New
Zealand Factbook
New
Zealand is blessed
with a rich Christian heritage. Unfortunately,
the current
generation of young people has largely turned its backs on the gospel.
New Zealand is comprised
of two major islands and a few small islands in the South Pacific
ocean. It is located to the
east of Australia.
Nearly 4 million people live in New Zealand. Three quarters of them are of European origin. The native Maori people represent about 10%
of the population. The majority of the people live on the
northern island.
New
Zealand enjoys a
strong, diversified economy. New Zealand has transformed itself from heavy dependence
on Great Britain
to an independent,
export-based nation.
A treaty with the native Maori people in
1840 brought the British to New
Zealand.
Independence with a British
Commonwealth status came in 1907.
In recent years,
the Maori people have been pushing for a greater voice in government. There is freedom of religion.
The treaty with the British also brought
the gospel to New Zealand. Many came to Christ, and the church grew. A revival in the 1960's brought a
large
harvest of new believers and saw some liberal denominations turn evangelical. At its peak, evangelicals represented 25% of
the population.
Over the last 15 years, interest in the
church began to wane. Young people show little interest in the gospel. Most Christians are over 30 years of
age. Pray for believers as they seek to share
their faith. Pray that the Lord would once
again visit revival on this land. Pray
in particular for efforts to reach young people and the native
Maori people. Few among the Maori are
Christians.
New
Zealand was known for
its missions vision. That has been
reduced in recent years
but is still strong. Pray for the many New Zealand
missionaries
on the field and for the provision of more.
Copyright 2006 by Brad Garrison
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