Our Story

In 1958, a small group of people came together at the Loyal Orange Lodge in Wattle Park for the first meeting of what would later become Urban Life, originally called the Christian Revival Crusade Melbourne Assembly. Their aim was to explore what it meant to be the people of God in an inclusive and welcoming manner, while also supporting the neighbourhood they found themselves in. The group met in various locations and forms, sometimes with larger church communities and other times in back rooms. By 1960, the group had relocated to the YWCA buildings in Melbourne Central and in 1962, Hal Oxley was appointed as Pastor. In 1969, the Assembly moved to Cotham Road, Kew, and later to Oban Road, Ringwood in 1973, where it became known as the Christian Life Centre or CLC Ringwood.

Out of this, Urban Life began its journey as a church plant in January 2005 in an old night club, and in August of the same year Urban Life Cafe and Community Centre opened its doors for the first time, fulfilling our desire to be a community resource located in the heart of our city. 

The journey from a well-established traditional church to our current community of faith arose from a conversation that sought to answer the question ‘what does it mean to be the people of God in our time and place’. The result was a desire to live for the well-being of local communities and revisioning ourselves around the twin priorities of community and mission.