The COVID-19 pandemic and the months of state-imposed restrictions have negatively impacted many lives.
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However, there are a handful of organisations that have prospered.
Life Links Church Ararat, formerly known as the Ararat Church of Christ, is experiencing an uptick in parishioners this year.
"We've managed to reach out to more people outside of our church during the pandemic," said Pastor Tony Llewellyn.
"Before restrictions, we were working on live streaming our services. We were already recording our services, and we use a mixture of live readings and pre-recorded content.
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"Once the pandemic shut down our church, we moved our services to YouTube. Most of our parishioners are online anyhow, so it wasn't a massive step for them.
"Those who aren't online, we put the service on a DVD and deliver it to them so they can still watch it at home."
Pastor Tony said it is a time-consuming exercise, but worth the effort.
"I'm technologically minded, as are a number of the parishioners, so we were able to record a lot the worship songs quite easily.
"We even put in mock news segments to buoy the spirits.
"Some of our members live in remote areas, so they couldn't attend church regularly before the pandemic. The online services are popular with people who want to explore Christianity, but don't want the pressure of attending a service."
Pastor Tony said while the online services are well-received, they won't fully replace a traditional Sunday congregation.
"So many people have said they are looking forward to a mass gathering," he said.
"To be able to shake someone hand and talk without wearing a mask.
"There's no substitute for personal contact."
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