The organisations and groups below all come under the umbrella of the Baptist Churches of New Zealand which is the team of 40,000 people within the 250 faith communities. Education, training, research and advocacy is part of our DNA.
Carey Centre for Lifelong Learning
Our Centre for Lifelong Learning exists to provide on-going training and resources that equip our leaders and churches to thrive. It provides accessible, affordable, and quality content from leading academics and practitioners to support personal and professional growth.
Carey Baptist College
Since 1926 Baptists in New Zealand have been training Christian leaders to bring gospel renewal in churches and communities across Aotearoa and around the world. Our college has a world-class leadership formation programme for those who have a calling to pastoral or missional leadership. Alongside this is a range of NZQA qualifications in the areas of Bible, theology, ministry, and mission. Carey can equip any Christian to participate in the gospel’s transforming work, wherever they are called. The campus is in Auckland, there are regional hubs throughout New Zealand, and well-resourced online programmes.
Baptist Research
Baptist Research exists to resource, stimulate, and publish research relating to Baptist and wider church life in Aotearoa New Zealand. Since 1949 the Baptist Research and Historical Society has served as a ministry of the Baptist Union of New Zealand with the goal of stimulating research, and preserving the historical record of Baptist Churches in Aotearoa. This is achieved through the Pacific Journal of Theological Research, Archer Press, the Sutherland Lecture, and other events and programs.
Baptist Women
The Baptist Women New Zealand board’s aim is to see all women thriving in Baptist church life, celebrating the faith we share. They aim to be a steadfast voice for Baptist women, by connecting, strengthening and upholding one another to be co-workers in God’s Kingdom.
Māori
Manatū Iriiri Māori and the Te Kapa Rautaki team have a vision to see all Māori come to Jesus, reaching their full potential, and positively transforming their whānau, community and world in which they live.
Children and families
Recognising the importance of family within community life, Baptist Churches have programmes aimed at encouraging and supporting children and their families. Baptist Children and Family Ministries have a vision to empower, motivate, train, and resource churches so these ministries can be effective in bringing positive change to the church and their local communities. To achieve this, the team is committed to providing resources and training to the leaders of children and family ministry programmes within Baptist churches throughout New Zealand. Our Baptist Children and Family Ministries have a national points person and some regional coaches.
Youth
With one of the largest youth ministry networks in New Zealand, Baptist youth work has over 2,000 people providing youth work (paid and volunteer) and engages with over 20,000 young people of intermediate age, high school age, and young adult age, throughout the country, every week. There is currently a review taking place considering the next chapter of Baptist youth work. The national points person for youth is Mike Dodge [email protected] and some Regional Associations have youth coaches.
Multicultural ministries
Networking and resourcing the growth of ethnic, migrant, refugee and multicultural communities of faith within the Aotearoa New Zealand Baptist collective. There is a National Advisory Group for Multicultural Ministries, which can be contacted via the support centre: [email protected]
Latest articles
Waiheke pastor’s Baptist church in Myanmar needs your donations and prayers
Donate now to support emergency relief and help rebuild the Baptist Church in Manje, Myanmar, the home village of Waiheke Island Baptist Church pastor Roi…
Tribute to Pope Francis
The late Pope Francis led with humility and deep compassion for those for whom life was hard, writes Charles Hewlett.
Reducing car use for God’s good creation
A Baptist pastor is making the most of New Zealand’s ride-to-work benefit program.
Baptist Union votes in new vice president
Former tech business entrepreneur Brian Smellie will be the Baptist Union’s president in 2026.
Just Baptists: Three NZ men who resisted ‘the system’ to bring about justice
John Tucker discusses justice in the life of Jesus and the actions of three New Zealand Baptists who made doing justice their mission.
Sports chaplains in New Zealand are uniquely placed for local mission
Boosting support for sports chaplains would help them reach thousands of people, on and off the field, says Phil Pawley.
New code of ethics and conduct available to read
Read the new code of ethics and conduct for Baptist pastors and ministry leaders in New Zealand.
Give to the Baptist World Alliance Myanmar earthquake relief fund
Here’s how you can help the Baptist World Alliance in its Myanmar earthquake relief efforts.
Meet the globals! ကမ္ဘာတဝှမ်းမှပုဂ္ဂိုလ်များနှင့်တွေ့ဆုံကြည့်ပါ
A reflection on the uplifting evening celebrating New Zealand’s multicultural Baptist people, with Burmese translation.
Faith on the farm
When her daughter’s Burmese cat goes missing on the farm, Shirley Pearce puts her faith in action.
Pondering: A bicultural church?
“In my opinion, we are importing a secular or political concept into an ecclesiastical structure…”
Seeking God for our next National Leader
Appointing a new denominational leader is a pivotal time for our churches. We invite all churches to unite in prayer for this process.
An invitation to Journey Together
What if mentoring young people became a cornerstone of your church? Journey Together is a practical resource designed to help churches foster meaningful, intergenerational discipleship.
National Council meeting February 2025
Ethics & safety | Vice President nomination | how we hold disagreements and live in unity | mission & ministry | honouring retired leaders |…
Is this the most unique Baptist church in New Zealand?
I visited Immersion Baptist Church...
The groundbreaking impact of Kiwi Baptists’ Bible translation
A New Zealand-led team’s translation of the New Testament into a little-known language helped bring about a major cultural revival and gospel renewal.
A match made in heaven
When an aging Bay of Plenty church with declining numbers handed over its leadership to a bigger church, the benefits were felt in both.
What does God say about doing justice?
Our Christian God identifies with the powerless and the outcasts, which tells us a lot about God’s attitude to justice.
About our 2025 Vice President nominee
Learn more about Brian Smellie, how he was nominated for Vice President, and the process for voting.
Hui ā Māori 2025
First details for this year's Hui ā Māori – save the date!