Key Ministries
- Sending mission partners
We work alongside New Zealand churches to send their people to serve cross-culturally. This involves both mobilisation and ongoing member care. - Equipping churches
We equip local churches to both be aware of global mission and understand how to be missional. We act as a mission advocate and coach.
Spiritual Landscape in New Zealand
New Zealand’s spiritual landscape is changing rapidly. According to the 2023 census, 51.6 per cent of the population identifies as having ‘no religion’, a steady increase since 2006. Despite this, 81 per cent express some form of spiritual belief. A key reason many explore spirituality is witnessing others who genuinely live out sincere faith.
About 31 per cent identify as Christian, yet only 12.4 per cent attend church regularly, marking a significant decline from previous decades when New Zealand was known as a Christian nation with the highest mission workers per capita worldwide.
While the church’s cultural influence has diminished, vibrant faith communities remain, and there is opportunity for people to encounter Christ through friends, family, and faith communities. The society is multicultural and religiously diverse, making a clear presentation of biblical Christianity crucial. A renewed movement of the Holy Spirit (Wairua Tapu) has recently been observed in some churches.
SIM New Zealand supports the church by encouraging believers to build relationships across faiths and cultures for the sake of the gospel.
Please pray
- For new prayer groups to start that give all generations a chance to participate in praying for mission
- For our mobilisers as they focus on three New Zealand communities this year — Palmerston North, Christchurch and Dunedin — coming alongside church pastors and congregations to build mission awareness and engagement
- For four new long-term mission partners who sense God’s calling to serve cross-culturally outside New Zealand
- For our board as they work with leadership to refresh our next six-year strategic plan
- For strategic partnerships with churches to be developed through mutual relationships
Latest stories from around SIM
Yakubu Balewa has a deep love for the Fulani people – a love borne of a profound understanding of Jesus’s command to make disciples of all nations.
Christine shares her journey of love, language, and friendship with Fulani women, revealing how God uses relationships to open hearts to His truth.
Spread across 24 countries, the Fulani remain one of the least-reached peoples with the gospel. This October, we share stories of how God is at work among ...
What began with famine and a few men hearing the good news in the city has grown into a flourishing Fulani church. Today, more than 200 households are livi...
Explore Fulani culture through Jon’s insights on their nomadic lifestyle, values, and the challenges and joys of gospel ministry among this distinct peop...
Obed, a Fulani man deeply committed to Islam, embarked on a journey to deepen his faith. After months of searching, he encountered a village chief who chal...
Meet Murray and Sheryl, SIM mission workers as they share their heart for ministry in Ecuador, the joy of discipling young people, and wisdom for the next ...
A new crisis centre in Central Asia offers hope and healing to women and children facing trauma, abuse, and poverty. Discover how faith and community are t...
When one of our Instagram followers, aged just 16, asked how to prepare for mission, Anna Abidan shared her advice — balancing prayer, God’s guidance a...
Sharing the gospel isn’t just for a few it’s a call for every believer. Learn how your skills, story and heart can be part of God’s mission locally a...
During Bangladesh’s Feast of Sacrifice, Ethiopian mission workers Tesfaye and Hanna seize the chance to share how Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice, seeing...
In Niger, farmers are restoring degraded land and improving food security through a method developed with Australian agronomist Tony Rinaudo. Known as Farm...