Loving God is not just our foundation, it’s the heartbeat. It’s everything. It is what we do. It’s who we are. Anything else is the overflow. There is a woman in the Gospels who understood something the rest of the room did not. She burst past everyone — uninvited, unnamed, undignified, unforgettable — and made her way to the feet of Jesus. Her passport was not wealth or reputation. It was her tears and her brokenness. She carried an alabaster jar worth a year’s wages, and she didn’t bring a few careful drops. She broke the seal open and poured it all out. The room erupted. The Pharisee’s sneered. The disciples bristled. But Jesus? He was awash in her worship. He saw her. He knew her. He loved her. And in that moment, the truest measure of what it means to love God was written in perfume and tears on the floor of a Pharisee’s house. That’s the image at the heart of Bloom Co. Not a program. Not a strategy. Not a brand. A posture. Broken open. Poured out. Holding nothing back. Because he is worth it. Matthew 22:37 gives us the supreme commandment — love God with every passion of your heart, every strength of your being, every thought within you. Jesus elevated that above all else so if we get this right, everything else falls into place. Every decision, every step, every breath aligns with that wild, uncontainable love. Bloom Co exists to be a community that loves God with everything. Extravagantly.
The second great commandment follows the first like breathing follows a heartbeat. Love God with everything — and then turn around, and love the person next to you with the same extravagance. We want to invite people on a journey of becoming more like Jesus, to be part of a community that uncovers, releases and radiates beauty, cherishes simplicity and authenticity and views every facet of life as an act of worship. Bloom Co is not just a gathering. It is a community being formed. We’re learning, slowly and sometimes imperfectly, how to be a family — to know each other’s names, to carry each other’s weight, to celebrate and to grieve together. To be a place where people are not just welcomed but genuinely known. The woman at Jesus’ feet was surrounded by people who saw her past. Jesus saw her person. He cared more for her future than her mistakes. We want to be a community like that. Where the person who walks in carrying shame finds a room that does’t recoil — it makes space. Where the sceptic is not treated as a problem to be managed but as a human being made in the image of God, longed for and loved. Community is not a program we run. It is a culture we cultivate, day by day, Sunday by Sunday, in the conversations after the service and the meals shared during the week.
We have a great little building in the heart of downtown Ettalong Beach, 20 seconds to the shops and a minute to the beach. It's an old Uniting Church building that we have renovated. It has a beautiful sanctuary with a rich history where we meet in the round and a church hall that has great spaces for kids. There’s also a new playground in the backyard. We've put in some new grass and fences to keep the kids safe and there's plenty of parking out front. We want to create a space where people can experience the presence of God in a beautiful way with minimal distraction.
At BloomCo we are committed to partnering with parents in providing meaningful, welcoming and fun experiences in high quality, safe environments.
We want to ensure that when anyone (including children, young people and vulnerable adults) interacts with the ministries and activities of our church that they feel safe – physically, emotionally and spiritually. The NSW Government has ten Child Safe Standards for organisations with respect to children and young people and we are committed to implementing these standards continuously in our community.
Every adult working with children or youth holds a valid Working with Children Check. We use strict screening procedures. We have a process for anyone (including children and young people) to be able to report any concerns they may have, in a timely and appropriate manner, including reporting concerns to the relevant authorities.
We train our leaders and volunteers to understand their responsibilities, to ensure that BloomCo is a safe place.
If you have any concerns regarding the safety of a child or young person at our church, or any other concerns about safety, please inform Steve or Bek Deal or one of our other Safe Church team members.