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About Us

Our Heart

“To see the lives of people transformed by the Power and Love of God and to see these people become mature followers of Jesus, living the abundant life promised to them.”

Our Mission

Love God
Love People
Connect People to God
Grow People

Our Heart

“To see the lives of people transformed by the Power and Love of God and to see these people become mature followers of Jesus, living the abundant life promised to them.”

Our Mission

Love God
Love People
Connect People to God
Grow People

Our Story

Hope Church 2508 is in Helensburgh, located 1 hour south of Sydney and 35 minutes north of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
We are a family Church who simply love God and want to genuinely live out our faith by loving others and being a blessing to our community. So, at Hope no one is perfect, and everyone is welcome.
We truly value the presence of God and desire that everyone who attends our service encounters God for themselves. This value for God’s presence is seen in the way that we worship, often spending extended time praising God in song and dance.
We also believe that God still moves supernaturally today. Healings, prophecy and signs and wonders regularly occur and are highly valued within our church culture.
As an organisation, we belong to the Australian Christian Churches, who have over 1000 churches in Australia and approximately 270,000 members. Everything we do is based on bible-based teaching and our Theology is simple; we want to live as Jesus did.

Pastors Lionel and Briga Rattenbury

Lionel and Briga Rattenbury are the Senior Pastors of the Church. They have been married 32 years and have 3 daughters, Shona, Lauren, and Emily and 6 Grandchildren. Lionel has plenty of life experience having been a Policeman, Police Prosecutor, Criminal Defence Lawyer, and the owner of a law firm. Lionel and Briga have a deep love for people and desire to see them grow in their faith and be set free from anxiety, depression, and addictions.

Pastor Paul (PJ) Bedwell

Pastor Paul (PJ) Bedwell is a 2508 local, born in Stanwell Park and loves to help and serve the Hope Church family, raise young Christians in the faith, share Jesus with everyone and support Pastors Lionel and Briga. PJ experienced a radical life transformation through an encounter with Jesus Christ and left a career as a medical doctor to commit his life to following Jesus. He has a passion for young people and heads up our Youth and Kids ministry and can be found trying to find ways to lead youth while going surfing at the same time.
PJ has recently married Mikaela who faithfully leads our worship team, and actually proposed to Mikaela in Hope Church! PJ is driven by desire to see the 2508 area drug and suicide free and speaks hope and life into the youth of the area every day, sharing Jesus with everyone he can. To learn more about PJ you can watch his Hope Story below.