What is PubChurch?

PubChurch arose out of our necessity to move from the Rydges on Swanston hotel, as it had been sold and was being used to hold asylum seekers. We wanted to stay in the same general area and after a few false starts The Clyde Hotel allowed us to hire their facility.

Yes it’s unconventional, it’s potentially uncomfortable and could be perceived as inconvenient. But can God do something we’ve never seen before outside our usual expectations of what ‘church’ is? Remember that Jesus received his greatest act of worship in an unusal place, the house of Simon the Leper (Mark 14).

Why PubChurch?

We are doing something unusual with our Sunday meetings at PubChurch and it might feel a little uncomfortable. But we think it is worth it.

Ps Ken shares about how of the dozens of people he is doing life with, sharing God’s story and his story, he never once considered inviting any of them to come hear him preach, play his bass or listen to a guest speaker at our old home at Rydges on Swanston. He knew intuitively that what we were doing at Rydges would be alienating for the friends he loves. Having a church service in a pub hs changed that.

PubChurch is the missional expression of our Every Nation Melbourne vision and values to reach the inner city and university students. Is PubChurch aimed at non Christians – what about us Christians? But I’m not a student and I don’t live in the inner city – why should I come to PubChurch? Who else is doing stuff like this? These are all great questions and they are answered in the video. Check it out.

What time is PubChurch?

PubChurch takes place on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. It starts at 10:30 and finishes at 11:30. We encourage you to stick around for lunch in the Clyde and often the church will subsidise your bill with specials organised with the Clyde. In fact, it’s over lunch that we want to see ‘church’ in action with prayer, encouragement, and communion spread throughout the pub.

What happens at PubChurch?

We have one hour so we want to make the most of it. We will start at 10:30 exactly with a time of singing with two songs, followed by God’s Story and then a short (20 minute max) message, followed by discussion time and finishing with the Lord’s Prayer. Then we encourage you to stick around for lunch, community building, prayer and encouragement and if you have any questions about God’s Story or the message this is a great time to talk about them.

What about kids at PubChurch?

Our Kids program will start at 10:30am and we recommend parents come with children before the service to sign them in. Kids Church is held on the first floor of the Clyde Hotel and is available for 4 and 5 year olds and primary aged students. Every Nation Melbourne partners with ChildSafe.org to implement the 7 standards published by the Commission for Children and Young People. You can see our ChildSafe policies here.