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Candid conversations for the church. Host is Ardin Beech of Windsor District Baptist Church, Sydney, Australia. Co-hosted by Jonathan Hoffman.
This week at Windsor, and we're back once again. Art and beach with you. We're joined by doctor Jay. Welcome back.
Jonathan:Great to be back. You're such a professional, Art.
Ardin:Yeah. You'd never know that took me 5 goes to get right.
Jonathan:No. It's great to be back and, really excited about the guest we have coming up today, Jackie Turano, leading the Jeremiah Project.
Ardin:Yeah. Really cool story.
Jonathan:Yeah. I'm really excited for everyone to to get to hear a bit about that. But how have you been?
Ardin:I've been good. Enjoying life.
Jonathan:We got Father's Day coming up.
Ardin:Father's Day. Well, we just had Father's Day, I suppose, by the time everyone hears this, unless Katie had done the marathon run over the weekend.
Jonathan:So we have an opportunity here to actually gauge your excitement for Father's Day before it happens. But then when people listen, they will have already happened. So Right. On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited are you for Father's Day?
Ardin:I had a great Father's Day and got heaps of expensive gifts, he says in hope.
Jonathan:Well, we look forward to hearing about that later.
Ardin:And did everyone enjoy the q and a and the Father's Day service in the morning? The host was amazing.
Jonathan:I'm sure it was a fantastic service. Indeed. Love the way it began.
Ardin:And the and the message, especially.
Jonathan:Scintillating. Yep.
Ardin:Now we did have recently quarterly meeting, which from what I hear was a pretty good meeting. But I suppose the good news is we're doing better financially than we thought we were.
Jonathan:Yeah. We finished the 23, 24 financial year with a fairly significant surplus of income over expenditure, which I think is on the one hand, you know, considering what things that people were afraid of earlier in the year, it's okay. Wow. We're not actually negative in any in any respect. So on the one hand, I think that's positive.
Jonathan:You know, on the other hand, a large chunk of that surplus is due to funds that we decided not to allocate towards ministry. And so when you see that come out this side, you sort of say, oh, I maybe what what might have been? Was there room for us to kind of just keep trusting the Lord and trusting the process? You know, there's some lessons maybe to think about through that. But on the other hand, you know, we're grateful that God's people have been moved to continue to support the ministry and to continue to to really worship him with their giving.
Jonathan:And that that's what it is. I really always wanna be careful about communicating about finances that we don't get locked into this, sort of fee for service mentality. Like, hey. If you want the church to keep doing what it's doing, you need to make sure you keep putting money in the offering plate because that's really not what it's about. It's about worshiping the lord with the first fruits of what he's given to us.
Jonathan:And so I think that is very interesting from a stewardship perspective because your goal is not to make money. Any money that comes in that people have given to the lord, you wanna sow that back into his work and his kingdom. So it's kind of mixed feelings, you know, with this with a surplus like we've had, you know, on the one hand, grateful not to be negative. On the other hand, really feeling a burden to say, what are we gonna do with that?
Ardin:Yeah. Yep. And, I mean, the the the bond seems to be going gangbusters. They've their budget's gone up. You know, their profits have gone up.
Ardin:I noticed energy costs seem to have gone down, so the solar stuff appears to be working. So, yeah, things are looking good.
Jonathan:Yeah. I think we're positioned for, some really strategic decisions on how we wanna move forward. And and in that, I think a crossroads, particularly with Eddie leaving our pastoral staff. We have an opening there. We we really need to think strategically as a church.
Jonathan:We need to think with spiritual discernment and with mutual, edification. We need to think about how are we going to pursue, you know, this next season of what God has for Windsor District Baptist Church because there's so many great things happening, you know, so many avenues to reach into the community. I was telling somebody this last week, we had 3 prisons on our stores doorstep and they corrected me. It's 4. We are literally 4 prisons within walking distance.
Jonathan:You will drive by 4 prisons before you get home. And you think about Jesus' ministry, you know, what he said about, you know, what you did for the least of these, my brothers, you did also for me. And so when I think about, you know, Jesus being a part of this church, what are the things that he's excited about? What are the things that he wants to be doing? My mind quickly moves beyond the Sunday service.
Jonathan:Yeah. And it moves into the everyday, you know, our relationships, our presence in the community. And that's why the Jeremiah Project is really something I'm excited to share with people today.
Ardin:Indeed. We should get straight to it. Well, we've had a bit of, like a cavalcade of Americans lately. It's been like July 4th in here. It's nice to kinda have a local guest once again.
Ardin:Of course. You can only have so many Americans.
Jonathan:Yeah. I would agree with that. I would agree with that. We're very, very happy to have with us today, Jackie Turano. Jackie, welcome.
Jacky:Thank you.
Jonathan:And, Jackie, you're not too far away here. Where are you based in Sydney?
Jacky:Well, we're actually based all over Sydney. We do work from the community kitchen up at Windsor. We also serve from Richmond Park. We work from Mount Druitt, Parramatta, and now Blacktown.
Jonathan:And the name of your ministry is? The Jeremiah Project.
Ardin:Which I think most people would have heard of. You seem to be pretty well known.
Jacky:Yeah. I think God's, exposing us. Especially this season, I feel like we're getting a lot more exposure.
Ardin:And for those who wouldn't know, what what do you do at the what do they do at the Jeremiah Project?
Jacky:So the Jeremiah Project is a, a homeless ministry, but we've realized that it's not just for homeless. There's a lot of lost, lonely, and broken hearted that come in or meet us at the park, have a meal. And from that, we start a conversation. So for me, I never wanted to be a production where we're just hand handing out food. It's about, giving them food, but then also giving them soul food.
Ardin:The the need I mean, you you mentioned some of the people that come by. That's that's a fairly massive sort of catchment, and the needs are huge. So how do you guys sort of, I suppose, funnel yourselves? What what do you offer folks?
Jacky:So we do offer, teas and coffee, hot beverages. We've got a nice little esque, urn we take around with us. We offer food. We offer desserts, everything.
Jonathan:And and then I think you were telling me all fair that you guys try to do, like, a special a special event. Is it once a month where where you gather everyone in together? Can you tell us a bit about that?
Jacky:Yeah. So in, in Parramatta, we do once a month the feed in the park, but we actually bring the chairs and tables.
Ardin:Oh.
Jacky:And everyone sits around, and that's our sort of our community connection. We also have done that at Richmond Park, but just just because of the cold weather, we've been taking it into KFC, and been sitting around the table there, which is really nice.
Jonathan:And what would you say most people's experience is? Like, if they were there on the ground with you either serving or participating in in these events? What are the things that you're seeing? What are you noticing?
Jacky:I'm definitely seeing a big call out. A a lot of people are reaching out, especially families, that wanna serve and wanna show their children the love of Christ through serving. And so we're attracting a lot of age groups that wanna come down and serve. And once they're on the on the ground serving, they wanna come back, which is amazing because it's very hard to find volunteers. And I feel like, God's just keeps leading them to us.
Jacky:And every time we have a new area or God's given me a a suburb on my heart, you'll find so many volunteers just reaching out. So I just sit back and allow God open the doors for me.
Jonathan:And you
Ardin:because you guys have a house here in in Windsor, don't you?
Jacky:Well, that actually belongs to the Hawkesbury Community Kitchen, but we we work from it on the weekends.
Ardin:Yeah. Okay.
Jacky:But we've definitely outgrown there. We just recently won a food truck
Ardin:through
Jonathan:You won it?
Jacky:We won it through a grant. We applied for a grant, and it came through. So I think that it's exciting because I've always wanted to get out of the 4 walls. So I think the future for Jeremiah in Windsor would be in that food truck.
Ardin:And where does the name come from?
Jacky:The name comes from Jeremiah 29 and 11.
Jonathan:For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Yeah. I'm glad you knew it. I'm gonna pull my rent card if I didn't.
Ardin:Thankfully, the pastor knew the bible verse.
Jonathan:I gotta have some purpose here. But, Jackie, in hearing your just how widespread you are, can you talk us through, is there a typical client or a typical patrons, a typical person who who you're dealing with, or is every case different?
Jacky:Oh, definitely every case is different. I think with the big, increase in living and the cost of home loans, people are struggling.
Jonathan:Mhmm.
Jacky:And so I don't wanna just make it homeless. I feel like there's so many people coming to our table. And so that's where we're finding there's there's a huge demand, and I think God's just putting us in certain areas just to fulfill that demand. But I also feel like God's awakening churches, and I feel like in the last, you know, couple of months, he he put it on my heart maybe a few years ago. And then in the last couple months, so many churches are reaching out because I believe that every suburb, the church should be the hands and the feet.
Jacky:And I feel that Jeremiah Project empowers the churches and then releases the churches to work in the community.
Ardin:Is that where the the financial support comes from, local churches?
Jacky:Financial support comes from I do have 2 or 3 churches at the moment that do support me, but it's also businesses around the area. Missions, people give us missions because they can see that with their hands and feet and not just a church sitting inside, you know, the 4 walls. And then we just apply for grants, and if we're lucky, we get them. It's hit and miss.
Jonathan:Yep. Can testify to that. Yes. And then you said but you're not just trying to be a a group that distributes goods. You actually wanna get to know the people.
Jonathan:What have you found is effective in in trying to get to know people's stories? Is there certain conversations you take them through? Do you have a plan, or is it just very organic and it flows out of whoever's there?
Jacky:Yeah. I would say it's very important to stay tuned to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit always leads you to whoever needs a word, and I think that's the icebreaker. So there could be someone in the park who's struggling financially, and the Holy Spirit has a prophetic word, and you just go over. And then it's it's an amazing connection.
Jacky:And then from that, we always exchange numbers and keep in contact, and they become family.
Ardin:Is it is it difficult to stay family with the 100 and 100 of people you would touch across Sydney?
Jacky:100%. There's a couple of pastors on the team. I would love a lot more hands on, due to it being volunteering throughout the week. A lot of people work. So, I do believe the future for Jeremiah.
Jacky:I reckon in the next month or so, I do believe there'll be, employment for people to help me with that.
Jonathan:That's fantastic. Now tell us a bit how you got started with this. I understand it was a bit of a journey for you, wasn't it?
Jacky:Yes. A huge journey. So, in 2018, we, as a family, walked through a really tough time, and we walked through grief upon grief. And we lost 5 family members within that year.
Ardin:Wow.
Jacky:And it was just a horrible year. And I owned 2 businesses. I was making very good income and working full time, and so was my husband. He's he was he owned a company. So for us, both, we stopped working in that in a few months because it was really hard for both of us.
Jacky:And so the income really slowed down. We struggled. We struggled financially, emotionally, physically, everything in between. And, I was meeting up with a pastor at the local church, and she just was really ministering to me and just being really kind. Yeah.
Jacky:Just to see the love Christ for her, I think that inspired me to do the same to the homeless. And then God put it in my heart. I came from a orthodox background.
Ardin:Mhmm.
Jacky:So to me, religion practices, a lot of things were attached to me, and I didn't know God. God for me was the sign of the cross. Interesting. Stand up, sit down, all the all the church protocols. Mhmm.
Jacky:So I didn't know the love of God. And to be honest, I thought he was this big, big, mean monster, especially in the year of grieving. Yeah. And I encountered God, and he shook me, and it was just a phenomenal moment that I wanted
Ardin:more. Mhmm.
Jacky:And I was attracted to knowing who we who and what. Everything about God, I was just fascinated. And then one moment, I've been alone with God. I had a vision about the homeless, and, I was sitting on a rock because I used to live on acreage, and right at the back, there was a big rock. And I was sitting on the rock, and, it was raining, and the Lord said, wait.
Jacky:And so I sat, and I was soaked, and he said, wait. And I sat, and probably 40, 45 minutes later, I was drenched, And I got up and I left, and as I was walking back to my home, the Lord said, that's how the homeless are.
Jonathan:Wow.
Jacky:And so it was like, woah. What does that mean? And I never had homeless on my heart. Never. It was always about making money.
Jacky:So then over time, the Lord let me led me to different areas, and Windsor was my first area. And I just drop off things and pack things, and then I just continued making a meal a week and dropping it to the kitchen. And then, yeah, I never looked back.
Jonathan:Thank you for sharing that story with us and trusting trusting us with that. I I'm
Ardin:I think everyone's a bit teary.
Jonathan:I think so too. I think so too. But it's it's beautiful to hear it's beautiful to hear someone who is seeking the Lord and is in communication with him and is listening to him and responsive to it to him when he speaks. And that's just it's so powerful. And and you think, yeah.
Jonathan:How did that conversation go with your family when you said, been running 2 businesses, and I'm thinking, I'm thinking maybe that that we need to go and serve the homeless. How how did that go? Yeah.
Jacky:Honestly, I think my husband is the greatest support. He doesn't get involved much on the streets, but he gets involved in the household. I mean, there's all hours of the night that I get up and, you know, come out because somebody needs a sleeping bag, and he never says, what are you doing?
Ardin:Like,
Jacky:he's been the greatest support. So, yes, to sacrifice my wage was a huge thing. I was climbing the corporate ladder and getting nowhere, and climbing God's ladder is a lot more rewarding for me. So that's where, you know, I was led and where I went.
Ardin:Any idea, like, from a purely practical side in terms of numbers, like perhaps how many sleeping bags you may have given out or how many meals you guys may have done, that sort of thing?
Jacky:I think because it's sort of heading towards the end of the year, we'd have proper figures because we do keep a tally. But, if we if you do a rough thing, every Thursday, we give out, gosh, about 60, 70 meals. Then Windsor's probably 25 on a Saturday Sunday, and then Richmond's probably 20, 25. Mount Jewett's 30, 40, and then Blacktown is probably about 30. But Mount Jewett, Richmond, and Blacktown are once a month at the moment.
Jacky:So good luck with calculating.
Ardin:And, hopefully, things get a lit little easier for for folks coming into springtime and warmer weather. It's I I imagine winter's the hardest part of the year.
Jacky:A 100%. But then you also got the heat heat where that's hard where the Hawkesbury experiences bushfires, and then the homeless are finding and scattered. Where did they go? So it's the cold, cold, and then the heat heat that they suffer the most.
Jonathan:Have you found people treat you differently? You've had a foot in the corporate world. You you've sort of been in that environment. You know what that's like. Now you're now you're in a a whole different space.
Jonathan:How do you find people interact with you? What differences do you notice?
Jacky:To be honest, I think I was probably a little bit embarrassed Mhmm. When I first started doing this because, you know, you're making the world sees success as how much money you're making, and then God sees success by being his hands and feet. So to wrap my head around that, it was very hard, and I had to, gosh, walk through a real humility process. I think people I would say my family, as in my siblings, I've got a big family, and I would say they really honor and respect me more. I did do clothing and corporate uniforms, so I used to always do their work.
Jacky:But just in relationship and how they are around me, I feel like they're a lot more respective and affectionate.
Jonathan:I imagine that's one of the fears people have is is they tend to derive their identity from, either, you know, the figure that hits their bank account when pays come in, or they derive it from the amount of authority they have, or, you know, the the general perception of, you know, their workmates and their colleagues. And, so, you know, I just wanna affirm that, you know, it's it's kinda rare these days to see someone who has said, I'm actually gonna take God's approval as the most important thing. And and and to see someone step out onto that and to hear to hear your testimony is absolutely beautiful. And everyone has their own journey. Everyone has their own call that he's called them to, but, it's lovely to see someone obedient to that.
Jacky:Yeah. And and it wasn't easy. It still isn't easy.
Ardin:Yeah. Yeah. Because for so certainly in the western world, for so many of us, our faith isn't necessarily in God. Our faith is in the next paycheck coming in so we can get through another week or 2.
Jacky:Correct.
Ardin:There's a big chunk of people out there where that never arrives.
Jacky:Yep. And and Paul said, I've tasted it I tasted to have plenty and I've tasted to have none, and that would be me. We've tasted having plenty, and we've tasted having none, but he's always been sufficient. He's always been my provider.
Ardin:And it's obviously going very well, and the need is so great. Are there any plans for expansion at the moment? Any any future sites where you're planning on going into?
Jacky:Yes. We are looking for a bigger building in the Hawkesbury. So, we are holding a charity dinner, to raise some funds and awareness, for for a bigger building. We've definitely outgrown where we're at. We I've got things at home that are stored.
Jacky:I've got things in a storage shed that are stored. We need once one place for everything, especially when the food truck comes. I think it'll be really nice to have one space for church, community connection. Yeah. It would be massive.
Jacky:I I've always envisaged somewhere they can have a whole holistic healing and have community different community organizations in the one stop shop. Awesome.
Jonathan:What would you say to people who wanna get involved, who maybe are hearing this for the first time and and they're just captivated by the journey and the story and the mission, what's ways that they can lend support?
Jacky:I'll always encourage volunteering. If you want to volunteer, just reach out to Jeremiah Project. We've got a email or website or Instagram. It's always the best place to go. But, also, financially, very hard to maintain this.
Jacky:You know, providing food and providing everything we do during the week, it's it's financial support is a big need, but I know God always supplies.
Jonathan:Thank you so much for joining us.
Jacky:Thank you for having me.
Ardin:Yeah. What an amazing story. A very bold move.
Jacky:Yeah. Thank you.
Ardin:What an awesome story of of faith and and, gosh, I guess, just obedience, you know, listening to God and just doing what he's told you to do.
Jonathan:When's the last time you heard somebody sharing in that way?
Ardin:Yeah. Couldn't even tell you.
Jonathan:Yeah. It's it's so easy, isn't it, for us in this culture to take things for granted and, you know, God becomes a an exercise in sort of religious practices.
Ardin:Yeah. A hobby on the side.
Jonathan:Yeah. Yeah. So it's so refreshing, isn't it, when you hear someone who's interacting with their creator on a daily basis. And what I wish people could have seen if this was a video podcast and maybe maybe Arden will get his get himself organized and we can turn it into video podcast with it. But what I wish people could have seen was she was very clearly trying to be sensitive to how the Lord was leading her in that conversation that she was having with us, and there was a real sensitivity to what the Lord was doing.
Jonathan:And, you know, when we asked her about how do you engage the the people who are coming for help, how do you engage them in conversation to see her just feel that compassion immediately was pretty profound for me.
Ardin:Yeah. Yeah. She was obviously very moved, which was which was moving for us, I think. Yeah, a different experience perhaps being here live with her than than listening to it on the podcast. But, yeah, just an amazing story.
Ardin:And perhaps all of us just need to to sit down on the rock at some point and just listen for a bit.
Jonathan:Well said.
Ardin:Well, I think that's it for another this week at Windsor. We did
Jonathan:pretty good. Great having you. Thanks for coming along for the
Ardin:journey, everybody. We'll do it all again shortly. Has Katie got
Jonathan:any any other guests lined up? Oh, we got some bangers
Ardin:coming up. We got some really good ones. Good to see. We'll catch up with them soon.