Celebrating 5 Years In Parramatta, Australia
An update from Riley Spring, Lead Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church Parramatta and National Leader for SGC Australia…
On September 15th, we had the immense joy of celebrating our 5th Anniversary since planting Sovereign Grace Church Parramatta. It was a day full of gratitude and joy, and in true SG Parra fashion, we packed the morning with baby dedications, new member inductions, and the baptism of a new believer! It was a special moment in the life of our church family.
SG Parramatta on pre-launch Sunday, five years ago.
When the 28 of us first left Sovereign Grace Church, Wahroonga, we were excited, hopeful, "ready"—and blissfully naïve! Five years and a global pandemic later, we are still excited and hopeful, eager to serve, but perhaps a bit more seasoned.
Through it all, we have sought to be an ordinary church proclaiming an extraordinary gospel. It’s been a joy to witness God’s Word taking root in hearts and transforming lives from the inside out.
One such story is the testimony of Leng, the cousin of Daven, one of our Deacons. Daven invited Leng to church when she first immigrated here. She came sporadically, but in that time, she completed an evangelistic course and later joined a one-on-one Bible reading program with CJ, one of our deacons and a faithful disciple-maker. CJ walked alongside Leng for months, reading Scripture with her and offering godly counsel. After some time, due to personal challenges with immigration and family, Leng drifted away. We weren’t sure what the Lord was doing, but then she returned! And it was clear God had been working in her heart, assuring her of His love and bringing her to salvation.
Here’s an excerpt from her testimony:
“I was raised Catholic in the Philippines, where I learned about the Trinity: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believed that if I knew some Bible stories and lived kindly, I would earn my place in heaven. I thought salvation was a simple equation: God plus good works equals salvation.
Yet, I often felt a profound emptiness. Even as I pursued education, built a career, and started a family, there was a void I couldn’t fill. I sensed a calling to know God more deeply, but my understanding was shallow. I attended church and read the Bible, but its deeper meaning escaped me.
Everything began to change when I moved here two years ago, and my cousin Daven invited me to SG Parra. Through the Alpha course and a study with CJ, I encountered a life-changing truth: Jesus is the living God who takes away the sins of the world, including mine. For the first time, I understood that salvation isn’t earned by my works but rests entirely on the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
Before Christ, I trusted in my own wisdom and strength, unaware of the depth of my sin. But when I placed my faith in Jesus, it was as if a sleeping giant inside me woke up. I saw my sin for what it was and realized my need for a Savior. Through Jesus alone, I found salvation.”
Stories like Leng’s remind us why we planted this church: to proclaim the gospel and see lives transformed by the grace of Christ.
We are also committed to raising up future pastors. Currently, we have Richard Song as a Pastoral Candidate and the Seric family studying at the Pastor’s College in Louisville. From the beginning, our dream was to be a church-planting church—and by God’s grace, we still have high hopes to plant a new church in the years to come.
We are deeply grateful to SG Wahroonga and Pastors Dave Taylor and Brendan Willis for their partnership and support. Our fellowship with them has been a rich blessing, and we look forward to building a strong family of Sovereign Grace churches across Australia together.
There are countless other ways God has been at work among us—through our Life Groups, marriages, singles, parents, retirees, and ministries like 14:1, men’s and women’s discipleship, and the Deacon team. I’m so thankful to witness His hand at work in every area of our church family.
I also want to take a moment to honor my wife, Maddie. Her love, support, and care over these five years have been a constant source of strength for me—she is my delight and my best friend. And of course, my kids Evie, Jasper, Judah, and Zoe are just the best! It melts my heart when they beg to come to church early with me every Sunday and they are integrally involved in so much of what we do, and they do it so well!
I am a deeply grateful and blessed church planter.
Here’s to five years—and many more to come!
Here’s a short 5-year anniversary video for you… Enjoy!