St Matthew's Church

What St Matthew's Church does

St Matthew's Church is a community-focused Anglican church located at 153 Eaglehawk Rd in Long Gully, a suburb of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. Operating under the tagline 'God | Food | People', the organization runs a portfolio of free or donation-supported community programs including the People's Pantry (food relief), the 'Hope...It Grows!' community garden, a Youth Group for Grade 6+, a Toy Library ('Out of the Box'), the Gully Gathering worship service, the Happiness Lab educational course, Cook Up A Storm cooking sessions, Kid Space holiday programs, community pizza nights, and an annual Twilight Festival. The church is affiliated with the Anglican Diocese of Bendigo and operates under the community-facing brand 'God | Food | People'.

The organization has no proprietary technology platform and delivers all services in-person from its single physical site, which houses a community garden, wood-fired pizza oven, amphitheatre, and program spaces. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: outreach occurs through local partnerships (notably with Long Gully Neighbourhood Centre, Violet St and Lightning Reef Primary Schools, Seeds Bendigo, and Urban Seed), word-of-mouth referrals, and a Facebook presence including the 'Long Gully Neighbourhood Sharing' group used to coordinate mutual aid during the COVID-19 crisis. Marketing channels consist of a WordPress website, Facebook page, and email newsletter; there is no paid advertising.

The business model is donation-based rather than commercial. All programs and worship services are offered free of charge, with occasional gold-coin donations requested for events such as pizza nights. There are no disclosed revenue figures, funding rounds, or headcount data; operations appear to be sustained primarily by one named community worker (Dave Fagg) plus volunteers. The legal entity is a nonprofit religious organization under the Anglican Diocese of Bendigo, established in activity by at least 2010.

Name

St Matthew's Church

Legal name

St Matthew's Church

Website

https://godfoodpeople.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St Matthew's Church is a single-location Anglican community church in Long Gully, Bendigo, Victoria, operating free food-relief, youth, gardening, and worship programs for local residents through donations, volunteer labor, and neighborhood partnerships under the 'God | Food | People' banner.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Services and Community Programs

NAICS

Religious Organizations (8131), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Congregations & Worship Communities (Churches, Mosques, Temples, Synagogues) (BPAGAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Education & Formation (Seminaries, Religious Schools, Catechesis) (BPAGAJAD), Faith-Based Missions & Evangelism Organizations (Domestic & International) (BPAGAJAE)

Keywords

• Community church services
• Religious worship gatherings
• Food assistance programs
• Youth ministry activities
• Community garden programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Long Gully

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Offerings: Church receives voluntary donations from congregation members and community supporters. No formal tithing system mentioned.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

St Matthew's Church delivers free religious worship services (the Gully Gathering, held on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month with a pancake brunch) at its Long Gully premises, alongside a portfolio of community programs including the People's Pantry (food relief), the Hope...It Grows! community garden, a Youth Group for Grade 6+, the Out of the Box Toy Library, the Happiness Lab educational course, Cook Up A Storm cooking sessions, and the Kid Space holiday program. It also runs recurring community events such as wood-fired Pizza Nights and the annual Twilight Festival.

Product overview

St Matthew's Church operates a single-location community church with multiple interconnected community programs and services rather than a unified technology product. The core offering is the Gully Gathering church service, supplemented by community support programs including the People's Pantry (food assistance), the 'Hope…It Grows!' community garden, a Youth Group, the 'Out of the Box' toy library, and various educational programs like the Happiness Lab and Cook Up A Storm cooking sessions. The church also organizes regular community events including pizza nights, the annual Twilight Festival, and holiday programs. These programs collectively form a community ministry focused on 'God | Food | People' as expressed on their website tagline.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gully Gathering A church service held on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, featuring worship, discussion about Jesus, prayers, a kid-friendly environment and a pancake brunch. Open to anyone in the local community.
• People's Pantry A food pantry program providing food assistance to community members in need. Re-starts each year after the holiday break.
• Hope...It Grows! Community Garden The 'Hope...It Grows!' community garden at St Matthew's premises providing gardening activities, fresh vegetables for community use, and volunteer opportunities.
• Youth Group A youth group for young people in Grade 6 and above offering fun activities, community engagement, holiday programs (beach trips, mosaic workshops) and a free BBQ.
• Out of the Box Toy Library A toy lending library allowing families to borrow toys, try them out, and return them. Open Mondays and Fridays, 9.30-11.30am.
• Community Pizza Nights Regular community gatherings featuring wood-fired pizza, hot chocolate and fire pit gatherings. Open to anyone, free admission.
• Twilight Festival An annual community festival featuring food, games, performances, workshops, art exhibitions (with partner primary schools), face painting, live music and various family activities.
• Happiness Lab A 6-week course exploring themes of patience, gratitude, self-care, relationships and acts of kindness. Free to attend with onsite childcare available; open to any faith or none.
• Cook Up A Storm Cooking sessions teaching simple, tasty and cheap meals using fresh produce from the Hope...It Grows! community garden. Led by local cooking instructor Kylie Martens.
• Kid Space Holiday Program School holiday program for primary school children featuring craft, cooking, stories, gardening, singing and themed activities.
• Long Gully Neighbourhood Sharing A community support network (Facebook group plus offline volunteer database) coordinating practical help — grocery runs, chemist trips, phone calls, garden watering, cooked meals — for neighbours in need, particularly during crises such as COVID-19.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Long Gully Neighbourhood CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizes Community Christmas Carols event. Partnership for community-wide events and neighborhood support initiatives.
• Seeds BendigocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSmall Christian community group associated with St Matthew's. Hosts discussion events and faith-based community gatherings. Dave Fagg serves as Convenor.
• Hope...It Grows! Community GardencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity garden initiative at St Matthew's premises. Produces fresh vegetables for community use. Involves volunteers in gardening activities and permaculture education.
• Violet St Primary SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipates in Twilight Festival art exhibitions and school holiday programs.
• Lightning Reef Primary SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipates in Twilight Festival art exhibitions.
• Urban SeedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported the Missional Church in a Post-Christian Culture event. Faith-based community organization.
• Anglican Diocese of BendigocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent religious organization. Supported missional church events and provided resources for community programs.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• The Salvation Army Australia: Major Christian charitable organization providing food assistance, community programs, youth services, and emergency relief across Australia. Comparable in combining worship with practical community services but operates nationally with formal fundraising and service delivery infrastructure far exceeding St Matthew's capacity.
• Baptcare: Baptist-affiliated community services organization operating aged care, family services, youth support, and community programs across Victoria and Tasmania. Shares the Christian-rooted community service model with St Matthew's and operates comparable food and social support programs.
• Uniting (Victoria and Tasmania): The community services arm of the Uniting Church in Australia operating across Victoria and Tasmania. Delivers food programs, youth services, family support, and community development, sharing the faith-rooted community service mission model with St Matthew's but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria: Catholic charitable organization providing food assistance (Vinnies food vans and pantries), home visits, and material aid across Victoria. Closely comparable to St Matthew's People's Pantry food relief and community support model but operates state-wide with formal volunteer and donor structures.
• Anglicare Victoria: The community services arm of the Anglican Diocese of Victoria, providing food relief, family services, youth programs, and community support across the state. As a sibling organization under the broader Anglican structure, it shares faith-based community service DNA with St Matthew's but operates at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.

Direct peers

• Foodbank Victoria: Victoria's largest food relief organization distributing food to community pantries and programs including church-run operations. Directly comparable to the People's Pantry program component of St Matthew's and likely serves as a sourcing or distribution partner for similar community food programs.
• Long Gully Neighbourhood Centre: Direct local partner co-organizing the Community Christmas Carols event with St Matthew's and serving overlapping Long Gully residents with community programs. Operates as a neighborhood hub addressing similar social connection and support needs through a secular community development lens.
• Seeds Bendigo: Small Christian community group explicitly associated with St Matthew's, hosting discussion events and faith-based community gatherings in the Bendigo area. Shares the missional, relationship-focused community approach and convenor (Dave Fagg) with St Matthew's, representing an immediately adjacent ministry model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/godfoodpeople
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stmatthewslonggully

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St Matthew's Church