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Rutland Street Church Day Camp Plus: Growing Together in Faith

Rutland Street Church recently held its first camp in many years at Glenroy Baptist Lodge, called “RSC Day Camp Plus”. The heart of the weekend was fellowship, with people able to come for the day on Saturday or stay over on Friday night—the “Plus” part.Friday night was a relaxed time of board games, sitting around the fire indoors, and, for the brave, gathering around the outdoor firepit to roast marshmallows and sing along with Ella Marchand, Lance and Emma Robinson as they led worsh...

Two Lives, One Saviour: God’s Grace at Work in Matamata

We love sharing stories about discipleship and the Great Commission in action. Every story and testimony are special, showing God’s mercy, grace, and faithfulness in a different way.This week, I loved hearing of Johan and Danielle being baptised at Matamata Bible Church.Pastor Dean McDonnell says, “It was wonderful to see two people with quite different testimonies baptised at Matamata Bible Church recently.”Johan was christened as a young child and was thankful to be raised in a home wher...

PastorLink Retreat: 'Wonderful to be so well refreshed'

By Tim Hodge, CCCNZ South Island EnablerNot every church in our movement has a pastor, but for those that do, PastorLink is a treasured annual conference of refreshment for pastors and their spouses. Held in Taupō on 12–15 August, it’s a time to step away from the responsibilities of home and ministry to rest, pray, and connect with others.This year saw the largest team yet from the South Island. Dave Bosma (Grace Church), Mato, Anna and Jabari Kariuki (Halswell Communit...

Baptism: A Joyful Step of Faith

All that we do has the ultimate purpose of pointing people to Jesus. Perhaps that’s why our hearts are so deeply encouraged whenever we hear of people being baptised across New Zealand—men and women, young and old, publicly declaring their faith in Jesus. It’s such a joy and a privilege to be able to share these stories in our newsletters!I was especially delighted to hear recently of Campbell’s baptism at Tasman Church. What a beautiful testimony of God’s work in a young lif...

Manawatū District Rallies Newcomb Ball Winter Tournament

The Manawatū District Rallies recently came together for their Newcomb Ball Winter Tournament.NZ Rally CEO Tony Foster comments:“It is so encouraging to see Mike & Rebekah Mudford from Bunnythorpe Family Church bring this event together, and it warms my heart seeing all the Rally leaders help make this possible for their kids by picking them up and bringing them along.”...

Passing the Baton

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorNa, i tenei kapua nui o nga kaiwhakaatu e karapoti nei i a tatou, whakarerea e tatou nga whakataimaha katoa, me te hara whakaeke tata, kia manawanui hoki tatou ki te oma i te omanga e takoto nei i to tatou aroaro; Me te titiro pu ano ki a Ihu, ki te kaitimata, ki te kaiwhakaoti i te whakapono…O lenei, o i tatou o ē o lo‘o si‘omia e le fa‘apotopotoga tele o tagata molimau, ‘ia tatou tu‘u‘eseina mea mamafa uma, ‘atoa ma le agasala o lo‘o pipi‘i m...

Giving Glory to God: MPA’s 80th Anniversary Celebration

On Saturday, over 200 people celebrated the 80th Anniversary of Māori Postal Aotearoa (MPA) in Whanganui.Liz Silcock, a member of the MPA Board, writes:“It was a great tribute to the faithfulness of the Lord to grow the work of sharing the Gospel, which resulted from the seeds sown by Mr. Arnot Edwards in Northland and Miss Elsie Severinsen in Dargaville, who each posted lessons to Māori children in 1945.”...

New CCCNZ CEO appointment

I am very pleased to announce that the CCCNZ Board has appointed Roger Osbaldiston as the new CEO of CCCNZ. Roger will commence later in the year, and will be based in Auckland. Roger is married to Nicki, and they have two adult sons, Alex (married to Meredith) and William. Both Roger and Nicki were raised in Open Brethren assemblies, Roger in Kaukapakapa, and Nicki in Blenheim, and have been in fellowship amongst our network of assemblies for the majority of their time in Ne...

2025 PastorLink Retreat

The CCCNZ PastorLink Retreat has been this week from Tuesday to Friday at MiCamp Taupō. The event began with Max Guptill and Sam Chapman kindly leading us in a mihi whakatau (an informal Māori welcome). We’ve valued working through Paul’s letter to the Philippians together with Marcus Honeysett. Marcus focused our gaze on the goodness of God in Jesus Christ and how, when our hearts are rested in him, it acts as a profound antidote to illegitimate for...

Unmasking Spiritual Lethargy

Last Friday, Matamata Bible Church hosted an elders' dinner, bringing together over 30 pastors and elders from ten churches.Elders from Chapel Hill Community Church, Hillcrest Chapel, Lifezone Church, Manawarū Bible Chapel, Northgate Community Church, Paengaroa Bible Chapel, Raleigh Street Christian Centre, Te Awamutu Bible Chapel, The Orchard Church, and Whitiora Bible Church gathered for a time of fellowship and rich discussion....

Cultures Day at Crossroads Church

Last Sunday, Crossroads Church celebrated a “Cultures Day”, a beautiful reflection of the diversity in the church community.Discipleship Pastor Isaac Pettersen writes:“People came dressed in traditional attire, and we shared scripture readings, prayers, and songs in a variety of languages spoken within our congregation."The service was followed by an incredible potluck, with traditional dishes lovingly prepared from nations all around the world.“With over 30 nationali...

The Joy of the Lord

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorNa ka u nei toku whakaaro ki tenei, e matau ana ahau tera ahau e noho, ae ra, ka noho iho ahau ki a koutou katoa, hei whakaneke ake, hei whakahari i a koutou i runga i te whakapono;‘Ua ‘ou mautinoa le mea lenei, ‘ou te tumau; tatou te tūtūmau fa‘atasi fo‘i, ‘ina ‘ia alualu pea ‘outou ma ‘ia fiafia i le fa‘atuatua; Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,Phili...

Baptisms at Northcross Church

It’s always a joy to hear about people taking the faith step of baptism. Northcross Church recently celebrated with Bianca, Helen, and Marcus (pictured above) as they got baptised.Lead Pastor Hangyul Cho comments:"Sometimes God will miraculously meet people on the Damasus Road. But more likely, He uses faithful, ordinary people. That's what I noticed about our recent baptisms. Whilst their stories were different, it was through specific relationship...

Children’s Ministry Leaders in the Manawatū Gather to Grow Together

Last Saturday, children’s ministry leaders and volunteers from across the Manawatū region gathered in Palmerston North for a half-day of training, encouragement and connection.Leaders came along from seven churches—Crossroads Church, Kingston Community Church, Church on Vogel, Rongotea Bible Chapel, Queen Street Chapel, Feilding Bible Chapel, and York Street Chapel.Children and Family Ministries Enabler Julie McKinnon writes:"I loved seeing people fro...

CCCNZ Staff Conference

As a staff team, it’s a privilege to serve among you. Over Tuesday and Wednesday, we held our staff conference at Willow Park in Auckland. We unpacked with Marcus Honeysett how to minister out of God’s grace to us in Jesus.We reviewed your feedback from Regional Summits and how these can support you and your church better. We also reflected on what we’ve learnt about God’s grace, ourselves, and the movement of Open Brethren Heritage / CCCNZ churches. ...

From Power to Joy: Cultivating Godly Leadership in Auckland

Forty-seven elders and ministry leaders from 13 churches came together on Thursday 7 August at Eden Church to hear Marcus Honeysett from Living Leadership in the UK speak about biblically spiritual leadership.Marcus’s most recent book ‘Powerful Leaders?’ exposes and explores “How people in positions of authority can be tempted away from a biblical model of leadership into an illegitimate – and, in the worst cases, abusive – use of power.”&nbs...

Peace be with you

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorA, i a raua e korero ana i enei mea, na tera ia tu ana i waenganui o ratou, mea ana ki a ratou, Kia tau te rangimarie ki a koutou.A o tautala atu i lā‘ua i ia mea, a ‘ua tu fa‘afuase‘i atu Iesu i o latou luma, ma fetalai atu ‘iā te i latou, “ ‘Ia ‘outou manuia.”While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”Luke 24:36Executed dead men don’t usually stand in front of you a...

Growing Leaders, Reaching Communities

Children's Pastor Mikayla Crawford and a team of around 40 volunteers recently ran Kids Holiday Quest at The Orchard Church. This fun packed school holiday programme welcomed about 200 children for a week of activities, games, and the gospel.The Orchard began running holiday programmes a few years ago with support from a visiting team from Word of Life. That initial investment paid off. Word of Life not only helped launch the programme but also invested into developing young ...

Theological study, internships, and church relationships

Scholarships Enabler Liz Hodge had the privilege of catching up with two groups of interns and theology students in the Waikato this week.Liz writes:"On Sunday afternoon, we were kindly hosted at the home of Andrew Linton, elder from Hukanui Bible Church. "Sam Crosbie, Caleb Wilkinson-Mackie, Julie McKinnon, and Jenn Miller have in common that they’re all studying at Master’s level, and each was interested to hear about the others' area of particular focus, and how their studies have been he...

2025 Auckland Summit

It was so good being at the Auckland Summit on Saturday. Encouraged by 180 ministry leaders from over 20 Auckland churches coming together.Thank you to Thomas Scrimgeour from Lincoln Road Bible Chapel for opening God's Word for us, and to the team from Auckland Bible Church for leading us in praising our God together in song. ...

Manifesting the Life of Jesus: Christchurch Korean Church’s Winter Conference

Christchurch Korean Church held their Winter Conference last weekend, welcoming Pastor Jason Winslade from Redemption Church Christchurch as their guest speaker.It was a weekend shaped by deep teaching, heartfelt singing in both Korean and English, the joy of coming together across generations, and good food....

The Mark Drama in Christchurch: An Immersive Gospel Experience

On 26–28 July, Rutland Street Church and Riccarton Community Church once again teamed up, with students from TSCF at the University of Canterbury, to bring The Mark Drama to life. Directed by Claire Bresler (Rutland Street Church), the cast of volunteers staged the whole of Mark’s Gospel in 90 minutes, theatre-in-the-round, with no props, costumes or microphones.One common response from first-time viewers is, “It’s better than I thought it would be...

United in Prayer: Christchurch Prayer Breakfast

The first Christchurch Ōtautahi Prayer Breakfast was on Wednesday morning in the Christchurch Town Hall, with 250 people gathered to pray at tables for the city (including the mayor who was present in person), region, nation and world, from across many churches. The New Zealand Christian Network has run similar prayer breakfasts in Auckland and Hamilton for several years, with 2025 seeing the launch in Christchurch and Wellington. ...

Breaking the Cycle

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorNa ka kohia ano hoki taua whakatupuranga katoa ki o ratou matua: a ka ara ake tetahi whakatupuranga ke i muri i a ratou, kihai nei i mohio ki a Ihowa, ki nga mahi ano hoki i mahia e ia mo Iharaira.Ona maliliu lea o lenā tupulaga uma* ae tulaʻi mai le isi tupulaga ina ua mavae atu i latou, o ē e latou te leʻi iloa Ieova po o galuega na ia faia mo Isaraelu.After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neithe...

Strengthen: NZ Rally Training Day in Southland

“It’s always good to be in the south, with frosty temps and warm smiles.” That’s how Sarah Chalmers (NZ Rally Communications) described the Strengthen regional training day, held last Saturday at Rosedale Bible Chapel.The gathering brought together Boys and Girls Rally leaders from Rosedale and Edendale Christian Fellowship. A standout feature of the day was the collaborative spirit; leaders engaged in a ‘speed sharing’ session, exchanging ideas, activities, and encouragement from th...