Gilgandra Youth Officer
Gilgandra is a five and a half hour drive from Sydney. It has a population of about 3000 people; the entire shire is 5000 strong. Official figures suggest Aboriginal people make up 9 percent of the population, though locals put that figure at more than 20 percent. The town has been impacted by drought and the unemployment rate is high. More than one in ten people attend church on any given Sunday.
Richard and Julie Lanham
By opening their house for barbeques, birthdays and bonfires the Lanham’s have been able to connect with scores of children from Gilgandra, many of them indigenous. Some of the young people live in pretty desperate circumstances but Rich says a number have committed their lives to Jesus. Halfway through 2009 about 70 children had made a response to the gospel. As well as Rich and Julie’s open house ministry, Rich ministers in local schools as the chaplain and works as the Youth Pastor of the Australian Indigenous Ministries church. He hopes to see the ministry come to a sustainable point.
Children: Jack (1993), Jacob (1995), Elijah (1997)
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