Bankstown District Uniting Church Lives the Mission for Humanity

Every year, while many churches in Australia focus on local outreach, Bankstown District Uniting Church (BDUC) stretches its hands across the globe—towards Lebanon, where hundreds of vulnerable children await a moment of hope, safety, and joy.

Fri, 09 May 2025

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This July, BDUC will once again travel to Lebanon to host two dedicated children’s camps, scheduled from 10–12 July and 17–19 July 2025. These aren’t ordinary camps. They serve as a brief sanctuary for children without homes or families, many of whom are found sleeping under bridges, suffering from illnesses like leprosy, or navigating life entirely on their own.

BDUC began this mission work in 2012, initially supporting camps for refugee children in Lebanon. By 2017, the congregation had formally launched a dedicated ministry for refugees, deepening its partnerships both in Lebanon and at home in Australia.

Since then, the ministry has grown remarkably. Each year, the church organises two to three camps for children in Lebanon—each one offering three days filled with nourishment, learning, and most importantly, Christian love.

“The aim is to encourage them that there is a God who looks after you—and that you’re not alone,” says Rev. Dr. Gaby Kobrossi, Minister at BDUC. “Your friends in Australia are praying for you.”

Every camp includes transportation, meals, snacks, Bible lessons, games, crafts, hygiene care, and emotional support. At a cost of around $7,600 per camp, the expenses are covered entirely through grassroots fundraising efforts led by BDUC’s young people—who host car washes, sausage sizzles, and donation drives throughout the year.

This year, the church hopes to support at least 200 children, with around $30 covering the food, hygiene, and activity costs for each child. So far, funds for 100 children have been raised, with just one month left to meet the goal.

The logistics are no small feat. Local churches in Lebanon lend buses to pick up children. BDUC volunteers stay on-site, ensuring the children are cared for, bathed, and clothed. Clothes, books, and comics are donated by local congregations. The camps themselves are run on land provided by Thimar – The Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development (LSESD), a Lebanese partner organisation that offers the space rent-free, while BDUC covers costs for food, electricity, and water.

The planning for each camp spans more than a year. “This year’s mission took 18 months of preparation,” shares Rev. Gaby. “Our teams met weekly to train for the program—music, drama, activities, fundraising. It’s a complete commitment.”

Every activity is conducted with oversight from the Australian Embassy in Lebanon, working closely with Mr Andrew Barnes – Australian Ambassador to Lebanon, and in consultation with the Uniting Church Synod and Presbytery, ensuring safety and accountability at all levels.

This mission is not just about giving—it’s about transformation, for both the children in Lebanon and the young volunteers from Bankstown.

In 2023, before the escalation of conflict in the region, BDUC was able to send a team of four young people to Lebanon. That experience proved to be life changing.

Julia Une, Youth Leader at BDUC recalled her experience in this opportunity of a lifetime, “We were welcomed with open arms as soon as we arrived in Beirut.” Encouraged by the support of Rev. Dr. Gaby Kobrossi and Uniting ministries back home, the team connected with LSESD.

“We learnt about their initiatives like Team-Dar Manhal,” Julia said, referring to the group’s Christian publishing arm that creates educational resources—some of which have even made their way into BDUC’s own bookshop.

One program especially touched her heart: 'Skills’, a ministry program that supports children with learning difficulties. “It impacted me emotionally,” she shared. “I was very familiar with the difficulties faced in gaining support for my own autistic nephew; and seeing examples of the wonderful leaps made within the program was overwhelmingly wonderful.”

“The aim for our mission was to share the good news and to be in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the middle east,” Julia said. “We were moved by the volunteer youths, leaders and established Christian communities with their zest - to serve the young people not only in the camps but also back in their respective churches.”

Benji Asomaning, another BDUC's Youth Leader who joined the team in this humanitarian mission said, "The joy radiating from their faces was a big contrast to the difficult realities they endured, many of them coming from refugee and poverty stricken backgrounds. One of the most surprising and touching moments was seeing the children, most of whom came from Muslim backgrounds, joyfully singing Sunday school songs and enthusiastically performing the actions. Despite the language challenges, we were determined to connect with them in their own language. One of the highlights was performing a play about David and Goliath entirely in Arabic—a moment that brought smiles and laughter to everyone involved."

“These 12 days in Lebanon were really heavy on the heart for these young people,” says Rev. Gaby. “To witness the depth of the crisis and understand the church’s purpose in such a real way—it’s something you carry with you.”

The trip was so impactful that churches from as far as Queensland began reaching out, asking to send their own youth for future missions. Unfortunately, safety concerns have prevented further group visits since the conflict worsened.

Still, the connection remains strong. “Our young people here still receive messages from kids in Lebanon,” Rev. Gaby adds. “They’ve built relationships that continue—through social media, through prayer, through shared faith.”

The heart of BDUC’s mission is expressed not only through its work in Lebanon but also in its local outreach. Every Saturday, the church distributes food hampers to refugee families now settled in Sydney, many of whom BDUC helped bring to Australia with visa support, accommodation, and job assistance.

The church’s reach also extends globally. In recent years, BDUC has supported education initiatives in Cambodia, Zimbabwe, and Uruguay. In 2024, the youth ministry packed and sent over 6,000 hampers to communities in Ukraine, despite the challenges of limited communication in a conflict zone.

Through partnerships with organisations like Grain of Wheat and local networks in Lebanon, BDUC continues to represent the Uniting Church on the international stage—not through grandeur, but through consistent, compassionate presence.

“This is the Uniting Church,” says Rev. Gaby. “This is who we are.”