Hall hire brings hundreds to church

8 June 2022

Michelle Wheatley makes sure Menai Salvos is open for community use, all week long!

As Administrator for Shire Salvos Menai, Michelle Wheatley’s phone runs hot. Whether it’s building maintenance issues, looking after the various groups that use the hall like the corps’ playgroup, youth group, senior’s group or craft group; and now most recently – the booming success of the hall hire.

“The hall hire has really picked up after the COVID restrictions eased, and with the huge amount of rain that Sydney has been through,” says Michelle, of the purpose-built indoor basketball/soccer hall that Menai Salvos rents out to various sporting groups.

With so many sporting fields closed due to wet-weather conditions over the past few months, word got out in the Sutherland Shire that Menai Salvos had a well-priced, professionally built facility. Now, it’s being used nearly every day or night of the week. And Michelle couldn’t be happier!

“The way it’s designed is that people have to walk through the church entry to get to the sporting hall,” she says. “People have to walk past the library bookcases, past the spiritual blackboard message and then through the lounge room which is a warm, safe, community space.

“The bonus is that staff can be here or people from church who have rehearsals or other things they are using the building for and they cross paths with the members of the community who are here for the hall hire.”

Through Michelle’s amazing organisational skills and gift of hospitality and evangelism, Menai Salvos is building connections with sporting teams and people in the community that they have never had before. Parents and carers are sitting in the lounge area, waiting to pick their kids up from training and enjoying a chat together. According to Michelle, the Menai-Bangor community isn’t huge, so most people can identify some connection with the Salvos, through past contact with playgroup, or through friends of friends.

“We have had one woman come back to church after not having been here for more than five years,” Michelle says. “I have seen people from the sporting groups chatting with people from the church who are here for other things like prayer groups and worship rehearsals, Bible study, or wedding rehearsals.”

And an added bonus is that the hall hire brings in extra income for the corps, which is used by Shire Salvos to assist locals in need. “We are thrilled with the way it’s worked out,” says Michelle. “There are more people walking through our doors now than ever before!”