What does it mean to be an ‘evangelical’?

Like many others who grew up in a non-Christian household, I had Bible-believing grandparents. I remember vividly my grandma asking me as a teenager if I fancied the idea of marrying an evangelist. “No way!” To me, evangelists and evangelicals were one and the same. And I didn’t really know what either of them was.

It turns out, I wasn’t alone. In response to recent events, Dr Stuart Lange has written an article that looks into what it means to be ‘evangelical’ and another that looks into probable reasons why a recent survey found that New Zealanders find evangelicals to be the least trusted religious group.

Since the first reading of the abortion bill in Parliament, Alex Penk of MAXIM wrote a piece about removing rage from our public debates that I highly recommend. In addition to the messages NZCN sent to all the sitting MPs before and to those who opposed the bill afterwards, we have produced a guide to help you make your voice heard. Next week, we will send a special email about this issue with key information about how you can help advocate for both mother and child in this battle for health and life.

Another key topic highlighted by events and politics in New Zealand is religious freedom. We are fortunate to have Dr Thomas and Dr Christine Schirrmacher visiting New Zealand for 2 days next week. We will be hosting an evening meeting with them in Auckland on Monday 2 September. See the notice below for more details.

Also coming up is the inaugural Hamilton Prayer Breakfast next week and the 4th annual Auckland Prayer Breakfast on the 3rd of October. Next week begins our 3-week campaign to fill Eden Park’s North Lounge. There are just over 2 weeks of Earlybird prices left before the price goes up to $40 each for the final week – which makes this the perfect time to book a table for your church, group or organisation or get any number of tickets at non-allocated tables so you can meet other people!