GRACE

NEWSLETTER OF THE GRACE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NEW ZEALANDNOV 2012 - JUNE 2013, VOLUME 11 ISSUE 2

growing in

HITHERTO HATH THE LORD HELPED US...

SOUTHERN EASTER CAMP / NORTHERN EASTER CAMP

THE STORY OF GPCNZ

from the other side of the Pacific!GREETINGS

Photo by Nicholas Allen PROTOFOS MEDIA

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HITHERTO HATH THE LORD HELPED US...

GEOFF MACPHERSON

THE STORY TO 2003

PRESBYTERIANS IN NZ

Presbyterianism has a long, but not always illustrious historyin New Zealand. In this sketch I will attempt to trace theprogress of the Presbyterian movement in NZ to the pointwhen the Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand wasformed.

Christianity came to Aotearoa in the early 1800’s. The Churchof England established its first base in Northland in 1814through the tireless labours of the evangelical Church MissionarySociety workers like Samuel Marsden. The Methodist Churchalso made a significant contribution to introducing Christianityto the native Maori population of the colony when the WesleyanMissionary Society established its mission in 1822. RomanCatholic missionaries under the direction of Bishop Pompallierset up the French Catholic mission in the Hokianga in 1838.

Presbyterianism soon followed, and on October 31, 1839 theship Bengel Merchant sailed from Glasgow with 89 adults and33 children destined for Port Nicholson, Wellington. The Rev.John Macfarlane, a Church of Scotland minister, was one ofthe passengers. The first Sunday after arriving at Wellington,February 23, 1840, Mr. Macfarlane led the passengers in publicworship, choosing as his text Psalm 137:5,6: ‘If I forget thee,O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do notremember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; ifI prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.’

By 1842 there were enough Presbyterians in the Aucklandregion to warrant the establishment of a congregation there.In the south things moved forward on a grander scale with thepurchase of 144,000 hectares of land in Otago to establish aFree Church (of Scotland) colony. By 1850 Rev. Thomas Burnsestimated the population of Otago to be 1,149, of whom 888were Presbyterians and 206 Episcopalians!

By the 1870’s strong Presbyterian Churches had been establishedin all the major centres and were developing well in the moreout-lying parts also. These early churches usually consisted ofpeople from all of the Presbyterian denominations in England,Scotland, and Ireland. Many also had other non-Presbyterianworshippers as part of the flock. The early ministers wereoutstanding in their willingness to accept ‘outsiders’, mostbeing careful not to cause unnecessary divisions in thecommunity.

In 1901 the northern and southern Presbyterian churchesunited to form the Presbyterian Church of NZ. This was not,however, until the southern church too had adopted aDeclaratory Statement which relaxed the terms of subscriptionto the Westminster Confession of Faith for her office bearers,thus bringing it into line with the northern church.

THEOLOGICAL COMPROMISE

In 1874 a theological hall was established to train ministers.While the original tutors were reformed, its very first professorwas not. Appointed as college principal in 1876, WilliamSalmond rejected the doctrine of hell, and embraced universalsalvation instead. He also argued that the WestminsterConfession was, ‘As dry almost as a deed of conveyance; it smellsof the controversies of the ages; it is very scholastic, and part of itat least sounds like a metaphysical jargon.’ (W Salmond, ‘Whatis Christianity?’ in The New Zealand Presbyterian; July 1, 1880)

Unfortunately heterodox views of Scripture became morecommon amongst these teachers of the future pastors. Otherslike Professor John Dickie who taught from 1910 to 1942continued with the liberal shift which both denied thesupernatural realm and also rejected biblical infallibility. (SeeDickie’s The Organism of Christian Truth, 1931). This slidecontinued until the mid-1960’s when Professor Lloyd Geeringbegan to state publicly the same theology that had been taughtfor years. Geering, a gifted academic and communicator, wrotearticles questioning the resurrection, the immortality of thesoul, and the deity of Christ.

The resulting heresy trial did little to allay the concerns ofchurch members, and many began to react. Some simplywalked out the door to the nearest Baptist church. Others leftin groups for form independent Presbyterian churches like theOrthodox Presbyterian Church. Finally, some chose to remain,but circled the wagons and cut themselves off from contactwith the wider denomination.

Wellington Harbour (Port Nicholson) and the City

THE SEED OF GPCNZ IS CREATED

Throughout the last three decades of the twentieth century,Presbyterian groups and alliances waxed and waned. In the1990’s, however, a new movement crystallised which ultimatelylead to the formation of the Grace Presbyterian Church ofNZ. A New Zealand Council of Evangelical Presbyterianscame into being. This was a meeting of individuals fromdifferent churches up and down the country that ultimatelygave birth to Grace Theological College (www.gtc.ac.nz) andan inter-church Youth Bible Conference.

Over a series of national meetings in 1997 the memberchurches agreed in principal to a motion that would havethe churches ‘commit themselves to work together under theauthority of the Scriptures and on the basis of the reformed faith,for the expansion and glory of the Kingdom of God in NewZealand and the whole world.’ Three churches ultimatelycommitted themselves to this group.

This Fellowship of Evangelical Reformed Churches, as itcalled itself, met again in 1998 to agree to the authority ofScripture and the Westminster Confession of Faith as theirbasis of fellowship. Throughout 1999, some churches calledfor the formation of a presbytery, while others demurredbecause of either hesitancy about traditional Presbyterianpolity, or local issues that needed addressing. Visits fromfriends at Briarwood Presbyterian Church, Alabama alsocommenced around this time, much to the encouragementof local churches.

In March 2000 the Fellowship of Evangelical ReformedChurches met for the last time to formally enter into acovenant of federation known as the Grace Bible Churchesof NZ. A manual of operation (BCO) was also adopted bythe federation. The first Assembly of the new federation washeld in Auckland in July of the same year. One of its statedpurposes was to, ‘enable particular churches holding toPresbyterian and Reformed principles in New Zealand to expresstheir unity within the body of Christ in tangible, practical ways.’

THE FINAL STEPIn 2002 representatives from the Grace Bible Churches ofNZ and other independent Presbyterian churches met toform a church unity committee. This committee held meetingsto discuss the way forward under a common basis of union.It was finally agreed that a modified form of the Book ofChurch Order of the Presbyterian Church in America shouldbe adopted.

When the groups finally met again, it was in Christchurchon 28th February 2003 to sign the covenant of union toformally establish the Grace Presbyterian Church of NZ.

We will come back to this story in the next issue of GrowingIn Grace to find out how things developed since 2003.

HITHERTO HATH THE LORD HELPED US...

Signing of the Constituting Covenant by representatives of founding churches

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OF GROWING IN GRACEin this issue..

GROWING IN GRACE is the official magazine of the Grace Presbyterian Church of New ZealandPublished by the National Christian Education and Publications Committee

EDITORIAL TEAM: Geoff Macpherson, Catherine Faletanoai, Kris Morrison and Peter van den Brink

ALL CORRESPONDENCE TO: Geoff Macpherson E: geoffmacpherson@gmail.com www.gpcnz.org.nz

PASTOR PROFILENICK & INGE BRENNAN

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This year we were very blessed with a large turn out atEaster Camp. We had over 90 campers and includingcooks and the speakers family we had over one hundredpeople. We were blessed with a great team of leaders,many who came through the student ministry in Dunedinas well as others from afar afield as Invercargill,Christchurch, Palmerston North, and Auckland!Rusty Milton from Grace Christchurch was the speakerand he gave talks on ‘Reflowering the gospel’ essentiallylooking at some of the great gospel truths. His talks werea huge encouragement to those who were believers, butalso a challenge to those who were not believers.

A special word of thanks must be said for the great cookswe had, Graham and Ellen Calder and Neville and JanJopson. They feed us very well indeed! Long live campfood!Also to give thanks and pray for was the number of youthfrom non-church families. It was great to see so manyhearing the gospel and really enjoy hearing it. Pray thatthese young lives may come truly to know Christ, andpray that the Southern Easter Camp would continue tolive up to its mission statement;

‘Helping young people meet and follow Jesus.’

SOUTHERN EASTER CAMP

NORTHERN EASTER CAMPOn the weekend following Easter, we packed their sleepingbags, tents, togs and towels and descended on MangawhaiHeads for a weekend of fun and fellowship. We made up20 of the 60+ crowd that had gathered including youthgroups from Covenant, Redeemer, Providence and theNorth Shore.Although only a few were nervous first-time campers,things quickly evened out for the rest of us when we arrivedin darkness to realise we would be camping on the side ofa hill. This provided a few logistical issues and muchentertainment, especially throughout the night as campbeds and bodies slowly descended to the bottom of tents!Port-a-loos and wading through the long grass added areal sense of roughing it to the camp; while the hillintensified the fun and fails in our games of tackle bullrushand spotlight.Early on Saturday morning we piled into vans and madeour way to the beach to pick pipis and watch the sunrise.The next few hours were spent back on the farm underthe marquee in sessions on the book of Hebrews. Lateron we went to the beach for sports and swimming in thesurf. We also learnt a high-energy game called ‘Pukana’

which became very noisy and popular.Gareth Jones, a Welshman from Redeemer, did a fantasticjob as our speaker and encouraged and challenged us fromthe book of Hebrews. We learnt about the danger of‘drifting from God’, clinging to the Rock, the perfectsacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the heroes of the faith. OnSunday morning we had a church service including a songand testimony from Janina Muriwai which many foundencouraging.The vibe at camp was awesome. God’s hand at work wasvisible from the very first planning meeting, to the smallconversations between campers and leaders at camp. Seeingthe Holy Spirit at work gave us much encouragement.There was also a sense of unity amongst the youth andlots of new friendships were made. We are so thankful forthe efforts of everyone who organised the event at suchshort notice. We were blessed by happy cooks, and a greatbunch of leaders and who brought along lots of enthusiasm.We are also very grateful to the many people who madecamp possible by contributing food, bedding, tents andvehicles. It was a wonderful weekend and we look forwardto the next one.

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GRACE PRESBYTERIANCHURCH INVERCARGILL

WYNDHAMEVANGELICAL CHURCH

OWAKA GRACE FELLOWSHIPGRACE CHURCH GORE

GPCNZ Church Overview

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EVANGELICAL PRESBYTERIANCHURCH OF ASHBURTON

GRACE PRESBYTERIANCHURCH WAIHOLA GRACE BIBLE CHURCH DUNEDIN

GRACE PRESBYTERIANCHURCH OF CHRISTCHURCH

GPCNZ Church Overview

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GRACE GOSPEL CHURCHHUTT VALLEY

GRACE CHURCH GISBORNE

GRACE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHOF PALMERSTON NORTH

GRACE COMMUNITYFELLOWSHIP NEW PLYMOUTH

GPCNZ Church Overview

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COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

GPCNZ Church Overview

SHORE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH PROVIDENCEPRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

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TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHREDEEMER GRACE

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

GRACE @ WELLINGTON CHURCH

GPCNZ Church Overview

GRACE CHURCH ROTORUA

GRACE EVANGELICALCHURCH WANGANUI

EVANGELICAL PRESBYTERIANCHURCH OF FAIRLIE

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ANNOUNCING THE

TWELFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY and TENTH ANNIVERSARY

Presbyterian Church of New Zealand

of the Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand

15TH - 18TH OCTOBER 2013

FOR MORE INFO:www.gpcnz.org.nz

E: davidjbayne@gmail.comE: geoffmacpherson@gmail.com

P: +64 027 727 6711

WAIHOLA CHRISTIAN YOUTH CAMP, OTAGO7:30PM TUESDAY 15TH TO 12PM FRIDAY 18TH

JOHN AND ALEX VAN RIJGreetings from the other side of the Pacific Ocean! It’s adrizzly Spring day here in St Louis but the trees are buddingand blooming, which is a promise of Summer, and CovenantSeminary has just announced its new President, who is aman we already know and love! So, there is much to bethankful for.By the time you read this I, Alex, will have graduated fromCovenant Seminary and there will have been muchcelebrating taking place! Even now it’s incredible to lookback on the last two years and see how God has been atwork teaching, renewing and transforming me in waysthat I never expected and am incredibly humbled by andthankful for. I approach graduation with a desire to keeplearning and also fully aware that there is still much thatGod needs to do to shape me into the woman that Heintends for me to be.John is over half way through his studies and realizing dailythat there is still a lot more to learn. What they are ableto teach us here, although it is a lot, is enough to give usa solid foundation and jumping off point toward deeperlearning and a better understanding of who we are, whoGod is and what that all looks like in a broken world.A wise man (Jerram Barrs) reminded us in class last weekthat we don’t build God’s Kingdom, God does. This littlefamily of van Rijís desires to see God’s Kingdom flourishin New Zealand, and all over the world, and we wouldlike to be used by Him as His instruments. God uses theweak, and we are well qualified in that department. So wecontinue to be equipped by faithful men and women hereat Covenant, as God has called us to do, and ask that youwould join us in praying for NZ, God’s Church and ourplace within all of that as humble, broken and righteous-in-Christ servants of the King.

We cherish and covet your prayers and are so grateful toknow that we are supported and encouraged by so manywho we respect and admire. Praise the Lord for His bountifulprovision in the way of mentors, friends, finances, jobsand scholarships.

from the other side of the Pacific!

John and Alex van Rij

GREETINGS

NORTHERN

MANUREWACovenant Presbyterian Church77 Rogers Road, Manurewa, AucklandService Times: 10:00am & 6:00pmPastors: Peter Reynolds & Nick BrennanP: (09) 269-1046E: covenantchurch@ihug.co.nz

TAKANINITrinity Presbyterian ChurchTakanini School Hall, Old Park PlaceService Times: 10:00amPastor: Geoff MacphersonP: (09) 296-8601E: geoffmacpherson@gmail.comwww.trinitychurch.org.nz

FLAT BUSHRedeemer Grace Presbyterian Church30 Hilltop Road, Flat Bush(entrance off Arrowsmith Drive)Service Times: 10:45am and 6pmPastor: Wally RaketeP: (09) 267-5584www.redeemer.org.nz

MANGERE EAST / PAPATOETOEProvidence Presbyterian Church26-28 Rosella Road, Mangere, AucklandService Time: 10:00amPastor: Uaita LeviP: (09) 267-9440

CENTRAL AUCKLANDCity Presbyterian Church283 Karangahape Road, NewtonService Time: 10:30amPastor: Travis ScottP: (09) 550 5415 / 021 628 041E: tscott@citypres.org.nzwww.citypres.org.nz

GISBORNEGrace Church Gisborne481 Gladstone Road(opposite Carpet Court)Service Time: 10:30amP: (06) 868-8695 / 021 488 018www.gracechurchnz.org

ROTORUAGrace Church RotoruaLynmore Primary SchoolIles Rd Lynmore (Opposite Gull Service StationTe Ngae R d)Service time; 10.00amP.(07) 345 7881/ 022-0129-615E.stevenfuieva@gmail.com

CENTRAL

NEW PLYMOUTHGrace Community ChurchFred Tucker Memorial Hall, Bell BlockService Times: 10:00am & 6:30pmPastor: David FarrP: (06) 759 9378www.gracenp.co.nz

WHANGANUIWhanganui Evangelical ChurchMeets Seventh Day Adventist ChurchService Time: 6pm SundayContact: John van DalenP. (06) 347-1257E.ashtonjones@slingshot.co.nz

PALMERSTON NORTHGrace Presbyterian Church25 Nikau Street.Service Time: 10:30 a.m.Pastor: Andrew MacphersonP. (06) 358-0132/ 022-0608-634

WELLINGTONGrace@WellingtonEvans Bay Intermediate School14 Kemp St, KilbirnieService Times: 10:30amPastor: Ian BayneP: (04) 976-5093

HUTT VALLEY2 Waddington Drive, NaenaeLower Hutt 5011Pastor: Richard EyreP: (04) 565-3757 / 027-559-5044E: eyred@clear.net.nz

ASHBURTONEvangelical Presbyterian Church63 Princes Street, AshburtonService Time: 10:30amPastor: David BayneP: (03) 307-7355

FAIRLIEEvangelical Presbyterian ChurchMcKenzie Centre, Fairlie (preaching station)Service Time: 4:00pmContact: Andrew JohnsonP: (03) 685 8222

CHRISTCHURCHGrace Presbyterian ChurchMiddleton Grange School,50 Acacia AveService Times: 10.30amPastor: Rusty MiltonP: (03) 354 4443www.gracechristchurch.co.nz

Lamp Presbyterian Church (Korean)Riccarton Baptist Church,cnr Rattray & Peverel St.Service Time: 1:00pmPastor: John OhP: (03) 960-6879 / 021-855-267P: (03) 357-1059 / 021-189-3886

SOUTHERN

DUNEDINGrace Bible ChurchLeith Bowling Club, 2 Duke Street, DunedinService Time: 10:00am & 7:00pmPastor: Mark SmithP: (03) 473-8100E: admin@gracedunedin.org.nzwww.gracedunedin.org.nz

WAIHOLATokomairiro Grace Bible ChurchService Time: 10:00amContact: Grant BullinP: (03) 417-7120

OWAKACatlins Evangelical ChurchGospel Hall2 Campbell Street, OwakaService Time: 11:00amContact: Gavin LandrethE: landrethgw@farmside.co.nzP: (03) 415 8117

GOREGrace Church Gore30 Hamilton Sreet, East GoreService Times: 10:30amStudent Pastor: Sam DuthieP: (03) 208-6180

WYNDHAMWyndham Evangelical ChurchCorner of Balaclava and Redan StreetService Times: 10:30am & 6:30pmP: (03) 206 4147www.wyndhamevangelical.org.nz

INVERCARGILLGrace Presbyterian ChurchCnr. Centre and Morton Streets, Georgetown,InvercargillService Times: 10:30am & 6:30pmPastors: Peter van den Brink & Barry SwanP: (03) 216 7746

DIRECTORYGRACE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NEW ZEALAND