Disciple-making ministry when you're in pain

  • Pete Bayliss and Dave Cochrane
  • 15 September 2015

Here’s a question for you: what would you do if confronted by the loss of the person you loved the most? Would you lose faith? Or push on?

Pete Bayliss is a dad of three boys on Sydney's north shore. Lisa has been his wife for over 20 years.

On Sundays Pete had a special role at church; he was on the roster to give the kids’ talk once a month. But he did it differently.

Dressed as a superhero, he was called BP Man, which stood for 'Bible Passage Man', and he was accompanied by his 'trusty sidekick' Dave Cochrane, known onstage as BP Boy.

Together they taught the kids Bible verses in a fun way that they would remember, every word. The adults loved it too!

But earlier this year, Pete and his family were dealt a devastating blow. Lisa was diagnosed with a brain disease. It gave her only 12 weeks to live.

Lisa died on the 25th of April, 2015.

Pete was struggling to cope, and, in the middle of his grief, came to learn that his character BP Man was on the roster to perform soon—less than a month after Lisa's passing.

But rather than shy away, Pete did the one thing people didn't expect. He took the stage, kept the faith, and preached the gospel.

What Pete and Dave showed in that performance, and every one since then, is that there can be hope found in any tragedy, and that two blokes with some silly costumes can indeed be an effective witness for Christ for people of all ages.

This is their story, lycra, masks and all.