An incredible week of mission in Coober Pedy
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord! These are the only words we have to describe how God worked through the SMBC mission
team who came to the Catacomb Church from 21–29 March 2026.
SMBC was where we studied from 2021 to 2023. We remember how mission would happen each year – you could choose a place you were interested in and put your hand up to go. So fast forward to 2025, and after two years of ministry here, we thought we would see if we could entice a group of students to come and take part in remote desert ministry. Here are some highlights from the week...
After the first Sunday church service with the team, we went around the corner to join the Brethren Aboriginal Church in Coober Pedy where William Lennon gave a message and shared lunch with us. We asked William many questions about the gospel approach to Aboriginal communities and the struggles that he sees. We also dropped in to Umoona Aboriginal community to clean up the new café after its official opening. Umoona were understandably blown away by this act of kindness and love from the team.
Sport is a big thing in this town, as there is basically none played. So Catacomb Church advertised that there would be two basketball afternoons during the mission trip. The number of students and parents who turned up was incredible. How faithful is our God! Almost all of the senior students from the school
turned up and we had an impactful two hours hanging, talking, and competing with them.
One evening we had a barbecue and free movie event at the Drive-in. Coober Pedy has SA’s last Drive-in and we are part of the committee. So, we pitched the idea of hiring out the Drive-in to play the Christian animated movie ‘David’. The turnout was bigger than expected and a Christian school group from Melbourne were in town so they joined in too. BCA SA/NT Regional Officer John Warner gave a talk before the movie was played. To have the story of God played on the big
screen in a public space in town had us so thankful to God for making things happen.
We planned to travel to Oodnadatta with the group, but the roads had been closed due to heavy rains. Prayer was sought through the BCA and SMBC prayer network. God worked through a number of people to make this visit happen including a local Aboriginal Christian whose uncle was the grader driver who worked on the road so it could be opened! We travelled in convoy to Oodnadatta and the drive was incredible; the desert had been transformed into a carpet of green! We stopped at ‘Oods’ for lunch at the Pink Roadhouse, then visited the Aboriginal school where the team performed a puppet show. The connections made were invaluable and we hope to visit again and perhaps be part of the school in the future. The team also met with Maxine who is the second pastor at
the Uniting Church and the story of how they met outdoors for 20 years before the church building was constructed humbled us incredibly. We left with a sense of God working in this remote settlement which numbers just 80 people.
On their final day in Coober Pedy, the team led and ran our church service. The singing was all live, the sermon was spot on, and the fellowship was a blessing. We had seven new locals attend! The Holy Spirit moved within our fellowship in a powerful way. When we waved off the team our hearts were full but also heavy. The work the team did for the Kingdom of God was beyond what we can do, but we know God has His plans for what will come from this mission. Please pray for the SMBC students as they spend this season of their lives being formed and filled with God's Word.
