CityLife Church (CityLife), formerly Waverley Christian Fellowship, originated with a small group of people meeting together to learn about God. From this beginning in 1967, the church has grown and become home to thousands of Christians from a variety of backgrounds, age groups and cultures.
Richard Holland, the founding pastor, led the church as it gradually outgrew a number of different venues in the Waverley area. Richard, who was recognised for his tremendous faith and vision, saw the realisation of his dream to establish a permanent home for the church when the present CityLife Knox site was purchased in 1982 and building commenced.
It was at this time that Kevin Conner and his family returned to Melbourne after ten years in the USA. Kevin joined the church staff and, together with Richard, saw the church continue to grow. In 1983 Parkmore Full Gospel Church and its Christian school, now known as Waverley Christian College, merged with CityLife Church. The College has continued to grow and is a vital part of the ministry of the church.
In 1986, Richard Holland and elders appointed Kevin Conner as the senior minister. Under Kevin’s leadership the church continued to expand and a variety of ministries were developed.
In 1995, Kevin passed the senior minister role to his son and, under the leadership of Mark Conner, the church grew strongly. CityLife Community Care was established in 1996 and has had a significant impact in the local community. World Impact’s (missions) activity was expanded and a multi-site strategy (one church in many locations) was launched. CityLife Church Casey started in 2006 and CityLife Church Manningham in 2008. Then, in 2013, CityLife Church Whittlesea was launched after Open House Christian Fellowship (founded by Serafim & Bev Antoniou) became part of CityLife.
In February 2017, CityLife Church celebrated its 50th anniversary, said farewell to Mark Conner and inducted Andrew Hill as the next Senior Minister. Andrew Hill led the development and implementation of our Vision 2020 and brought about a renewed focus on discipleship and the emerging leaders in our youth and young adult ministries. After the resignation of Andrew Hill in April 2019, Andrew Chisholm was appointed as the interim Senior Minister, and later, Senior Minister in February 2020.
Today, there are vibrant CityLife congregations across Melbourne and ethnic congregations have been established for those who speak Mandarin and Cantonese. As we look to the future, there is so much more to be accomplished. Our prayer, as a community of fervent followers of Jesus Christ, is that together we will continue our journey to follow him more closely and reach people with his amazing love.
Our Story – Celebrating 50 Years