This occasional weekend column called ‘Pondering:…’ is where people from within the collective of 240 Baptist churches across the country can share issues they are thinking about in a way that opens up a topic from a particular perspective. Feel free to comment on these pieces via our Letters to the Editor. These opinion pieces are the views of individuals and need to be considered within the context of the diversity of our union of Baptist churches in New Zealand.
In this piece we hear from Graeme Pollock, an Elder at New Generation Church, a Baptist church in Christchurch. He has worked in education all his life. Graeme spent 15 years working in the Middle East and Central Asia as a Principal/Director and Education Consultant establishing and running schools and Teacher Development Centres.
I had the privilege of attending the Upper South Baptist Association (USBA) Regional Hui a couple of weeks ago. It was centered on the theme of ‘Hope’ and it met all the KPI’s that a Regional Hui should – Keeping people informed, Keeping people involved, Keeping people interested and Keeping people inspired – thank you Chris Chamberlain, Alan Jamieson and Paul Jones for inspiring us. We had significant input with powerful worship sessions, preaching, keynote presentations, feedback and updates on what has been happening across the region and eliciting and sharing of ideas for moving forward along with the induction of a new Regional Leader.
The Hui, as in other regions, asked delegates to share ideas and thoughts about the Justice strand in the context of the Acts 2 Movement | He Haruru Nui, leading into the 2033 events acknowledging and remembering the 2000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus, I caught myself reflecting on how we currently are responding to the question Jesus asks in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” What should we be doing now in response to ‘reclaiming’ Jesus?
As I reflected on this and the Hui, I found myself questioning both myself and the Church about what we are doing now – today, not tomorrow. Are we raising our voices about injustices that are occurring? The Hui did raise the concern of what was happening in India regarding the persecution of Christians. In an earlier Pondering – “Are we selective when we talk about Gospel renewal and Justice” (December 2024), I raised the question as to what is happening to people in another part of the world – the bombing, shooting, maiming and starving of babies, young children, mothers, families… But here I am asking not what is happening globally but rather what is happening here in New Zealand. I am privileged to serve on the DELTA Community Support Trust Board and this provides insights into the impacts of current decisions on the poor and vulnerable, those at the edges of our society. Through DELTA’s work we are seeing and hearing of ever-growing unease, concerns for a wider section of our society being deeply impacted by Government policies and decisions being made.
We were reminded at the Hui that the leaders – the National Leader, the Regional Leaders were not the Baptist Union, rather that we, individually are. Each of us is what make the Baptist Union. So when we ask, ‘What is the Baptist Union doing about injustice in our society’ we are in fact asking and challenging each of us what are we doing individually and collectively as members of our churches? Are we willing to stand up, speak up and act doing what Jesus taught and to ‘reclaim’ him?
Over the past 3 years in New Zealand, not Africa or Asia, child poverty has increased by nearly 50,000 to 169,300 or 1 in 7. And in vulnerable groups the rates are disproportionately higher where 31% of Pacific Children, 25.1% of Tamariki Māori and 26.9% of disabled children live in material hardship. The number of children living in poverty is likely to grow further under the announced housing policy of the Government where those in social housing will be required to pay more for housing – an increase from 25% of income to 30% of income, and it affects around 84,000 households by an average of $31 a week, leaving less for food, clothing, school books. This policy is being implemented under the direction of Louise Upston, the Minister of Social Development and Employment, Minister of Disability Issues and Minister for Child Poverty Reduction, who herself receives a housing allowance of $1000.00 a week; $52,000 a year for a property she owns, a sum which is twice what a pensioner receives and 3 times what an unemployed young person receives by way of pension or benefit.
In The Press, Saturday, 11 July 2026, the Mainlander in investigating concerns about students’ wellbeing reports that “At-Risk children wait while the system buckles.” The Press investigation reports that a total of 434 at risk children in Canterbury are overdue an assessment by a social worker – according to April 2026 data obtained under the Official Information Act, with the Primary Principals Association saying school principals “didn’t have confidence their reports would be responded to with urgency.” Nathan Chong-Nee from the Association of Social Workers comments that, “Burnout and chronic underfunding …. was a major contributor to the crisis in child protection.” Yet we as a nation can prioritize tax breaks for heated tobacco products, valued at up to $300 million, over children in crisis! Underfunding is a consistent theme that runs through areas where needs exist.
Treasury forecasts released with the Budget show the 2028 child poverty targets will be badly missed. Interviewed on Q&A with Jack Tame, the Finance Minister acknowledged the gap was very difficult to close, while defending the prioritising of deficit reduction – over the question of increased child poverty. Ezekiel (16:49) warned us “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.” Is this a warning to our politicians who seem unconcerned and unwilling to help the poor and needy, rather prioritizing the wealthy through Tax breaks? We read and hear much comment about the ‘Cost of Living Crisis’ currently facing families, but I wonder how much of a crisis is the current ‘crisis’ for multi-millionaires?
The recent Auditor General’s inquiry into the cost-cutting revamp of the free school lunches programme reveals that while money was saved the changes compromised the quality and appropriateness of the food provided. The Auditor-General found that only around half of the meals met the programme's own nutrition standards and that waste was measured at 8.82kg for every 100 lunches, above the programme's target of 7kg - waste that schools attribute to poor quality and unappealing meals. While savings were apparently being made compared to the previous model, was it the savings that enable the tax breaks of up to $300 million to Tobacco Companies? Are we putting Tobacco Companies tax breaks ahead of children’s well-being and the provision of nutritious lunches for our poorest of children?
Radio New Zealand recently reported that Youth unemployment in New Zealand is “soaring and at 15%” it is “three times higher” than that of the wider working population. This asks about our commitment to our young people. For example, in 2024-2025 there was an average of nearly 600 fulltime-equivalent Nurses short every shift across our hospitals with Children’s wards being particularly hard hit with 45% of shifts across the year understaffed. This was largely the result of what the Nurses Organisation describes as a freeze on hiring graduate nurses, which left around half of nursing graduates without hospital jobs - many of whom left to work overseas. Again, all this while not only giving tax breaks to Tobacco companies but also residential property investors and speculators to the value of $2.9 billion.
As noted earlier, the USBA Hui, as with other regional Hui, was asked to reflect on Acts 2 and the Baptist World Alliance’s call as we globally move to 2033 and the acknowledging of Christ’s death and resurrection. In the book of Acts, everything that the disciples did and said was always done and spoken in the name of Jesus. The question I am raising is, “how much, we, the Baptist Church in New Zealand see the plight of our children and young people as a concern?” How much are we prepared to ask the question of our Government and its Ministers about their priorities? Is it our children, our young people or is it Tobacco Companies or Property investors and speculators? Is Jesus’s name being forgotten, even silenced or co-opted for secular political power? Have we become disconnected from Jesus? Are we failing to stand and act in His name and call out the systemic injustices that keep our children in poverty, hungry, abused and lost? For many of our children the ‘Good news’ of the Gospel is unseen and unheard.
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For other ‘Pondering:..’ opinion pieces from people in New Zealand Baptist churches, click here.
Photo credit: Maximus Mazar on Unsplash
