Sometimes it’s the simplest things that make all the difference.

Up in the Blue Mountains, where bushfires flattened more than 200 properties last fortnight, Springwood Baptist Church has installed a second Wifi network to offer free internet access to those who’ve lost homes.

The upgrade was suggested by a deacon of the church, who’s also an IT professional, as a way of practically loving people who’ve found themselves cut off from the comfort home provides.

“Internet is something we just take for granted these days, whether it’s for internet banking, or if you’re a small business owner needing to contact clients,” says Associate Pastor Travis Ryan.

It’s just one of those things you never think of until all of a sudden you can’t access your emails, or correspond to your insurance company.”

But it’s not just WiFi the church is offering. For days, the church has had its doors open, doling out refreshments and friendship to anyone who needs it.

“As a church, we’ve been buying washing machines and fridges for people who need them, organising volunteers for clean-up and we’ve been running our kitchen basically all week offering food and tea, for families and relief workers that come through.”

This week, the church has been transformed into a Bushfire Relief Support Centre by the Salvation Army and is functioning like a supermarket, open 9am-6pm offering groceries and essential supplies to people sent there after registering at the local Presbyterian Church. Meanwhile, upstairs the church office is housing the Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Response team.

Trying not to disturb the routine of church, Springwood Baptist ran its services and youth group as usual over the two weekends. Joel Hollier, who wrote Eternity’s most read article entitled ‘I’m a Christian and my house just burned down’, is a youth leader at the church. Travis says it was a great witness to the kids that he came along and shared about his experience, even as fires were still burning.

“Getting up on a Friday night and leading youth group after your house has burnt down and talking about God and faith and spirituality makes an impact. I think that gives it a certain legitimacy that perhaps it otherwise wouldn’t have. There’s definitely been some great Gospel opportunities in the midst of this.”

On Sunday, the church was packed out.

“We’ve seen attendance at our Sunday services swell. So I think people are making the link here that the church doesn’t exist just for ourselves and is seeking to be a blessing in the community. There is something about that which people seem to be connecting with,” says Travis.

Also in Springwood-Winmalee, the Presbyterian Social Service, Jericho Road, has chest freezers full of frozen meals they are handing out to people in affected areas every second afternoon. They’re also taking requests from people about what they need, and then hand delivering items to them, saving people from coming to recovery centres.

Up the mountains a few kilometres is Katoomba Christian Convention (KCC), a large site which hosts Christian conferences and camps all year round. They too have played a key role in the bushfire response.

After rescheduling all the camps which were planned for the two week period when the fires were expected to take hold, KCC flung its gates open to the emergency services.

For days fire fighters were coming in and out of the site to be fed and refreshed, with a number of interstate delegates staying overnight. Not to mention the hundreds of beds which were prepared in case the neighbouring town of Blackheath was evacuated.

Last Wednesday the Blue Mountains City Council held a community meeting in the main auditorium, which was filled to overflowing with interested residents, according to Acting Property Manager, Steve Williams.

“We usually take two days to set up the auditorium, but in four hours, with the SES, RFS and Army volunteers, we were ready to rock’n’roll by 5:30.

“It was the biggest meeting held in the mountains and they were especially appreciative that everyone could be seated and that there were projectors showing slides the RFS wanted everyone to see.”

He says valuable links have been forged with local services.

“One of the things we’ve been very keen to do over the last few years is build partnerships with the local community. We’ve built a good working relationship with the local Council up here and we’ve started to work on closer ties with the emergency services. Let me say, this last week and a half has cemented all those relationships.”

KCC has also been directing people to donate to individual churches in the Springwood-Winmalee area. You can find the details here.