It marks the 200th year anniversary of the preaching of the first gospel message in Aotearoa!
On Christmas Day 1814 the message of hope and eternal life through Jesus Christ came to our shores through a partnership between missionary Samuel Marsden, an English-born Anglican chaplain serving Australia, and Ruatara, a Maori leader from the Ngapuhi iwi (tribe) in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Ruatara translated Marsden's message into te reo Maori (the Maori language) and played a key role in ensuring that it took root among what many at the time considered a "savage" people group. Samuel Marsden was a contemporary and associate of the famous William Wilberforce who is known for his dedication to the abolishment of the British slave trade.
Much has happened in the national history of New Zealand since that summer day in 1814. Now we find ourselves identified as one of the most secular English-speaking countries in the world. This should not be! Thus, the reason for the Hope Project.
The goal of the "HOPE PROJECT 2014" is to share the reasons for the hope we have in Christ (1 Peter 3:15) with every home in New Zealand in 2014 through various media: TV ads, Internet and social media, radio ads, printed material, and most importantly- equipping Christians to have authentic faith conversations with their friends and family. Churches all around New Zealand, including our own New Hope Church of the Nazarene in Whangarei, are partnering together to see this project succeed.
Prayer, much prayer, and funding are necessary to see that all the material gets rolled out before Christmas of this year.
If you've followed my blog for any length of time at all, you've read about this project before. We are in a critical phase right now where the ads are being created and the printed material will soon be distributed via post. The project is still in need of funds to ensure that all costs are covered and that every home in New Zealand hears about Jesus THIS year!
Please feel free to click the link below to make a donation and/or learn more details about the project.
This is exciting stuff! Just imagine how our nation will be impacted when every single household encounters the love of Christ!
No comments:
Post a Comment