Together for Townsville: Alpha, service and space to explore faith

Photo by Akira Hojo on Unsplash. Illustrative photograph; this is not identified as a Townsville church.

After writing about Stable and why I have kept volunteering, I’ve been thinking about the relationships that make something like it possible. People from churches across Townsville give their time because they believe the good news of Jesus is worth sharing, and because they want to serve the city they call home.

That makes Together for Townsville a natural next part of the story.

I’ve heard stories of volunteers coming from different churches to serve together. In recent months, I’ve also noticed how full my own church, Northreach, has been. It’s encouraging, and it has made me wonder about the people arriving: what has brought them through the door, what questions they carry, and whether they are looking for something more.

That is my observation from one church, rather than a count of what is happening across Townsville. Still, it is a good reason to look more closely at the places our community offers people to explore faith.

Together for Townsville: friendship, prayer and shared purpose

Together for Townsville describes its purpose this way:

We are Christian leaders from churches, businesses, education and politics transforming Townsville for Jesus.

Its Facebook introduction traces the story to 1999, when a group of pastors began meeting weekly to pray for Townsville and build friendships with one another.

That detail about friendship stands out to me. Working together begins with knowing one another, making time to listen and recognising that we share a concern for the people around us. Those relationships can make it easier to ask for help, share an opportunity or get people together when there is work to do.

For those familiar with the Combined Churches of Townsville, this is recognisable territory. Together for Townsville’s Easter information continues to describe the Castle Hill dawn service as a combined churches and Salvation Army effort. There is a long history here of Christians gathering beyond their own congregations.

Today, Together for Townsville describes three areas of work: sharing Jesus’ message, serving the city and helping disciples, leaders and churches grow. Its website also connects visitors with Stable and Alpha. Together for Townsville’s vision and activities.

We Love Townsville Day: faith expressed through service

One example was We Love Townsville Day on 18 July 2026. Volunteers from churches across the city gave their time to gardening, cleaning, painting and maintenance, as well as offering friendly conversation. Together for Townsville’s calendar listed the day as City Serve, with an invitation for Townsville’s churches to serve the city together.

That combination of practical help and time for people is what stands out to me. A job getting done can make a difference to someone’s day. So can someone being willing to stop, listen and have a friendly conversation. Both are ways of showing our neighbours that they matter.

For me, this is part of what it means to share the good news of Jesus: letting the love we speak about shape what we do with our time and how we treat people. Gardening, cleaning or picking up a paintbrush can be a simple, useful expression of that faith.

Read the We Love Townsville Day post on Facebook.

The initiative’s recent calendar also shows how practical service sits alongside opportunities to explore faith:

• A city-wide Alpha campaign: listed for April to June 2026, encouraging churches to work together in offering people opportunities to explore Christianity. Alpha campaign details.
• An Apologetics Summit: the May 2026 program advertised sessions with Daniel Patterson from Questioning Christianity, involving James Cook University, Christian schools and Calvary Church. These were opportunities to consider questions about Christian belief and the reasons behind it. Summit program.

A smaller example appears in the Facebook screenshot below. In a post dated 30 October, Beaches Church thanked the team who set up and catered for 60 Christian leaders gathering for Together for Townsville. It is a glimpse of the preparation and hospitality that help people spend time together.

Screenshot of the Together for Townsville Facebook page, including a shared post from Beaches Church, Townsville. Page content and photographs belong to their respective owners.

Those ordinary contributions matter to me. Someone makes the room ready, prepares food or gives up part of their day so that others can meet. Across a city, that willingness to serve can create opportunities that one congregation would find much harder to provide alone.

Alpha in Townsville: room for honest questions

Alpha offers a way to continue a conversation about faith over several sessions. It is used internationally and run locally, including through churches such as Northreach. Together for Townsville’s own promotion of Alpha makes it a clear connection between churches working together and people exploring Christianity for themselves.

Alpha Australia describes a typical gathering as time to connect, a video or talk exploring Christian faith, and discussion. It is free to attend. Guests can share their views, raise doubts or simply listen, without being required to agree with what they hear.

For someone who has questions about Jesus, prayer, suffering or the purpose of life, that kind of setting can make a first conversation feel possible. You can arrive curious, uncertain or unconvinced.

If you are interested in Alpha at Northreach Baptist Church, start with Northreach’s Alpha/events page or contact the church to ask about the next course. Alpha Australia’s Try Alpha page can also help you find a group. Course dates and availability should be checked with the host church.

A fuller church, and a complicated national picture

Seeing more people at Northreach gives me hope. It also leaves me curious about whether other churches are experiencing something similar.

The national figures need some care. The 2021 Census recorded 43.9% of Australians identifying as Christian, down from 52.1% in 2016. Those figures describe religious affiliation at those dates; they cannot tell us how many people are walking into a Townsville church in 2026. Australian Bureau of Statistics.

More recent attendance research adds another perspective. NCLS Research’s 2025 Church Pulse Check, based on responses from 1,005 local churches, estimated that about 1.35 million Australians attended church in an average week. It describes continuing recovery after COVID alongside ongoing challenges. A national attendance estimate still cannot explain why a particular congregation feels fuller. NCLS Research’s 2025 findings.

I can be thankful for what I am seeing locally while recognising that growth, decline, returning attenders and people moving between churches can all be happening at once.

Gen Z and faith: reasons for hope, questions about lasting growth

Hope 103.2’s June 2026 article, “Gen Z and Faith: More Interest, But Is It Lasting?”, raised a question that fits this local story: what happens after someone first becomes interested?

The Australian evidence is encouraging in places. McCrindle’s 2025 report, An Undercurrent of Faith, combines Census analysis with a survey of 3,003 adults conducted in December 2024 and January 2025. It found 51% of Gen Z respondents were very or extremely open to spiritual conversations involving views different from their own. Among Gen Z respondents identifying as Christian, 68% reported attending church at least monthly, in person or online. That is a figure about young Christians, not all young Australians. Read the original McCrindle report, pages 21, 24 and 36.

The same report records movement away from Christianity: 36% of Christians in its 15–24 age category moved to “no religion” between 2016 and 2021. Those older Census transitions and the newer survey measure different things; neither establishes a nationwide youth revival in 2026. McCrindle report, page 22.

The American research discussed by Hope needs its own context. Arizona Christian University’s Cultural Research Center reported increases in some measures of Christian identification and religious activity among the young adults it studied, but limited change in underlying beliefs. Its 1% “biblical worldview” figure refers to meeting the researchers’ particular criteria; it is not the percentage of young people who are Christian. The report concerns US young adults aged 18–23, so it cannot be treated as a measurement of Australian Gen Z. Cultural Research Center’s April 2026 report summary.

For me, the hopeful part is that there are people willing to explore. Whether that interest becomes a lasting faith is something that unfolds through relationships, learning and time. I hope we are seeing the beginnings of renewal, and I want our churches to be ready to welcome those who are curious.

What might people be looking for?

I do wonder whether financial pressure, the demands of study, uncertainty about work or a lack of direction lead some people to ask deeper questions. A difficult season can make questions of hope, purpose and belonging feel very immediate.

That is a possibility I am reflecting on, rather than a cause these figures establish. People come to faith through many different experiences. Someone might accept a friend’s invitation, be curious about the Bible, return to something they grew up with, or want to understand why faith matters so much to someone they know.

The way to understand those reasons is to listen. I would want someone arriving at church or Alpha to find people willing to hear their story and take their questions seriously. For me, sharing the good news of Jesus includes that patience, as well as being ready to explain what I believe and why.

From an evening at Stable to a conversation that continues

This brings me back to Stable. A family might come because someone recommended a Townsville Christmas event. A passer-by might stop out of curiosity. They can encounter the story of Jesus’ birth in a setting they were comfortable entering, and perhaps leave with a question they would like to explore further.

Alpha can offer one place for that conversation to continue. Church communities can offer ongoing friendship, Bible teaching and support. Together for Townsville helps make those connections visible by encouraging Christians to know one another and work together across the city.

That is why giving our time matters to me. The welcome at an event, the effort behind a shared gathering and the willingness to sit with someone’s questions can each help make room for the good news to be heard.

If you would like to explore further, follow Together for Townsville and its Facebook updates, enquire about Alpha, or have a look at my Stable and Townsville Christmas guide. You do not need to have all your questions settled before starting a conversation.