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Where Are They Now?

Ewen & Christie Blaikie

What motivated you to plant your church in the city that you are in?

We already lived in our city of Perth. Ewen grew up in Sydney, but Christie was born and bred in Perth. We have always loved our city – the people, the beaches, the laid back lifestyle and the sense of community that being a bit more isolated brings! We are also both really close to our extended family, and could not think of planting a church without them! Ultimately, we were lead by the Holy Spirit to plant in the southern suburbs of our beautiful city.

What do you love about your church and community?

We love the relational, servant hearted people who call Oasis home! We love that we have a growing demographic from babies to 80s. We have an authentic, genuine style and encourage leadership across all levels. We have a strong mandate to see people find Jesus and be activated by Him for the communities they live in. We also have a strong pull to community engagement and relish every moment we get to bless people who live in our vicinity. People who call Oasis home are some of the most generous we’ve ever met.

What has been one of your greatest moments since planting your church?

Moving into our own building in April 2018 was a great moment! Prior to that we had been portable until a fire saw us homeless! We then rented a small building in the backlots and built team with prayer in our hearts for a larger space! God performed many miracles for us, and people were extremely generous toward Oasis Church and we were able to rent the building we had spied a year before. People coming together to build classrooms, paint, lay carpet tiles, hang curtains, build stages, put furniture together and so much more, it was a very sweet time. Apart from these sorts of things, one of my favourite moments with people was when we had a muslim lady walk into one of our services. Having recently moved from Iran with her small daughter, she was looking for friends. She got saved and baptised in our church at a massive cost to her – her family would have disowned her if they found out. It was the most glorious time of change and growth for her as she discovered the love of God.

What has been one of the toughest moments you’ve experienced in ministry?

I think the toughest moments are always around people. A church plant is a fairly fast growing organism, and so you’re consistently changing and needing to take people with you. Sometimes the people you started with, can’t take you to the next level and the conversations around that can be challenging – especially when they’ve sacrificed so much to pioneer with you. Often we have grander dreams for people than they have for themselves, and that’s challenging too. You see potential, but sometimes people are unwilling! And then leading staff and team can be tough – but we have always invited the push back and the feedback as that makes us all better. Humility, good communication, honesty and love has always helped us push through tough times with people.

What is the biggest change you’ve seen in yourself or your church since planting?

I think we’ve grown in wisdom! Being 5 years old now, we’ve experienced a lot, had to navigate a lot of unique moments, pressed in and prayed more than ever and had to lead through loads of chaos (Covid-19!). I also think we have the freedom and maturity now to experiment and explore who we really are as a church instead of being cookie cutter model. I think we’ve also grown in setting good healthy boundaries for ourselves and our family: we prioritise time with God, holidays and our own hobbies and interests. Ewen loves working out and healthy cooking, Christie loves the beach and quilting!

What do you want to share with someone thinking about becoming a church planter?

One of my pastors once said to me, “It’ll be hard, but it will be wonderful” and I can’t think of wiser words! It is the hardest thing we’ve ever done (and we have four kids, a small business, in the midst of building and subdividing) and the most rewarding. I think you know you have to be called by God to do it – you’ll sacrifice more than you ever thought and it will cost you more than you ever thought.

How has being a part of ARC impacted your life + ministry?

We initially trained with ARC in the USA. That was a really great experience and we have made some life long friends. We couldn’t have planted without ARC – we literally would have had no idea. ARC made it really easy and practical for us, and having a coach was helpful (although the USA factor was challenging with time differences and being so far away!) This is why we are now committed to helping ARC Australasia get off the ground and have local coaches who can encourage and walk beside new church planters in our great nation of Australia.