There’s a moment in most people’s experience of church where someone says “you should come along, it’s really welcoming” and what they mean is: it’s welcoming if you already know the words, the rhythms, and the unspoken rules.
The Last Breakfast is our attempt to do something genuinely welcoming…
What it is
On the last Sunday of every month, instead of a traditional service, Box Hill Baptist gathers around a table for breakfast. There’s no sermon. No singing. No complex order of service to navigate. Just food, honest conversation, and a group of people who’ve found that some of the most meaningful things happen when you sit down together and actually talk.
Each month we explore a question or theme – drawn from the Christian tradition, from current events, from the texture of everyday life – but always in a way that’s open-ended and encourages questions. There are no right answers required, and no particular belief you need to hold before you arrive. The conversation goes where it goes, shaped by whoever is at the table that day.
Afterwards, if you want to stay and keep talking, people usually do.
What it isn’t
The Last Breakfast is, unashamedly, a church gathering. It’s hosted by Box Hill Baptist Church, it’s shaped by our faith, and it draws on the Christian tradition for its questions and its framing. We’re not trying to hide that.
But it isn’t an evangelism event. We’re not trying to get anyone to sign up to a particular set of beliefs. We don’t have an agenda for where you should end up. What we do have is a genuine conviction that questions matter as much as answers, that doubt is as welcome as certainty, and that a table where people can be honest with each other is doing something spiritually significant – whatever you call it.
If you come and find it’s not for you, that’s completely fine. If you come and find something that resonates, the door is open to explore further as far as you want and at whatever pace makes sense for you. And if you come every month and just really value the breakfast and the people, honestly, we’re glad you’re there.
Who comes
Our Last Breakfast table includes people who have been part of this community for decades, people who are brand new, people who grew up in faith and never left, people who walked away from church and found their way back, and people who aren’t sure what they believe but are drawn to this kind of conversation anyway.
Many of our regulars have English as a second language, and we use food (and some nifty technology!) to help bridge that gap. A number of our attendees are LGBTQ+, and for some of them finding a table where they are genuinely and unconditionally welcome has been a long journey. We don’t take that lightly.
You don’t need to have it figured out to belong here. You just need to be willing to show up and be yourself.
The practical things
Last Breakfast happens on the last Sunday of every month at 10am, at Box Hill Baptist Church (corner of Station Street and Ellingworth Parade, Box Hill), a short walk from Box Hill Station.
Bring something to share for breakfast if you can, but please don’t let that stop you from coming if you can’t. There’s always plenty.
The building is fully accessible for wheelchair users and mobility aids. Free street parking is available on Ellingworth Parade and surrounding streets.
If you’d like to know more before you come, feel free to reach out at office@boxhillbaptist.org.au or call us on (03) 9890 1275. Or simply turn up on the last Sunday of the month at 10am.
You’ll be warmly welcomed — exactly as you are.
Want to know more about who we are? Find out about our inclusive, affirming community →
Box Hill Baptist Church 