Thursday nights are for coming home

Thursday Nights
6:30pm – 9:00pm
10 Reserved Rd, Garden Suburb

GROWTH GROUPS · LIFE SERIES · CONNECT SERIES · HBC TRAIN

Come home on Thursday nights. Join us at Garden Suburb from 6.30pm for dinner, good friends and a chance to explore what it means to follow Jesus. Whether you’ve been around Unichurch for ages, just started uni, or have never been to church before, you’re welcome - you’re home.

After dinner, you can jump into one of three different spaces depending on where you’re at: The Life Series to explore Christianity and the big questions of life. The Connect series lays out who we are as a church to make it easy for you to decide if you would like to join us, and our Growth Groups are where we go deeper into the bible, and each other’s lives. There’s no pressure to have it all figured out — just come, eat, hang out, and get involved.

We’ll wrap up around 9:00pm, but you don’t have to head home. Stick around for board games, movies, painting, cricket, dodgeball or whatever else is happening. Thursday night is the time to eat, meet people, ask big questions and follow Jesus together.

What’s Changing?

In 2027, we’re bringing Growth Groups, The Life Series, The Connect Series and HBC Train together at Garden Suburb on Thursday Nights.

Previously, these parts of church life had grown independently and spread themselves across several nights, but now we’re bringing them under one roof. We’ll share dinner before heading into our different groups, with time to hang out afterwards. One night to grow with your group, welcome new friends, and enjoy being together as a church family.

 

What to Expect

Dinner together

Come home at 6:30 for dinner. Some weeks we’ll eat with our Growth Groups, with time to catch up around the table. Other weeks we’ll mix things up and get to know people from across church.

A place to grow, wherever you’re at

From 7:30 to 9:00, different groups will run alongside one another:

  • Growth Groups: Each group will have a regular spot at Garden Suburb to make its own. Most weeks, we’ll get stuck into a Bible study, pray, and share what’s happening in our lives, just like we do now.

  • The Life Series & More to Life groups: There’ll be somewhere for you or your friends to explore Jesus, whether they’re just beginning to ask questions or ready to keep digging. Having these groups alongside everything else makes it easier to bring a friend and share the evening with them.

  • The Connect Series: Running at different points throughout the year, The Connect Series helps newcomers get to know us, find their feet, and consider making Unichurch their home. Whenever someone joins us, Thursday Nights will give them a place to come home to. A place to meet people and get involved.

  • HBC Train

    We’re going to work to build a bunch of the Train course content into our Growth Group studies. A few times each semester, our regulars will come together for an all-in seminar/deep-dive.

Time to head home—or not...

Groups will wrap up at 9:00, so you can head home then if you’re up early the next day, or need to punch out an essay. But you don’t have to…

If you’d like, stay! Make yourselves at home. Grab a hot drink, keep chatting with your group or join a game. Some weeks we might organise something bigger, like a movie night, sport or a group competition. But most weeks will be more relaxed, with space to do your own thing…

 

Why Thursday Nights?

At Unichurch we thrive when we’re all together. Sundays, MYC, Summer Sessions and Winter Warmers give us a taste of that each year! Thursday Nights will make more room for the things we value about life together.

Community

Thursday Nights give us the best of both worlds: getting to know the wider Unichurch family over dinner and hangs, while going deeper with a Growth Group who know us, pray for us and walk alongside us.

Depth

We’re coming together to go deep into God’s word, with HBC Train and pastor-led seminars helping us understand the Bible, live it out and serve Jesus for a lifetime.

New friends

Thursday Nights make it easy to bring a friend, share dinner, meet your church friends and help them feel at home as they explore Jesus in The Life Series or joining church in The Connect Series.

 

Got Questions?

  • We’re launching Thursday Nights in February 2027.

  • For most of us, it means building our week around our Sunday gathering and Thursday Nights. Together, they’ll be the beating heart of life at Unichurch: two nights to grow in God’s word, care for one another and welcome others into our church family.

    Two nights to look forward to, make time for and share with others.

  • AllNations and Colleges already give us a taste of how good it is to gather like this!

    AllNations will keep meeting on Tuesdays in the City—same night, same place! The setting and pace work well for our community, so we're sticking with it! Thursday Night seminar weeks will be an optional extra, with Tuesday gatherings continuing as usual.

    Colleges will stay meeting on campus (usually) but move to Thursdays. Having the College students meet at the uni is an important way to keep reaching people in the residences. And at some points in the year, like the winter break, Colleges might join the Garden Suburb crew.

  • We’d love everyone to keep Thursdays free where possible, so we can share this part of church life together.

    We know that won’t be possible for everyone, so there’ll be one or two Growth Groups meeting on other nights, so if Thursdays aren’t possible for you, chat with us and we’ll help you find a home in a group.

  • Thursday Nights are for our regulars and anyone wanting to check out Jesus or church with us. Alongside Growth Groups, The Life Series & More to Life, and The Connect Series will help people explore Christianity and settle into church.

    So whether a friend is curious about Jesus or looking for a church to call home, there’s somewhere for them to begin…

  • Yes! Sharing our homes is still part of sharing our lives. We’ll set aside some Thursdays for Growth Groups to meet in homes.

    Bringing up to three nights into one also creates more room during the week for hospitality. That might mean dinner with a few people from church or getting your whole Growth Group together on another night. What could you do with an extra evening?

  • Yeah! You’ll still belong to a Growth Group: people to open the Bible with, pray with and share life with. Your group will stay together through the year and have a regular place on site at Garden Suburb to make its own.

    There’s also room to spread out for smaller conversations and prayer. Imagine sitting out on the deck with your prayer triplet as the sun sets, sharing how you’re going and praying for one another.

  • Dinner’s at 6:30 pm and will cost $6.50, the same as Sundays. We’ll cater for dietary requirements just as we do on Sundays.

    Some weeks we’ll eat in our Growth Groups, with time to catch up and share life over a meal. Other weeks we’ll encourage everyone to sit with people outside their groups—a chance to make new friends and get to know more of our church family.

  • If you’re bringing a friend to The Life Series, being there with them is probably more important than your Growth Group for those few weeks. Having someone they know alongside them can make a big difference as they explore Jesus.

    We’ll also run a catch-up Bible study from 5:30 to 6:30 pm for people accompanying friends or serving that evening. It will bring together people from different Growth Groups to work through the week’s material. Our regular Growth Groups follow the same content each week, so you’ll cover what your group is studying whenever you need to miss it.

  • HBC Train is changing, but its goal stays the same: equipping students for a lifetime of serving Jesus.

    Much of that training will now happen within our Growth Groups. Core course content will become part of the first-year Newish Group material. Other content, like systematic theology, will be covered across four or so years in Growth Groups.

    We’re planning six to eight seminars each year, from 7:30 to 9 pm on selected Thursdays.

    We’ll explore topics that help us understand God and navigate life, like dating, marriage, singleness, the Trinity, and suffering.

  • The regular Thursday Nights program will take a break during university holidays and exams.

    Some groups might decide to roll on and come up with something fun…

  • If you’ve got questions that’s great! You can talk to one of the pastors or shoot us an email HERE.

  • Super! We love ideas.
    Whether it’s an activity, a practical suggestion or a way to help people feel at home, your ideas can help shape our Thursdays together.
    You can share your idea with one of the pastors or shoot it to us in an email HERE.