Last Stand Of The New Zealand Church
“In this manner the Gospel has been introduced into New Zealand, and I fervently pray that the glory of it may never depart from its inhabitants until time shall be no more.” — Rev. Samuel Marsden, Bay of Islands, December 1814
A Nation at a Tipping Point
This blog is a holy alarm bell. New Zealand, once fertile ground for the Gospel, has crossed a sobering threshold. For the first time since Marsden preached on Aotearoa’s shores, those identifying as non-religious outnumber those who claim the Christian faith.
We are not just in decline—we are in free-fall.
If you're reading this as a practising Christian, you're part of what I call the 9% Remnant. Just 460,000 Kiwis actively follow Jesus today. That figure has halved in my lifetime—and it’s still sliding.
We’re entering what I call the Red Zone: that perilous stage where Christianity becomes so marginalised that its societal and spiritual influence all but disappears. Just look at Europe—post-Christian, post-truth, and post-hope. If we don’t respond now, we follow the same path.
So what do we do?
We stand. We wake up. We refuse to slumber into extinction.
From Jesus Revolution to Mainstream Malaise
I came to faith in the 1970s—a time of Holy Spirit fire, street evangelism, and radical commitment. It felt like the Kingdom was advancing.
But then something happened.
We handed over the baton to institutional church structures. The flame flickered. Movements became meetings. Passion gave way to programming.
In the 1960s, over 80% of Kiwis identified as Christian. By 2023? Just 32%. Meanwhile, those identifying with “no religion” have exploded to 51.6%.
That's a spiritual mutiny in one generation.
Sunday’s Emptying Seats
Church attendance has collapsed:
2009: ~25% attended church monthly
2019: 14.4%
2023: falling even further (data pending)
And many of those still attending are ageing. Traditional denominations are bleeding clergy, closing doors, and struggling to fund their futures.
This isn’t just decline—it’s disintegration. Church’s passivity about this crisis is like someone waiting for Uber during an earthquake.
New Zealand vs. America: A Tale of Two Collapses
While the U.S. Church is also shrinking, the decline has been slower. In the early 1990s, 90% of Americans identified as Christian. By 2020, it was 64%. Pew Research predicts Christians may be a minority there by 2060.
But New Zealand? We're already there.
Our liberal, secular climate has fast-tracked the slide. And once the Church is no longer shaping society—it becomes shaped by society.
That’s already happening.
Europe: The Canary in the Coal Mine
Let’s talk Europe. Christianity didn’t just decline there—it vanished from public life:
UK: ~7% are practising evangelical Christians
France, Spain, Italy: under 2%
Nordics: often under 1%
Eastern Europe: under 5%
Can we honestly believe New Zealand will somehow avoid that trajectory unless something radically changes?
Is There Hope? Yes—but Not Without a Fight
Hope? Absolutely. But let’s not be naïve.
If revival were a button we could push, Europe wouldn’t be spiritually barren. If Christian nationalism were the answer, the U.S. Church wouldn’t be fracturing. If programs alone worked, we’d be flourishing.
No—the answer starts smaller.
It starts with you.
With me.
With the Remnant.
This Is Our Last Stand
Samuel Marsden dreamed of a New Zealand soaked in Gospel truth. But we’ve inherited a generation that barely knows who Jesus is.
The time has come to plant a new stake in the ground. Not in anger. Not in retreat. But in boldness.
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.”
We must reimagine Church—not as a building or a brand, but as a Spirit-empowered people carrying hope into a hopeless world.
We must reclaim confidence—not in politics or marketing—but in the raw, transforming power of Jesus Christ.
We must arise. Because if the Remnant doesn’t rise—no one will.
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