by Dr Stuart Lange | 11 Sep , 2026 | About Christianity, Articles, FOCUS, Marriage and Family
Statistics indicate that less than half of adults in New Zealand are married, and the remainder are single, in de facto partnerships, or widowed, separated or divorced. But marriage still matters, and it matters that marriages be loving, healthy, and committed. Such marriages are good for everyone: for those within them, for children, and for our whole society.
There are many strong marriages out there. Tragically, though, many marriages struggle or fail.
Christians cannot presume to tell others New Zealanders how to live their lives. But the Christian faith and the Bible do offer many profound and timeless insights into marriage.
From the outset, and in Jesus’ teaching, the Bible presents marriage as the deep union of a man and a woman, a relationship that is loving, faithful, and life-long.
The Bible also attests to humanity being universally marred by sinfulness. Every marriage (including Christian marriages) involves two flawed people. It follows that a key dynamic in building a loving, stable, and happy marriage is to lean into God and experience his Holy Spirit changing us inwardly, so that we become better marriage partners.
It is good to bear in mind that much of the Bible’s teaching about how Christians should treat other people can also be applied to marriage. Like: loving others as much as ourselves, “love is patient and kind” (1 Cor. 13), speaking the truth in love, and being gentle, forbearing, peace-loving, and willing to forgive. A quick Bible search brings up multiple references to all these things, especially in the New Testament.
Marriage is a great gift of God, and not just for Christians. What matters most in any marriage is not the wedding celebration, but the quality of the marriage over the years ahead, a quality which can either grow or decline.
May God bless marriage in New Zealand, and may loving, flourishing, and enduring marriages – including those of many Christians – be helpful examples to our watching world.
by Dr Stuart Lange | 28 Aug , 2026 | About Christianity, Articles, Christianity in New Zealand
All political parties have values, and feel they do good for everyone. However, there are both good and not-so-good aspects in all political parties. No political party is immune to ideological bias, prejudice, influence from vested interests, internal conflict, and making policies and promises which are empty, misleading, or divisive.
In this pre-election season, when all political parties are eager to maximise their share of votes, they present themselves as the answer to all our problems, and often denigrate rival political parties as incompetent, untrustworthy, and dangerous. Complex issues are far too often reduced to slogans, accusations, and smear tactics.
So, as voters who are Christian, what might we like to see among our political candidates, MPs, and political parties?
Here are some suggestions…
- More focus on promoting good and beneficial policies
- Less focus on attacking and rubbishing other parties
- Much less spin
- A willingness to put aside partisan, adversarial politics, and more frequently to cooperate and collaborate across the floor, to ensure well-scrutinised, effective laws and a greater number of shared direction
- The basics of good government: justice, law and order, a sound economy
- A common commitment to fairness and compassion, and to the wellbeing of all people in New Zealand, especially those who are less wealthy
- Fair wages and income for all, a just tax system, and affordable housing
- A stronger health system
- A genuine will to honour the Treaty/Te Tiriti and Crown’s promises to Māori
- A respect and kindness towards new migrants
- A shared eagerness to care for God’s creation, the natural world, and to implement policies and laws that help better achieve that
- The ongoing protection of liberties of belief, conscience, and expression
- A deeper respect among MPs for Christian faith and values, along with respect for other faiths and for secularism
- Some members’ bills (which should be dealt with as conscience issues) which propose appropriate checks and balances amending those laws which now allow doctors to euthanise terminally ill adults and to kill unborn babies even in the late stages of gestation
- MPs who are compassionate, honest, and fair-minded, who have good personal values, and – where there are such candidates standing – those who are willing to uphold Christian values with courage, grace, and respect for all.
by Dr Malcolm Falloon | 17 Aug , 2026 | About Christianity, Articles
Some kinds of knowledge can be gained from a distance. We can observe an experiment, examine the evidence, or learn from a book. But relational knowledge is different. We may know facts about another person from the outside, yet we cannot fully know that person’s love without entrusting ourselves to the relationship.
Marriage provides an analogy. Before marriage, two people can learn a great deal about one another. They can spend time together, ask questions, meet each other’s friends and imagine a shared future. Yet there is a knowledge of a spouse’s love that becomes possible only through mutual commitment. In marriage, each person places their life into the hands of the other and discovers love from within the covenant.
Christian faith has this same relational character. An inquirer can examine the historical claims of Christianity, read the Bible, attend church and observe the lives of Christians. Exploration of this kind, in which honest questions are welcomed rather than suppressed, is an important stage in coming to Christian commitment, because faith is not a blind leap made in defiance of truth.
Nevertheless, a person can remain forever at the edge, knowing much about Christianity without knowing God’s love in Christ from within. At some point, exploration presents us with a decision: will I entrust myself to this God? Faith is not merely the confident conclusion that the central claims of Christianity are true. It also involves trusting that the God revealed in Jesus Christ loves us, that his promises are reliable, and that his intentions toward us are for good rather than for ill.
This commitment does not, in itself, make Christianity true, any more than marriage creates the existence or character of one’s spouse. Rather, commitment makes possible a kind of knowledge unavailable to the detached observer. “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” the psalmist says (Psalm 34:8). There are truths about divine grace that are discovered as we rely upon them: as we pray for a new heart, receive forgiveness, practise generosity, join Christian fellowship, serve those in need and begin ordering our lives around Christ.
This is why making a decision for Christ remains important. The decision must never be manufactured by emotional pressure or extracted by an evangelist intent on “closing the deal.” The inquirer is not a passive object but an active person who questions, explores, tests and responds. Christian friends can accompany that process, and the Church can make the Christian life visible and inhabitable. But no one else can exercise faith on another’s behalf.
Conversion may involve many small decisions and much gradual reorientation. Yet within that process there is a vital movement from observing to entrusting, from considering Christ to relying upon him. We come to know the love of God not only by looking at it from the outside, but by placing ourselves within its embrace.
by NZ Christian Network | 1 Aug , 2026 | Articles, Marriage and Family
Unquestionably, the state of marriages is a key factor in any society’s wellbeing.
In recent months, six Christian ministries (FamilyLife NZ, Focus on the Family NZ, Alpha NZ, Shining Lights, Family First, and New Zealand Christian Network) have been working together to plan and highlight pro-marriage initiatives in New Zealand.
The convener of the inter-agency steering group, Wynand Jacobs, writes: ‘We are thrilled to see unprecedented collaboration among Christian ministries for Marriage Week NZ (13-19 September). As part of this unified initiative, we are undertaking an ambitious goal: surveying 10,000 New Zealanders to get a true snapshot of relationships in our nation. Taking just 7 minutes, this anonymous survey will identify barriers to finding help and directly guide future support resources. The results will be shared during Marriage Week. Please add your voice today and help families flourish.’
Participate in the survey here, and share the link widely:
https://www.marriageweek.org.nz/#survey
by Esther Tredoux | 31 Jul , 2026 | Articles, GENERAL, Prayer Breakfasts
The second annual Christchurch Prayer Breakfast was held yesterday, 30 July, at the new One New Zealand Stadium. It was a partnership between the city’s church leaders (including Te Raranga) and NZCN.
It was a wonderful morning of worship, prayer, and unity, with approximately 380 people gathering from around 51 churches and Christian organisations.
The theme for this year’s Prayer Breakfast was “Do It Again, Lord”—a call to contend for a fresh move of God in our time and in our place. Our key scripture was Habakkuk 3:2: ‘Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known’.
Drawing inspiration from the Christchurch Coat of Arms—Fide Condita, Fructu Beata, Spe Fortis (‘Founded in Faith, Rich in the Fulfilment Thereof, Strong in Hope for the Future’)—we prayed into three key areas:
- Gratitude and thankfulness
- The social needs of our city
- The spiritual climate of Christchurch
Clint Ussher from The Well Church, who also serves on the planning committee, shared: ‘As we go through great changes in our city—ethnically, religiously, and socially—our foundations become increasingly important. The three phrases from the coat of arms provide faithful and prophetic prayer prompts: giving thanks for our foundation in the Christian faith, praying for the fruitfulness of that faith in our city today, and remaining strong in hope for the future.’
We were also delighted to welcome Rhema‘s Morning Show, The Brightside with Andrew and Becci, who broadcasted live from the event, helping share the heart of the Prayer Breakfast with listeners across the country.
The short NZCN video about the forthcoming NZ Christian Leaders’ Congress was shown, and Stuart Lange closed the gathering with a blessing.
We give thanks to God for His presence throughout the morning and are grateful to everyone who attended, served, prayed, and for our sponsors who helped make this gathering possible. May the seeds sown through our united prayers continue to bear fruit in Christchurch and beyond.
And, we look forward to our next two Prayer Breakfasts, Hamilton on 16 September and Auckland on 29 October.
by Dr Malcolm Falloon | 17 Jul , 2026 | About Christianity, Articles, Christianity in New Zealand, The Church
In 1 Timothy 2, Paul gives Timothy a striking instruction: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for everyone” (1 Timothy 2:1).
“First of all” speaks of priority. Before Paul discusses church leadership, false teaching, or public worship, he calls God’s people to prayer.
Notice also the breadth of these prayers. They are not limited to our own needs, our local church, or even our own denomination. We are to pray “for everyone,” including “kings and all who are in high positions.” Why? Because prayer reflects the heart of God himself. Paul continues, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (vv.3–4).
Prayer, gospel proclamation, and God’s compassion belong together. We pray because Christ “gave himself as a ransom for all” (v.6), and because God longs for men and women everywhere to hear the good news of his Son.
That gives us a healthy agenda for prayer in New Zealand. We certainly pray for revival, for the faithful preaching of God’s Word, and for the strengthening of our churches. But Scripture also teaches us to pray for the wider life of our nation—for those in government, education, health, business, justice, and every sphere of society. Like the exiles in Jeremiah’s day, we seek the welfare of the place where God has put us (Jeremiah 29:7), praying that our nation may enjoy peace and stability so that the gospel may continue to flourish.
Aotearoa New Zealand Prayer Breakfasts
This vision lies behind the Aotearoa New Zealand Prayer Breakfasts taking place around the country annually. These Prayer Breakfasts are organised in partnership with NZ Christian Network and key regional Church and Christian leaders. Believers from many churches, ethnicities, and denominations come together, not to advance one denomination or ministry, but to seek God’s blessing on our communities and nation.
Pray As One
It is also the vision behind Pray As One, the New Zealand Christian Network’s weekly online prayer gathering. Every Monday evening from 8.00–9.00 pm, believers from across Aotearoa gather on Zoom to pray for our nation. Each week we hear from a guest who helps shape our prayers before we divide into small groups to pray together. We pray for our regions, for Christian ministries, for our political leaders, and above all that God would bring many people to the knowledge of the truth through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The disciples once asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.” That remains the prayer of every generation. May God continue to teach us to pray—not only for ourselves, but for our nation and for the advance of his gospel.
