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
How do you hold on to God’s word when you can’t hold it in your hands?
Read and share stories from SIM mission workers who are seeing Christ’s light shine in places that once seemed dark.
SIM has been involved in church planting among the Wolof—one of the world’s least-reached people groups—right in the heart of the city since 2021. Re...
American mission worker Tia builds friendships through English lessons and Bible study, sharing God’s love with women seeking faith in Japan. Click to re...
Mission worker Lane shares the gospel with Mexican migrant workers in Canada, planting a seed of faith that ripples from Alberta’s farms to families in M...
In Chad, where following Christ as a Muslim can mean losing everything. This is the reality in which Michel and his family serve, discipling others and sha...
The Bible has been fully translated into Borgu Fulfulde, the heart language of over 750,000 Fulani in Benin. Discover how this milestone brings gospel hope...
Woury’s journey from violence to faith reveals God’s grace and calling. A Fulani man transformed, now sharing the gospel with people across West Africa...
In a Yao village in Malawi, new followers of Jesus are choosing faith over fear. Despite rejection and persecution, believers like Saidi*, Patuma*, and Ami...
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...
AB, a young Fulani Christian, draws strength from his father's unwavering faith in Jesus despite community opposition. Discover how discipleship and pastor...
Imagine being the only Christian you know, not just in your family, but in your entire region. For many Fulani people across West and Central Africa, this ...