Our opportunity shop opens Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m.

All of the proceeds of this ministry are channeled to the support of either Australian or overseas Christian ministries or local, ethically principled or Christian charities.

We regard this as an opportunity to build bridges into the community, to minister into the lives of disenfranchised and disempowered individuals.

Volunteer staff are always welcome so long as they meet certain child safety requirements.

A number of home fellowship and Bible study groups operates in private homes during the week,  There is room for more!

Connect is an opportunity for community members to get together to hear testimonies from individuals within the church and from the Scriptures and to explore their own questions about the faith over a cuppa.  It is quite informal and open to all comers.  It  operates every Wednesday 2 p.m.- 3 p.m. at the church.

Junior Sunday School runs every Sunday morning beginning at 9 a.m.

Young adults may attend a study time after church each Sunday

Below is a curated selection of incidents in which our God has blessed us abundantly. We rejoice with the individuals who experienced these events.

Please Note: fictitious names have been substituted for the real names of the individuals involved in these reports in order to protect their privacy.

Pastor Graham had a conversation with Philip during the church fellowship lunch on the 30th of November. During the conversation, the pair talked about Philip’s experience with the voices he hears talking to him. He volunteered that although he does hear condemning voices most of the time, (which seems to be consistent with those who are being delivered from drug addiction), those voices are quiet while he is in church or at our Cafe Church meetings on a Wednesday afternoon.

The Lord God wields the authority!

For some weeks, William had been acting erratically, saying that he was hearing voices and acting in very strange ways. Very early one  morning he was taken to hospital in Wangaratta; however, he was discharged with prescriptions for medication. On Wednesday the 4th of December, he came to our Connect Group and although he was there, he acted as if he was under the influence of something outside of himself and left the get-together for some time. Peter Reid went and found him and brought him back. During the afternoon’s activities, we asked William if he would allow us to pray for him, with laying on of hands, which he allowed. On Sunday the 7th of December, William attended church again with us. He appeared very calm and happy to be among us. When Pastor Graham asked for helpers to distribute the Communion elements, William volunteered and did an excellent job. He was very clear headed and calm. At our last Connect Group gathering for the year, on Wednesday the 10th of December, William attended and was thoroughly engaged with everyone present and everything that was going on. Later in the afternoon, he thanked everyone for praying for him. God had clearly intervened in his situation. God willing, William will continue to know God’s presence in his life and respond to that loving presence with a commensurate love and faith.

It was Tuesday 13th January 2026 when Charlie presented himself to the local courthouse here in Benalla. Pastor Graham accompanied him to show solidarity, for support and encouragement. The outcome was unexpectedly positive for Charlie and he left the courtroom jubilant. A little while after leaving the courthouse, while riding his bike around the town, Charlie was hit by a motor car. His face was severely damaged. The A pillar of the car had stuck Charlie’s left eye socket. Both eyes were blackened and there was a possibility that he may have suffered serious injury to his skull and perhaps even to his brain. Folk from the church were with him and assured him that he would be supported with prayer. Our prayer chain was set in motion. Everyone on the church’s email register was notified of the need for Charlie to be “covered in prayer”. Those of the church who do not have access to email were notified by phone. Many prayed.
Charlie was tranported to North-East Health in Wangaratta. Assessment there determined that he needed to be in Melbourne as soon as possible. He was flown to Melbourne’s Eye and Ear Hospital that afternoon and underwent surgery to align his eye socket. He was discharged from the Eye and Ear Hospital within a day or two of his admission there.
Charlie turned up at our mid-week Connect Group meeting on Wedneday 21st January 2026, close to one week after the collision. Pastor Graham reported that he had to look very closely to see any indication of an injury. Charlie’s face was healed completely. There was not even a sign of bruising.
As if that was not enough of a blessing, Charlie was in the Olive Tree (our Opportunity Shop) on Thursday morning, 22nd January. A lady from Daylesford was passing through Benalla on her way home from a trip. She had heard about this wonderful Op Shop in Benalla and decided to drop in to check it out for herself. Charlie was in the shop. The lady recognised Charlie’s voice. It turns out that this lady is Charlie’s Mother! The two of them enjoyed a very blessed time together and are reconnecting after an extended time of unintentional estrangement.
So the car accident turned out to be, not a curse, but a blessing.

Our God is GOOD – all the time!

A lovely Christian lady, who has only recently become part of the Benalla Baptist Church family, suffered a fall in her home a few weeks ago.  The result was a very serious spiral break to her right femur. She spent several weeks in hospital in Wangaratta, but is now back home here in Benalla.  She recounts something of her experience while in hospital:

“I believe that our Lord and Saviour has raised and is raising up faithful prayer warriors to intercede for our church and to break strongholds for our town of Benalla and beyond.
All for His glory, for His Kingdom, His will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
We are living in exciting times.
I believe we will see great answers to prayer, and we should have an open expectation that God will incline His ear to us. As we diligently stay close to Him, trusting in Him, loving Him and showing His love through us…
I can attest to our church’s love, and the witness that has been made by every member of our church, so faithfully visiting me in hospital.
It was noted by the nursing staff that I had so much support. It was noticed by other patients and their families, they said to me that I must have such a loving family that visits, I witnessed to one patient, that yes they are family, they are my church family and that I had only been going there since I arrived in Benalla.
I know that some conversations were heard by the nurses in passing, talking about Jesus and scripture.
I got to witness to my work mates, they were also amazed at the support from my church family visits.
The same as all the allied professionals, they asked what support I have, I explained to them and they were surprised at how the church has rallied behind me.
The welcome that Benalla baptist gave me from the moment I walked through the door has made me know this is my church home.
I am in no doubt this is a special gifting and anointing that is present, and that many more will come through that door and find Jesus there, be cared for, be prayed for and to see people being born again. We can trust Him to work through us…
A powerless church is a church that forgets to pray and doesn’t understand the power of prayer.
With us humbling ourselves in corporate prayer we can see many miracles and answers to prayer.
God can and will do great things!”

We thank and praise God for what he is doing among us.  His goodness never fails.

Pastor Graham bears testimony:

“On the 20th of January this year, I received a completely unexpected email from a colleague in Israel, inviting me to be part of an international delegation to visit Israel on a combined “good will” and academic know-how exchange in June of this year (2026).  This delegation is to meet with academics, university administrators, and a number of Israeli government departments and politicians, in various locations around Israel.  I explained to the organisers that I no longer worked in academia but was now the pastor of the Benalla Baptist Church.  Their response was emphatic that I should participate and as an interesting comment, they said that while we were all in Jerusalem, I should “explain the significance” of this city to the other delegates from Israel and around the world.  I think I’ll need to do some homework!

The costs for this visit to Israel are being covered by the Israeli government and several of the participating universities.

This invitation was unexpected and convinces me that a message from God that I was given by a good friend many years ago is still in operation. My friend said that he believed that God wanted me to read Proverbs 18:16 and that God would accomplish what this verse said in my life. The passage says, “A man’s gift will make room for him, and bring him before great men”. My friend spoke to me about this passage in 1987 and it is evident that God is still working it out in my life.”

We praise God for his faithful and ongoing provision for Pastor Graham and for the opportunities he is offering.  We are grateful that God has provided a pastor for us who has international standing and whose testimony is both solicited and accepted.

A member of our congregation has a brother who was diagnosed with leukaemia more than a decade ago.  He was given a bone marrow transplant and battled the common host vs graft disease as a result.  After more than a decade of this fight and while enjoying reasonably good health again, he became ill and was eventually given the hard news that he had developed a secondary cancer in his left lung.  Treatment for this trouble was exceedingly difficult since his immune system is impaired by the host vs graft medication. He received medication for this tumour , but the host vs graft medication had to be stopped to allow the anti-tumour medication to function. The host vs graft disease flared up. The anti-tumour medication was stopped and so it went back and forth for a period.  His condition deteriorated quickly.  Then a second tumour was identified  – this time in his brain.  He received one dose of immunotherapy, but could not cope with it on top of the lack of his host vs graft medication.  His condition continued to decline. He lost a significant amount of weight, his breathing  became weak and shallow.  He was clearly dying.  Our early morning prayer group offered continuing prayer on his behalf.  Weeks passed.  His condition fluctuated. A scan to check to see how the brain tumour was progressing found that this tumour had completely disappeared.  His condition continued to fluctuate.  We were rejoicing but continued to pray. He spent time in the emergency department at the Wangaratta hospital more than once.  More weeks passed.

He had been travelling down to Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre for treatment.  He had been told that his cancer was “dormant”. He could no longer cope with the travel so he found another doctor closer to home.  The new practitioner carefully examined his file and very deliberately announced that his cancer is officially “in remission”.  The doctor cannot explain why this is the case.  The single dose of immunotherapy is unlikely to  have had that effect.  If it did, it took a long time to achieve it!  His condition is improving rapidly!  He can breath again with a degree of comfort.  He is no longer lacking energy.  His demeanour is improving all the time.  He is clearly not now in danger of imminent death.  We attribute this amazing recovery to the action of God in response to our prayer.

“Our God is an AWESOME God” and we give him all the glory.  Thank you God!