Co-Church’s Bevan and Tamlyn Russell called on decades of international church seeding experience to plant one of their own in Umhlali.

The husband-and-wife pair founded Co-Church in 2019, growing it from two small Alpha groups to a vibrant congregation in an historic building.

That growth was far from easy – interrupted first by a pandemic and then a lack of premises – but has proved to be a perfect example of keeping the faith.

Bevan and Tamlyn met while living abroad in London and will have been married for 20 years in 2024.

“I didn’t grow up in the church but it found me while I was in the UK,” said Bevan.

“I started volunteering at Hillsong, while Tam was spending a lot of her free time there when not teaching.”

Bevan joined the church full-time in 2005 and together the duo spent 12 years furthering Hillsong’s footprint across the world.

After six more years in the UK, they moved to Noosa north of Brisbane in Australia, to start a new Hillsong campus, where they remained until 2017.

“We initially thought we were making a sacrifice for Jesus, but found that Noosa was like paradise once we arrived,” said Tamlyn.

“But eventually we felt a calling to come back to South Africa and make a difference in the communities we were raised in.”

Bevan hails from Scottburgh on the South Coast, but Tamlyn (nee Greig) grew up just outside Umhlali on a farm and attended church in the very building that Co-Church now inhabits.

Co-Church was initially nomadic however, hosting meetings between Salt Rock and Umhlanga before finding their first ‘permanent’ premises in February 2020.

Then Covid-19 and the national lockdown arrived a month later and suddenly church services were mostly held over Zoom.

“It wasn’t until late 2021 when we found our current home. Even still, we hosted our first services outside because of gathering limits,” said Bevan.

“Once the location was presented to us, we thought ‘well this must be a sign’ given Tam had grown up in the building, which was the original home of All Souls Anglican Church.”

Officially dedicated in 1921 by the Bishop of Natal, Frederick Samuel Baines, the building has also previously hosted Olive Tree Church and Christchurch.

“We have loved our time here so far,” said Bevan.

“I wholeheartedly believe in the church as a force for good and we are obviously motivated to deliver people the good news of the Gospel.”

Co-Church is not part of a denomination and hosts a diverse congregation of more than 100 people, a large portion of which are families.

“We are affiliated with the Association of Related Churches, which helps with training and development, but also accountability and transparency,” said Bevan.

“It is also a community, which is at the foundation of our church. ‘Co’ as a prefix means together and that’s what we preach, community and connection.”

Services are held every Sunday from 9-10.15am at the Co-Church premises on the R102 next to Umhlali Saps.

You can find more info at co-church.org, by following Co-Church on Facebook and Instagram or by reaching out at hello@co-church.org

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