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When Prayer Becomes the Favourite Part

Jodie Lockyer has been intentionally growing a culture of prayer with the children at Coast Community Church.This started one Sunday when the adults were focusing on prayer during their service, and Jodie took the opportunity to create a special time for the children to pray at Kidzone.After a time of praise and worship through music, the children sat in a circle and shared things they were thankful for. Jodie invited the children to pray out loud, reassuring them that prayer didn’t ...

Six Baptisms, One Faithful God

Kingston Community Church in Palmerston North recently celebrated six baptisms, with testimonies sharing about God’s grace at work in people’s lives.On 25 January, Sora, Kouta and Ethan were baptised at nearby Foxton Beach. The church heard how these teenagers are part of a regular Bible study with Akira Doi, and how God has been using these studies to grow them in faith. Sora shared that regularly meeting with Doi San has been incredibly significant in his growth as a Christian: “doing Bi...

Growing Faith: Grace Church Youth Baptisms

On a cold, cloudy, gale of an evening in late January two 16-year-old girls from Grace Church Richmond’s Detonate Youth Group got baptised at Rabbit Island Beach. Both Leah and Gabi have been part of the youth group for the past few years, where they’ve had the opportunity to hear about Jesus and learn what it means to follow him. Leanne Craig serves as part of the team of youth leaders and says she’s had the privilege of walking alongside Leah and Gabi over t...

Walking Together in Mission

An overseas team trip fostered mutual encouragement, support, and a shared sense of mission between The Street Church in Wellington and GC3 Mission Partners Ben and Bekah.The GC3 team write that “the visiting team joined Ben and Bekah on campus in Central Bangkok—a place known for both its strategic importance and its spiritual challenges. This university consistently shapes many of Thailand’s future leaders, which means that every conversation and connection made there has the potential f...

Serving, Learning, and Sharing the Gospel at Thornton Beach

Over the summer, four young women from Kingston Community Church in Palmerston North joined a beach mission with OAC (Outreach and Church Ministries) to learn and grow their evangelism skills.Emily, Ellie, Abby, and Isla headed up to Thornton Beach Camp to be part of a team seeking to share the gospel through a children’s programme.As they served, they learned. Ellie says she learned all about “God’s love for everyone, especially in this case, the children.” She says she was reminded of ...

An End of an Era, A Legacy of Faith

Manawarū Bible Chapel’s Rally celebrated the end of an era with a barn dance in honour of long-time leaders Denis and Joy Wallace....

Building Faith and Leadership in Canterbury

Twenty-five keen cadets recently spent a week of their summer holidays on camp in Canterbury, growing and developing in their roles as junior leaders, aged 15-18, at rallies across New Zealand.NZ Rally CEO Tony Foster says the week focused on building Christian character, with workshops on spiritual growth as a follower of Jesus alongside practical opportunities to serve....

Faith, Fun, and Water Sports

Three boats, two jet skis, 16 leaders, two cooks, and 57 teenagers come together at the end of each year for Summer Camp at Lakeland Park in Queenstown.Fun, friendships, water sports, and faith are at the heart of the camp, which is supported by a range of churches across the South Island.2025 GC3 Headspace Graduate Hayley Spencer from Waikari Gospel Hall was one of the leaders at the December camp and had the opportunity to share a devotion (pictured below) with the young people.“We had devot...

Depth, Connection, and the Word at Lake Learning

For one week over summer, MiCamp Taupō became a hub of focused learning and lively conversation as more than 77 people from churches across the country gathered for Lake Learning. Among them was Lower North Island Regional Enabler Miles Davison, attending the programme for the first time.Bringing together participants from a wide range of churches, Lake Learning offers an intensive week of Bible teaching that fosters deep engagement with Scripture and meaningful connection across the wider chur...

A Different Kind of Christmas Gift

A few weeks ago the kids ministry team at Chapel Hill Community Church in Hamilton gathered the kids together to discuss what they would like to do as a church family to remember and celebrate the Christmas story this year.Their answer was not to put on a Nativity play with parts and costumes, but to mark the season together by creating special Christmas ornaments.Alongside Chapel Hill Pastor Philip Renner and co-ministry leader Monique Koegelenberg, the team developed the idea a bit more, says ...

Stepping into Bethlehem: Sharing the Story of Jesus in Upper Hutt

Heretaunga Community Church (Upper Hutt) welcomed the community into Bethlehem last weekend through its annual Christmas Story, a three-day immersive retelling of the birth of Jesus.Across Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday morning, visitors stepped into a first-century street scene filled with Roman soldiers and shepherds, music and dancing, bakers and fishmongers, artisans and animals, shared food, and moments of reflection—each journey culminating in a visit with Mary, Joseph, and...

Sharing the Gospel Beyond the Church Walls

Ever been to your local Christmas Parade and noticed the breadth of businesses and groups participating… but no mention of Jesus?“We’d noticed that everyone from everywhere was involved in our local parade,” says Pakuranga Christian Fellowship Pastor Ken Hutchinson, “but no Christians talking about the real reason for Christmas.”So this year, for the first time, more than 40 volunteers from Pakuranga Christian Fellowship came together to take part in the Howick Santa Parade on Sunday...

Sparking Gospel Conversations at Christmas in Lights

For more than 20 years, Northcross Church in Auckland has hosted its ‘Christmas in Lights’ event for the local community. It’s a combination of lights, live characters, and warm hospitality that keeps visitors coming back year after year to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.This year, Northcross equipped volunteers with evangelism tools to help facilitate and encourage gospel conversations. Bianca and Shaan Yen (serving with Student Life) led two evangelism trainings on Sunday nights...

Developing the Next Generation of Kids Camp Leaders

CDN Trust recently brought together emerging kids-camp leaders from 13 churches—including Riccarton Community Church and Rutland St Church—for a leaders development camp at Woodend Christian Camp.Community Development Network Trust is a Christian-based youth work agency based in Riccarton Community Church.62 kids camp leaders and future kids camp leaders (aged 14-18) came together to develop and grow in their leadership ability—they enjoyed playing archery tag (provided by Word of Life), t...

Celebrating Pathways Graduation

Last Friday, Pathways Bible College celebrated 23 graduates from the New Zealand Diploma in Christian Studies (Levels 5 and 6)....

Shaping Belonging: How Paeroa Bible Chapel is Growing Together

Lisa McIntosh from the team at Paeroa Bible Chapel shares how they have been rethinking what it means for children to belong and grow in faith.Several changes prompted them to ask what is really at the heart of their ministry. They found a shared desire for children to know and feel they are part of the body of Christ and to be growing in their faith.Now, they run a programme weekly for 3–5-year-olds, and fortnightly for children aged 6–12. The older children’s lessons follo...

Inside Converse: Hospitality, Connection & English Lessons

We caught up with Eilidh Botha, Bernice Mitchell, and Emily from Converse—a free programme Agora Church in Hamilton runs each week to teach conversational English. Eilidh is the Converse Manager, with Bernice and Emily serving on the team.What does a typical week at Converse look like?Eilidh: Our Conversational English sessions for former refugees and migrants are a safe and encouraging space to practise English and connect with others. We begin at 7pm and run until around 8.30pm, sharing supp...

'Looking Back, Looking Forward'

‘Looking Back, Looking Forward’ gatherings were held this week in Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, and later tonight in Nelson.Mark Grace opened Amos 7:7 and shared several plumb lines that continue to steady the CCCNZ/Open Brethren Heritage movement. New CEO Roger Osbaldiston took us to Acts 16 and helped us look ahead with faith and imagination. Each evening ended with prayer in small groups....

Conversations, Community and the Gospel in Halswell

Halswell Community Church set out to share Jesus clearly and openly with their neighbours, and last Sunday’s family fun day created the perfect setting for it.“The family fun day was a time for us to come together to share Christ through word and through service,” says HCC pastor Mato Kariuki. “It gave our people an opportunity to work together to serve our community, but it also created a platform for us to share why we believe in Jesus, and how it affects our daily lives, our outlook o...

From Ireland to Tauranga: Exploring the Early Brethren Movement

50 people from churches across Bay of Plenty and Waikato met at Lifezone Church in Tauranga last weekend to learn about the early decades of the Brethren movement.Dr Ian Payne and Dr Richard Goodwin from Pathways Bible College walked attendees through the movement’s beginnings in Ireland, highlighting key figures such as Anthony Norris Groves and John Nelson Darby. They explained the theological and social reasons that shaped how early believers gathered and what drove them to form these commu...

Remembering Ross Weir

Graham Ashby and Ross Weir....

Shaped for Leadership: Katelyn’s Journey From Church to Fiji

Nearly two years ago Katelyn Delemare moved to Waikato to begin a Word of Life internship—quickly finding a church home at Chapel Hill Community Church and diving into Christian leadership study through Pathways College. This year Katelyn spent the year preparing for an overseas mission trip to Fiji, where she would put her growing leadership and discipleship training into practice.Chapel Hill Community Church Pastor Philip Renner says it has been a privilege for the church to journey with her...

Grace Church: Growing Men in Leadership

‘Who’s the guy in your life that you could ring at 2am when life goes pear shaped?’It’s the thought-provoking question that Brian Egerton and the men’s ministry team at Grace Church ask men to consider.“My experience is that ladies make connections so much better… my wife can meet a woman she’s never spoken with before and they’ll be sharing all sorts, but blokes find it hard to go near the real stuff.”And going near the ‘real stuff’ is exactly what the ministry team is p...

Holiday Camps at Tōtara Springs

This year’s Junior Kids Camp (ages 6–9) at Tōtara Springs Christian Camp brought together 37 enthusiastic campers for a weekend focused on understanding how God’s grace can change any heart.Throughout the camp, children engaged deeply with the gospel message—asking thoughtful questions and sparking meaningful conversations about Jesus and his transforming love.This was followed by the Senior Kids Camp (ages 10–12), with 195 campers taking part. The theme, “Building Faith Under Press...

'Living out of Christ in me'

By Roger OsbaldistonDuring my visit at Cornerstone International Bible Church in Dunedin, it was a privilege to witness two people being baptised, including Alex Kinley. I found Alex’s testimony to be a powerful statement of our participation in Christ:"I’ve spent most of my adult life being fiercely independent. I’ve always hated the idea of needing help or assistance in any way from anyone which is why I think it took me so long to get to here today. The idea of me not running ...