“Dubbo is basically the central hub of the West. It's the roundabout where everyone usually passes by. Here in Dubbo they always make eye contact with you, hoping that you'll say g'day to them. It's definitely a good little town.”

When I first came to Dubbo, the moment I walked through the door, I started to fall in love with the church. I know that Dubbo has had a big history in terms of the people. When I got to meet them, I got to understand them. As they shared their stories with me, I just loved their vulnerability. I loved their honesty. I loved their willingness to change, willingness to grow. It's just really helped me grow a close bond with this church.

“This group is called the Back-to-Back Brotherhood. I was introduced to these two young islanders in town. We started talking and I said to them, Hey, what are your thoughts about starting up a Bible study group? and they said, Yeah, that would be great! I asked them, Do you have a Bible? They said, No, we don't have a Bible. So I said, I'll bring a Bible for you guys at the next Bible study.”

“The Bible that I brought them was a World Changers Bible. After one week they invited another friend and I asked him, Hey, do you have a Bible? He said, No, I've never owned a Bible before. So I said, I've got a Bible for you. I went to my car, grabbed the World Changers Bible, put it in his hands, and now all four of us have the same version.”

“We’ve had so many guys come through this group and I give them all a Bible. Now we journey as a brotherhood together.”

“Rob, this kid…it's a huge transformation. He said to me, You know Jay, I came to Australia just to party hard and to play rugby. I never thought in my life I would be part of a Bible study group.”

“My name is Robert. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, with a Tongan background. I grew up playing footy in New Zealand. I was lucky enough to get a contract to come over to Sydney and I played for the World Cup team. I had a bit of trouble there and got sent back home. I wasn't allowed in Australia for two years. My agent hooked me up, asking me if I was keen to come back over and start fresh, start a new journey with footy again. I’m loving it.”

“I met Jay when I first came to Dubbo. I was at a pub once and the security guard at the pub—he was a Samoan—and he said, “There's one guy I want to introduce you to. I asked,Who’s that? He said, “A guy named Jay; he's a pastor. He came with Jay to my house and I met Jay. He's really energetic, really welcoming, really happy. I wanted to start surrounding myself with the right people.”

“Jay wanted to start up a little group called Back-to-Back Brotherhood. It was about having a personal relationship with God. It's been over a year now since I've been hanging around with these boys. It started out with three of us and now there are a lot of lives changed just from this little group. The power of God being in the center of this group has changed a lot of us. I was part of this group that came to the church camp. My first ever church camp that I've been to. It was just amazing. I've never had that experience before.”

“God is transforming lives, not just in these boys, but through them,influencing those around them. And those around them are now asking, Hey, what's the difference, what's the change here?”

“This group is like a home away from home. I want to get out there and help someone else’s life. I want to be a leader in the community. Be a leader wherever God takes me next.”