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Baptisms at Blue Springs: A Story of Transformation

This year, we’ve been sharing many stories of people taking the faith step of being baptised. All across New Zealand, we continue to hear these stories—and they’re always deeply encouraging as we see the work of God in transforming people's lives. For several years now, Danny Scott from Putaruru Gospel Chapel (PGC) has been leading a men’s group through his work at Transform Aotearoa. The group meets daily, heading to the gym or helping out in the community wherever there’s a need...

Churches in Southland Gather Around the Word

The Invercargill Bible School weekend, held at Elles Road Bible Chapel on 14-15 June, brought together churches from across the southern region —Edendale Christian Fellowship, Queenstown Bible Chapel, Rosedale Bible Chapel, Browns Gospel Hall, and others— to sit under the teaching of God’s Word.Donald Stevenson (Wairarapa Bible Church) preached through key texts in 2 Timothy, reflecting on Paul's last will and testament. Richard Drury ...

The revelation of Jesus Christ

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador...

A Morning of Fellowship in Māngere: South, Central & East Auckland Pastors Gather to Connect

Fatu Tu’u, David Vatau, Phil Hutchinson, Kolokota Sao-Mafiti, Russell Grainger (back), Brigitte Crowe (front), Richard Fountain, Ane Ponifasio (front), Hayden Johns, Mark Grace (back), Afa Moasegi (front), Max Guptill (back), Pati Fa’aiuaso, and Waweru Kanene....

North Shore Pastors Connect and Encourage One Another

From left to right: Gordon Venter, Debbie Bossé, Andrew Neville, Annelli Morla, Hangyul Cho, Richard Fountain, and Alex Pope....

Kids Growing in Faith Together

Last weekend, 74 kids and leaders from Glentunnel Chapel, Church Street Bible Chapel (Timaru), and Rutland Street Church (Christchurch) gathered at Woodend Christian Camp for the NZ Rally Canterbury Regional Camp. For many of the kids, it was their first time at camp. Alongside classic activities and games, the heart of the weekend was time spent in the Bible. The kids gathered together for worship and memory verse learning before splitting into junior and senior groups for Bible teaching.&...

Jesus is with us

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorAe, ahakoa haere ahau i te awaawa o te atarangi o te mate, kahore he kino e wehi ai ahau: no te mea kei toku taha koe; ko tau rakau, ko tau tokotoko, ko ena hei oranga ngakau moku.E ui lava ina ou savali i le vanu o le ata o le oti, ou te le fefe lava i se mea leaga; auā o oe ta te faatasi ma a‘u; o lau laau ma lou tootoo e faamafanafanaina ai a‘u.Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod a...

Nelson Regional Summit

I loved being with ministry leaders from Tasman Church, Grace Church, and Hope Community Church at the CCCNZ Nelson Summit on Saturday. Thank you to Dave Bosma from Grace Church for opening God's Word for us, and to the team from Tasman Church (Ruth Russ, Simon Paynter, Gene Clark, Hannah Buckland and Sharelle Vorster) for leading us in praising our God together in song. And thank you to Hope Community Church for hosting us so well!...

Leadership Transition: Encouraging New Elder Development

Leadership transition in a church is rarely easy—but it can be a powerful opportunity. It’s a moment to honour the past while preparing the next generation to step into the shepherding role. Though every church’s journey is unique, sharing these stories can bring both guidance and encouragement.At Tauwhare Gospel Chapel, a significant leadership shift was recently undertaken. As Norm Silcock shares, “The last of the previous generation of elders had passed away,” and it ...

Equipping Youth Leaders to Help Young People Share Jesus

Last week, 39 youth leaders from across the Waikato gathered at Northgate Community Church for a training night run by Word of Life in partnership with CCCNZ churches in the region.Leaders came from Northgate Community Church, Hillcrest Chapel, Tauwhare Gospel Chapel, Kaipaki Bible Church, Matamata Bible Church, Hukanui Bible Church, Whitiora Bible Church, and Chapel Hill Community Church. It was a night marked by shared learning, encouragement, ...

Equipped to Serve: Doug Benn’s Story

In 2021, Doug Benn (Church on Ingestre, Whanganui) began theological study to better serve his church family:“I wanted to grow in my understanding of the Word and be equipped to serve the people I was shepherding as an elder.”At the time, Doug had recently moved from youth leader to youth pastor. The church was navigating a season of transition—its senior pastor had just resigned, and Doug was stepping into wider pastoral responsibilities.Doug says study provided both practical ministry to...

Manawatū NZ Rally Training

Leaders from churches across the Manawatū gathered on Saturday at Crossroads Church in Palmerston North for a Strengthen NZ Rally regional training.Rally leaders from Crossroads Church, Feilding Bible Chapel, Queen Street Chapel, York Street Chapel, Rongotea Bible Chapel, Marton Bible Chapel, and Church on Ingestre came together to be trained and to support one another in their local Rally ministries.Valerie Black, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist...

Coopers Beach Family Camp

Over King’s Birthday weekend, Mangonui Bible Chapel, Tōtara North Bible Chapel, and Kaitaia Bible Chapel gathered for a family camp at Coopers Beach Christian Youth Camp, joined by young people from Kaeo and friends from Kerikeri.Though the group was smaller than in previous years, the sense of fellowship was strong. Norm Silcock spoke on “The King is Coming”, while Tracey Fakatou led the children’s sessions and guided them to learn the Sheph...

Winter Bible School and Bible Coalition Intensive

Curches from across New Zealand came together to study the Bible through the Winter Bible School (WBS) and the Bible Coalition Intensive, both hosted at The Orchard Church in Te Puke.It was encouraging to see such wide engagement in the Word, with many churches gathering in person and other ones hosting watch parties. This year, believers from all over the country came together—representing churches like The Orchard Church, Lakes Church Rotorua, Manawarū Bible Chapel, ...

PastorLink Gathering in Christchurch

From left to right: Mato Kariuki, Andre Posthuma, Matt Meek, Lydia Ellis, Jason Winslade, Jonathan Hong, Jordan Simmonds, Mark Wells, Sam Linton, Tim Hodge.It was fantastic to facilitate the Christchurch PastorLink gathering yesterday at Riccarton Community Church (RCC). I enjoyed seeing the various connections. Matt Meek from RCC and Lance Robinson from Rutland Street Church are working on preaching training together.Jonathan Hong from Christchu...

God's Work through His Word

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorNa ka puaki te mangai o Piripi, a, timata mai i taua karaipiture, kauwhautia ana e ia a Ihu ki a ia.‘Ona fa‘amatalaina loa lea e Filipo, ma ‘ua amata i le tusi lava lea ‘ona tāla‘i atu i ai Iesu.Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.Acts 8:35Hot on the heels of the significant ‘Quiet Revival’ UK Bible Society report has come the ‘Finding Jesus: Finding Pathways to Faith in Adulthood’ report b...

Engaging with Scripture at Auckland Bible Church

Earlier this year, Auckland Bible Church (ABC) offered the church family a unique opportunity to reflect on Scripture in a personal and creative way during a Sunday morning service.For the second year in a row, the church created a space called Reflection Stations, 26 thoughtfully prepared stations spread throughout the building. Each one included a Bible passage, reflection questions, and a creative response, inviting people to slow down and engage deeply with God’s Word.The time was sha...

Otago: Over 100 years of Easter Camp in Queenstown

Easter Camp in Queenstown has been running for over a hundred years, longer even than the current home—Lakeland Park Christian Camp—has existed!Several churches from Otago participated, and some from Southland and Canterbury—Edendale Christian Fellowship, Rosedale Bible Chapel, Queenstown Bible Chapel, Riverside Chapel, Caversham Community Church, Cornerstone International Bible Church, and Bryndwr Chapel.They dived into both the book of Jonah and Lake Wakatip...

40 Years of HM Rage

HM Rage Youth Camp marked its 40th year at Tōtara Springs Christian Centre in Matamata over the King’s Birthday weekend.Just over 500 people from 19 youth groups came together to make new friends, play sports, worship, and hear Jesus-centred messages on the unfiltered truth in the main sessions, with Marina Shannon as the main speaker, and electives....

Showing Jesus Through the Gospels

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorNa ko tetahi wahine e mate ana i te pakaruhanga toto, ka tekau ma rua nga tau.Sa i ai le fafine na maua i le ma‘i puna toto i tausaga e sefulu ma le lua.And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.Mark 5:25You might be wondering where a devotion might head based on these verses. Today, instead of a devotion, I’d like to try to show you how a seemingly odd verse or passage like this one can change a life. Ada Lum is well retired ...

PastorLink Gatherings in Waikato and West Auckland

By Mark Grace, CCCNZ AmbassadorIt’s been a privilege listening to pastors and hearing how God is at work in independent churches across the movement.Last Wednesday, 13 pastoral staff members from 7 Waikato churches gathered at Northgate Community Church for a PastorLink morning tea. Churches present were Chapel Hill Community Church, Hillcrest Chapel, Hukanui Bible Church, Matamata Bible Church, Northgate Community Church, Raleigh Street Christian Centre, and...

Canterbury First Training

Canterbury First Training was run over the King's birthday weekend, with more than 20 young people from Rutland Street Church, Riccarton Community Church and Halswell Community Church joining in....

Growing in Faith and Commitment

Quinton and his family walked into Kelston Community Church (KCC) one Sunday morning about a year ago, when he was searching for a deeper understanding of the Bible and a more personal growing relationship with God. That day, Pastor Paul Long was preaching a sermon on the life of Samuel as part of an expository series from the book of 1 Samuel. This piqued the interest of Quinton and his wife Sylvia, as their son's name is Samuel. Paul says, “They felt i...

Lower North Island Summit

Our mission is to invite local churches to work together regionally to disciple and grow leaders who serve, replenish and plant churches. One of the ways we do that is through Summits. For that reason, I really enjoyed being with 100+ ministry leaders and volunteers from CCCNZ/OBH churches over the weekend at the Lower North Island Summit. ...

Otago Churches Studying the Bible Together

Three churches from the Otago region -Cornerstone International Bible Church, Caversham Community Church, and Riverside Chapel- are gathering every week to study the book of Revelation.The purpose of this Bible study is to go deeper into the text, and Revelation was chosen as it can often be perceived as intimidating....