Service Clubs

21 June 2026

By Pastor John - Senior Pastor

Community service clubs such as Rotary, Apex, and the Lions played a significant role in the life of the small town I grew up in. Most of my mates seemed to have a dad involved in one club or another. But times have changed. Today all sort of socially minded community groups are struggling to keep their membership up.

A few years ago, when we were living in Pennant Hills, one of local service clubs did a letterbox drop of their newsletter. Recruitment was the urgent initiative. A new emphasis was required. To quote; ‘While community service and friendship are important, we believe that the overriding consideration for people now is “What can I get out of this for myself so I can do better at work and home”’.

I was somewhat taken aback. The ‘community service club’, felt they could no longer appeal to people’s altruistic and social interests, but purely to their self-interest.

How about us? In recent weeks I’ve been encouraging those who are committed to our church family to become formal church members. Should we go on a recruitment drive? Should we change our emphasis so as to improve our marketing appeal?

Let’s go back to the basics. Consider our credo. To quote: ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:3-5).

Thankfully, our foundational principles are built on a changeless Lord and his changeless gospel. We must not change our emphasis and principles, no matter how much others may think them out of date. We serve a risen saviour who has modeled a better way.