Venita commenced at PBC in June 2017 as an interim pastor to support the church through a re-visioning chapter as well as assist in the search for a full-time Pastor. On 1 July 2018, Rev. Andrew Rutley was called to become the PBC Senior Pastor on a full-time basis. He finished his tenure in July 2020 as the family needed to relocate to Townsville. During his ministry, which included the beginning of COVID-19 period, he has made a positive effect on the life of the church including, but not limited to:

  • Leading and overseeing all church-related ministries including worship, administration, children and youth, technology, finance and stewardship (maintenance) etc.
  • Developing and managing inter-church relationships including NSW Baptist Association, other churches and external stakeholders
  • Leading biblical teaching and addressing pastoral issues within the church
  • Encouraging a forward-thinking mindset including re-visioning, updating of constitution, corporate governance and leadership foundation.
  • Formalised the Safe Church policies and procedures.

As Pastor Andrew moved to Townsville, the church called Pastor Dodie Serrano, along with his wife Celia. The couple were already members and part of the Leadership of PBC in the 90s. Rev. Dodie Serrano studied at Dallas Theological Seminary and pastored at Queens NY prior to PBC. This is the time that we tried to find a youth pastor where God eventually gave us Ethan Bellon. Ethan is married to Arianne who both mentor our young adults.

Celia Serrano introduced to us "Real Life Discipleship " which started with the Ladies originally and caught on with the men as well.

Under Pastor Dodie, we had expository preaching from the books of John, Ephesians, Hebrews, Revelation and Job. Young Christians were baptised and new members were added. This website was also introduced.