“People used to look in the bottom of a glass for help, now they’re looking in a different direction,” Baptist Elder Steven Johnson said.

Turning the former pub into a church is no easy task and one that not even a burst water pipe and $80,000 worth of damage could stop.

With donations helping replace the traditional furnishings, it has become a place of spiritual support.

“We’re putting the church front and centre in the community by moving into a former pub, some people don’t like that we’ve moved into a pub but others have said this is the way forward.

“These days churches tend to close, but we’ve bucked the trend, it’s not just a run down old building.”