The History of Portlife
31.05.1956 - Pastor Dudley Cooper and Bonnie Cooper start a ‘Revival Night’ on Thursdays at their Kilkenny home
28.04.1957 - Sunday services commence at the Cheltenham Scout Hall
22.06.1958 - Pastor Leo Harris ordains Pastor Dudley and 22 adults become members of Port Adelaide Assembly
"Many wonderful things happened in the Cheltenham Scout Hall. One night while I was preaching there was a commotion in the congregation and people were being filled with the Holy Spirit during the sermon. The power of God was great. Many people were saved, baptised in water, healed in their bodies and delivered..." ~Ps Dudley Cooper
1964 - Pastor Barry Chant (previously the worship leader) becomes the pastor of Port Adelaide CRC
1965 - A block at 73 Grand Junction Rd, Rosewater is purchased for £4,350 and meetings initially take place in a shed, then in a converted cottage (the land is dedicated on 21.02.1965)
1967 - A church building is constructed on the site that seated over 200 people, with room to expand
"We were a motley crew. We fitted Paul’s description in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 pretty well. But we had some joyful times and many memorable moments." ~Ps Barry Chant
1974 - Pastor John Ridley joins the church to oversee pastoral care and encourages a change in name from The Cottage Chapel to The Christian Centre
1975 - Pastor Barry tenders his letter of resignation and Pastor John Ridley becomes Senior Pastor
1976 - The church establishes the first independent Christian primary school in South Australia, named Trinity Christian School (later renamed Portside Christian College) in the suburb of Rosewater
1980 - The church changes its name to The Good News Centre
1981 - Lakeside Christian Centre (West Lakes CRC) and the Good News Centre hold joint services at Rosewater while renovations are completed in West Lakes
1982 - Pastor Keith Walsingham and Pastor John Ridley decide to merge the two churches with Pastor Keith as the senior pastor (the church is renamed Hebron Centre)
20.08.1983 - The official opening of the new Hebron Centre on Fredrick Road, West lakes is held
"People found Jesus. Asked Him to be their Saviour. Got filled with the Holy Spirit and went on to serve Him. It was an exciting place to be." ~Ps Keith Walsingham
1985 - Pastor Rodney Dunn becomes the pastor of Hebron Christian Centre
"We saw the Church increase in number, we continually saw people set free and brought into a victorious relationship with God." ~Ps Rodney Dunn
1986 - Neil Milne becomes the pastor of Hebron Christian Centre
1990 - A block of land on 1 Causeway Road, Ethelton is purchased and a church building and school are constructed to accommodate the growing church (which is renamed Portside Community Church) and the school
05.1990 - The Eldership Board formally adopts the names Portside Community Church and Portside Christian School as new names for the church and school
30.08.1992 - The church complex is officially opened
1992 - Portside starts a Playschool
"We consider ourselves most blessed to have been involved in the journey of Hebron/Portside. Our lives are certainly richer and our experiences deeper. We witnessed the amazing grace of God at work in so many lives and in so many ways." ~Ps Neil Milne
2000 - John Poyzer becomes the senior pastor of Portside Community Church
2002 - Portside Care, which was originally established in 1995 to give out food parcels, expands into a weekly lunch for the disadvantaged in the local area
2003 - Portside Christian College begins phasing in a high school with the addition of Year 8
2009 - Portside Christian College completes the phasing in of a high school with the addition of Year 12
2010 - Josh Poyzer becomes the senior pastor of the church, which is renamed Portlife Church
2010 - Green Monkeys is first opened to the Community
2011 - The first phase of The Myanmar Project is completed with the church raising over $80,000 to purchase three blocks of land in Myanmar for a Children’s Home
2015 - Our first children’s home ‘The Life House’ is opened in Myanmar
2019 - The elders at Seaview Community Church approach the elders of Portlife Church about the possibility of a Portlife pastor leading Seaview
2021 - Seaview Community Church is renamed Portlife Church Seaview and officially became a campus of Portlife Church, with Ps Kevin Hall as the campus pastor (click here to read about Seaview's history)
2022 - Our second children's home is opened in Myanmar