From Prince Philip to Jesus—joy in evangelism
A storytelling approach to sharing faith It was the worst of times. It was the best of times. Years ago I tried to tell a non-Christian friend, Derek …
The hidden power of the all-age service
A supercharged opportunity for spiritual growth Every pastor and church leader wants their congregation to grow spiritually, but how many of us are …
Prepared in advance
As I walked home the other evening, I bumped into a couple walking with their five-month-old baby. The last time I saw them together was in a hospital …
Easter conversion
I was enjoying singing “Hosanna, hosanna, here comes the King of Peace” on Palm Sunday in our local church. There didn’t seem to be much peace in our c…
A courageous stand
I recently received a text message from a 15-year-old girl with whom I’ve been meeting for the past 19 months. She explained that, after going to her s…
Baptist churches sponsor refugees in pilot scheme
South West Baptist Church in Christchurch and Gleniti Baptist Church in Timaru are two of four community-based organisations chosen to sponsor refugee …
Training new missional leaders
Jesus’ main task for the three years of his ministry was training leaders for a new movement, and training leaders remains a crucial task for all churc…
The cutting edge
Twenty-year-old Jackson Roach is the youth leader at Long Bay Baptist Church. Earlier this year he opened a barber shop called 'Fresh Cuts for Freedom'…
Evangelise those most open
In every church Russell Watts has pastored, God has given a different strategy for evangelism. However, in his current position as Senior Pastor at Wha…
Migration & Mission in Acts & Aotearoa
Aotearoa New Zealand is undergoing profound demographic change. This means, as New Zealand Baptists, we are in a changed—and changing—mission context. …
“Kia ora, Cuzzy, I’ve saved you a seat”
When Clendon Baptist Church called their pastor’s son to lead them on to the next thing, they were ready for change. Even so, some of the young leader’…
I want it all, and I want it now
Many people would say that music is a window into our soul; so many messages are communicated through the gift music it’s no wonder the lyrics of songs…
From disillusionment to contentment
We keep this love in a photograph We made these memories for ourselves Where our eyes are never closing Hearts are never broken And time’s forever …
I am doing a new thing…
Through the prophet Isaiah our God says, “See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:19 NIV). Today, he continues to do new things in order to touch and …
A party for children with disabilities
For some time now, I’ve been visiting a school for children with autism, spending time with them and their parents. People in the fellowship I attend o…
It’s the small things
Rula has taken most of the responsibility for the three ladies who make up our cleaning team. Two of the ladies are new to the team and one is a real g…
An Easter Camp pilgrimage
Ask any youth leader at any Easter Camp, “How is camp going?” and you will get the same answer every time. “Best. Camp. Ever!” This past Easter I obser…
Church runs international street food festival
Mt Albert Baptist Church (MABC) has run an international street food festival for several years. For various reasons we decided to do things differentl…
PressingOn… together
Rick Pierce tells us about a growing initiative called PressingOn, which combines the teaching resources and networking power of seven Baptist churches…
Health & well-being
In recent years, Cambridge Baptist Church has run four community events to raise awareness of services for seniors and to provide health screening for …