Carols by the Lake provides an opportunity for God’s message of His love for the world to be proclaimed to the community at one of the only times of the year that the lost will lean in. The aim of Carols by the Lake is to present a traditional, family-friendly, and non-commercialised event that is low cost so that community members of all socio-economic backgrounds can join in.
Carols is an opportunity to communicate that there are churches in their area that are alive and well, who will welcome them, who will lead them to truth, victory and freedom, joy, peace and love beyond anything they have ever known. It is also an opportunity to display generosity, one of The Lord’s major character traits, to all His children, both lost and found.
Carols grew out of a Carols by Candlelight program we once held in a church member’s backyard. As Lakes grew in numbers we had to move to a larger site. For a number of years, we met at “the shed” in Croudace Bay Park. Year on year we saw the numbers grow as Lakes’ members started inviting their friends and family to come along. In 2017, we presented our first community advertised event using a borrowed stage from New Vine Maryland and funded the entire event ourselves. We provided a coffee cart, Valentine Lion’s Club BBQ, a jumping castle and in-house children’s activities, including face painting and side-show alley style games. We hosted approximately 500 people which was over double the previous year.
Over the last several years Carols has gained the backing of Lake Macquarie City Council funding and, in 2024, had 11 community business sponsors, a growing number of neighbouring church partnerships and anonymous donations.
Last year we hosted approximately 3750 community members and provided several children’s activities (two jumping castles, rock climbing wall, go-karts, petting zoo, 18 face painters, Christmas decoration making, picnic style games for the whole family), a Christian children’s entertainer, professional quality stage PA and musicians (our band members represented 5 local churches), 10 food and beverage vendors, candles, glow sticks and a traditional style Carols program that people in the community really appreciate. We supported 3 charities who reached out and asked if they could have a stall at our event. A team of greeters/evangelists moved through the crowd and engaged in life giving conversations with many of the attendees. The peace and reverence that was evident during the last part of the Carols program was tangible.
New Vine Lakes Baptist Church has continued to sponsor the event both financially and with an amazing amount of people power. Carols by the Lake, in its adolescence, even has its own Facebook and Instagram pages!
Looking ahead to 2025, behind the scenes activity for the event is already underway with neighbouring churches coming on board to partner with us and financially support the event as well as many community business sponsors committing funds for another year. The budget for this year is $25,000. The organising team are excited that the event has met the criteria to become a mission partner within the KingdomCome purview.
It is evident that the community love this event. Comments on socials always include the appreciation of the traditional and non-commercialised style of “Carols by the Lake”. The kingdom of heaven truly touches earth during this event.
Your support of $3,000 will provide funding towards the 2025 Carols by the Lake event.