A steady decline in the number of New Zealanders who attend traditional Christian church services is being attributed not just to a drop in the number of believers, but also to some Christians choosing to practise their faith informally.
Two non-denominational religious movements – the house church and emerging church movements – are at the forefront of ‘do-it-yourself’ Christianity.
The house church movement involves regular meetings of like-minded friends in private homes. It’s estimated that between 350 and 600 groups throughout the country have rejected worship in church, in part because of the hierarchical structure and the costs involved.
David Allis, who regularly hosts a house church at his home in the Auckland suburb of Devonport, says house churches are more democratic than traditional churches because they don’t rely on a leader who says: “Follow me, I’ve heard from God.”
Members of the emerging church movement place special emphasis on good works or social activism. In their meetings – usually, but not always, outside a church – many emerging church members deeply analyse Christian theology for guidance on how to live their lives as seven-day-a-week Christians.
Professor Peter Lineham, religious historian at Massey University, says that in the new Christian movements adherents are ‘in a way making it up as they go along.’
The traditional church is also being challenged by independent ‘mega churches’. The preachers of Destiny, Life and City Impact churches attract thousands of worshippers each week.
Professor Lineham says: ‘These powerful preachers are able to put the Christian gospel into simple, clear and quite traditional forms, so we’ve seen a resurgence of what you might call more fundamentalist types of Christianity.’
The proportion of New Zealanders who describe themselves as Christian declined steadily from 73.5 percent in the 1986 census to 51.9 percent in 2006.
To maintain their congregations, successful traditional churches are forced to offer more variety than in the past.
Rodney Macann, national leader of the Baptist Church, says: ‘People tend to choose their church according to what they like, what they want [and] the programmes it’s offering.’
Rev. Charmaine Braatvedt, pastor at the thriving Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Devonport, says the church has always had to move with the times, and it has to now.
‘If we don’t do that,’ she says, ‘we’ll get left behind.’
A steady decline in the number of New Zealanders who attend traditional Christian church services is being attributed not just to a drop in the number of believers, but also to some Christians choosing to practise their faith informally.
Two non-denominational religious movements – the house church and emerging church movements – are at the forefront of ‘do-it-yourself’ Christianity.
The house church movement involves regular meetings of like-minded friends in private homes. It’s estimated that between 350 and 600 groups throughout the country have rejected worship in church, in part because of the hierarchical structure and the costs involved.
David Allis, who regularly hosts a house church at his home in the Auckland suburb of Devonport, says house churches are more democratic than traditional churches because they don’t rely on a leader who says: “Follow me, I’ve heard from God.”
Members of the emerging church movement place special emphasis on good works or social activism. In their meetings – usually, but not always, outside a church – many emerging church members deeply analyse Christian theology for guidance on how to live their lives as seven-day-a-week Christians.
Professor Peter Lineham, religious historian at Massey University, says that in the new Christian movements adherents are ‘in a way making it up as they go along.’
The traditional church is also being challenged by independent ‘mega churches’. The preachers of Destiny, Life and City Impact churches attract thousands of worshippers each week.
Professor Lineham says: ‘These powerful preachers are able to put the Christian gospel into simple, clear and quite traditional forms, so we’ve seen a resurgence of what you might call more fundamentalist types of Christianity.’
The proportion of New Zealanders who describe themselves as Christian declined steadily from 73.5 percent in the 1986 census to 51.9 percent in 2006.
To maintain their congregations, successful traditional churches are forced to offer more variety than in the past.
Rodney Macann, national leader of the Baptist Church, says: ‘People tend to choose their church according to what they like, what they want [and] the programmes it’s offering.’
Rev. Charmaine Braatvedt, pastor at the thriving Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Devonport, says the church has always had to move with the times, and it has to now.
‘If we don’t do that,’ she says, ‘we’ll get left behind.’