A bright green wall isn't the first thing most people expect to see inside a church office.
At Mascot Bible Chapel in Mangere, Auckland a bright green wall provides the backdrop for a growing online gospel ministry that is bringing four churches together to share the hope of Christ.
AUK Ministries (short for Au Uso Kerisiano Ministries) broadcasts live four nights a week, reaching people online with the gospel in Samoan and English. Au Uso Kerisiano is the Samoan translation of "Brethren", reflecting both the movement's heritage and the partnership behind the ministry.
And the bright green wall? It’s a ‘green screen’ like the ones film studios use—allowing for a range of backgrounds and good lighting!
Pastor Afa Pulotu says the vision has always been about working together.
"We love to use the word brethren. Au Uso Kerisiano Ministries involves four churches, AUK Papakura, AUK New Lynn, AUK Henderson, and AUK Mangere. Our primary audience is the wider Samoan community, but we also use English.
“The purpose is to reach as many as we can with the gospel, and it's a great way to come together. There is a greater impact if we can work together and do things together. With four churches working together, it's a tremendous blessing for this ministry."
Learning together
Jennifer Talau-Burgess says the ministry grew out of the opportunities created during the COVID lockdowns.
"Online became really a big thing after COVID lockdown. Our pastors saw that more and more viewers were tuning in online. They were invited to join another online ministry, which opened the possibility to see whether or not our church could do something like this."
Rather than rushing in, the team spent time learning from others.
"From that time, they actually spent a lot of time networking and researching, and just learning from those who have the experience.
“From there, we made decisions on how to set up our media room, what equipment we would need, the software system, and also the fact that we can actually just paint the wall green instead of purchasing an expensive screen—all these tips came from people who were already in the industry, and it really helped us to set up."
They officially launched the online ministry in April 2023. Initially, enthusiasm led to long broadcasting schedules.
"In that first year, we were so excited, we wanted to live stream four to six hours with our pastors and their technicians coming in every night to serve faithfully. It was so exciting, and yet so demanding. By the end of that year, we came together, and we reflected, and we were like--we need to slow down!"
The team adopted a more sustainable approach by giving each participating church responsibility for one evening each week.
Jennifer says one of the biggest lessons has been the importance of regularly evaluating the ministry.
"One of the things I've learned is the need to reflect. The need to come together, slow down, and think. We've grown stronger together. We like to look back and think, okay, what did we grow this year? What did we find difficult, and how can we improve? It's the time where we make sure that we're using the platform as effectively as possible to share the gospel."
Building a team
Lisa Pulotu says the ministry has relied on volunteers from all four churches.
"This is really is a collaborative effort. We gathered volunteers from the participating churches to form our media team to help run these live streams. At the beginning, we had a few volunteers. We brought in a specialist to train them. Since then, our team has grown, and those few volunteers are able to pass on their skills and train others."
That first year of serving together built more than technical skills.
“During that first year, all our churches worked together every night to run this live stream, until we were confident and capable enough to serve independently. Looking back, I feel like that first year, God really helped foster the spirit of unity within our churches, so although each church runs their own evening now, we're all still supporting each other by engaging online, and we're able to help cover each other if we're unavailable. It's been really a blessing to work alongside with each other.”
Lisa says young people have also embraced the opportunity.
"They really enjoy being behind the scenes. They really enjoy learning new things, and I think because we give them the freedom to try new things in this ministry, we don't really control what they're doing, but we do give advice and direction to help grow the ministry."
Equipping the whole church
For Pastor Afa, the driving force behind the ministry remains some of Jesus’ final words to his disciples, before he ascended to heaven.
“Our greatest motivation is the Great Commission. As we were just singing this morning, ‘the Darling of Heaven, was crucified’. And it says, ‘worthy is the Lamb’. It is worthy to serve Him. It is worthy to follow Him. It is worthy to tell others about Him. So that's really what really motivates us. And we can't go to the world, but we can bring the world to us through the means of technology. In this way, the whole church can be involved."
His own church rotates five different ministry groups through the online broadcasts.
Jennifer says the platform has become a place where ordinary church members discover new confidence in sharing their faith.
"For our online programme we intentionally gave the opportunity to each ministry to run a programme. So we're talking about our Sunday School, Men's and Women's Fellowship, Youth and Young Adults. When we told them the idea, everyone was nervous, which is understandable, you know. Speaking in front of a camera and running an online programme is like a first for all of them. But after each programme, we were amazed at their courage. They were confident.
“It has also given them the creativity on how to share the gospel. We've had things like spoken word poetry, podcast-like discussions, short devotional messages, worship, Bible quizzes, and even some creative dancing. It's just showing how ordinary people can use their gifts to serve God in this ministry."
God is at work
For Lisa, one of the greatest encouragements has been watching volunteers grow, even without technical backgrounds.
"Seeing how God has brought churches together to our community, for the blessing to work alongside others, where we learn together, serve together.”
Pastor Afa says the evidence of God's work is seen both inside the churches and among those watching online.
"First and foremost, I see the members of our church committing to this call. They really believe that this is what the Lord has opened for us to serve Him. Secondly, a lot of comments from those who watch, thanking us for sharing the word of encouragement. I also meet people in the public and they also show their appreciation. And I also thank those churches who partner with us in this high call calling from the Lord. God is at work."
