When an Australia church received a donation of clothing, they saw an opportunity to meet their neighborhood’s needs by creating the Clothes Basket, which served over 300 people in their latest open donation.

On Saturday 23 March 2024, Bundaberg Church of the Nazarene welcomed its community to the Clothes Basket. Every month, Pastors Kelvin and Petrina Rowland, their congregation, and a host of volunteers bless their neighbors by inviting them into the church building and offering a wide selection of clothes—all for free. Their motto is “Giving in—Given out.”

The Clothes Basket began as a response to a housing and cost-of-living crisis in the Bundaberg region. Around 18 months ago, the church received a donation of clothes and saw an opportunity to meet a need in their neighborhood. When they opened their doors for the first Clothes Basket, 12 “shoppers” came. At the most recent Clothes Basket, 348 people came!

“Our hope is that people will be blessed and that they will know this is an act of blessing coming from the people of the Bundaberg Church of the Nazarene,” Kelvin said.

Setting up the Clothes Basket is an enormous task. On Thursday, 19 volunteers transformed the sanctuary into a store. On Friday, they sorted, folded, and arranged thousands of articles of clothing for people of all ages. Early Saturday morning, people lined up before the church opened its doors. Everything was put away by the evening, and the sanctuary was ready for Sunday morning again.

The Bundaberg community has recognized the value of the Clothes Basket. The ministry has received several community grants and donations, including two park benches for people to sit on while they wait for the doors to open. At this past month’s Clothes Basket, the recently elected mayor of Bundaberg stopped by to see what it was all about.

“Bundaberg loves the Clothes Basket,” Kelvin said, “but the biggest blessing is that we’ve got people who are God-curious.”

-- Church of the Nazarene Asia-Pacific