A brief history of our ministries

Missions

Missions has been an active part of Te Awamutu Bible Chapel for close to a century. A practical and spiritual ministry that is supported by the elders and congregation, present and past.

Dating back to early times, TABC has sent and supported folk called by God, to share God’s love to parts of NZ and nations across the globe.

Boys & Girls Rally

Girls' Rally began as a girls' club run by Mrs Jean Hull and Miss Elva Jenkins in 1946. They began with 12 girls, which soon reached 100 in number. Around 1950, Mr Alan Little began the Boys' Rally. Soon the two clubs joined to become Te Awamutu Boys' and Girls' Rally.

Te Awamutu Rally has now been running for over 70 years and currently has an attendance of over 65 boys and girls.

Powerhouse

The Sunday School ministry at Te Awamutu Bible Chapel has been operating for well over 70 years, and is a major part of Church life here at the Chapel. The name "Powerhouse" was given among other suggestions before being decided upon by the congregation. In the past, Powerhouse has taken a strong community focus, but now operates predominantly as a service and blessing for the children in our congregation.

Ignite

Youth Group was started by Hugh Miller in 1949 and has been a major ministry at Te Awamutu Bible Chapel ever since. From mission trips, lake camps, insight nights, and an enduring concern for strong Biblical teaching, the youth ministry has been a formative influence in the lives of our young people. The Youth Group now operates under the name 'Ignite'.

God has blessed Ignite as both a key discipleship-building and evangelistic ministry in our Church.

Here's a blast from the past!

Alpha

The Alpha course is an evangelistic course aimed at people who are beginning to explore the Christian faith and meaning of life. The Alpha course officially began to be taught at Te Awamutu Bible Chapel in 2005. Many members of our Church whānau credit the Alpha course as being an instrumental part of their faith journey.

Community Café

Community Café started in 2013 as a result of Sally West's desire to start a voluntary based café service. The café is aimed at those in the immediate community area of the Chapel, to provide a safe place for people to be able to enter a church building, enjoy a barista coffee, and some good wholesome home made food for the cost of a gold coin donation. Community Café is open every Wednesday morning from 9:30am-11:30am during school term time. Everyone and anyone is always welcome and it is a great place to sit and chat and perhaps even make some new friends.

Equip

Launched in 2019, Equip has been a teaching program designed to take our church deeper into God's Word and to apply theology to real life situations. Equip runs in a class format that allows interaction and discussion, while being lead through material that helps the Christian to think about life and ministry from a biblical perspective. Covering topics as varied as Marriage, Parenting, Apologetics, Systematic Theology, Church History, and Christianity in the workplace, those who have attended the classes have found great benefit in growing in a deeper understanding of God's Word and its implications on everyday life.

mainly music

mainly music started in term 4 of 2014. Our desire is to gather with young families to provide a quality music session for parents and carers. mainly music provides a safe space for families within the community to build meaningful interaction with their children. Above all this, is our desire to have faith conversations with our families, pray for them and support each of them in any way we can.

Men's Events

Men's breakfast has been a regular occasion since 2005 and is an opportunity for men to gather on the first Saturday of each month to eat a hearty meal and enjoy uplifting fellowship. Testimonies from all aspects of Christian life from sports, politics, business, ministry and health can be heard. The invitation is open for men from the Te Awamutu community to share a time of fellowship with other Christian men. Recently, our monthly Men's Breakfast have switched to being an evening Men's BBQ on the last Saturday on the month.

Women's Events

There have been many ministries specifically for woman at the Chapel over the years. Women's Events are put on throughout the year with the purpose of encouraging women in the unity we have in Christ and enjoying fellowship together. These events provide opportunities for women to teach and learn from each other and to go deeper in their friendships. All women are welcome to come and enjoy our Women's Events.

Connect Groups

Here at Te Awamutu Bible Chapel we have a strong history of Connect Groups. Formally named Home Groups, many of our Connect Groups have been running for years and have evolved into different flavours and demographics. We believe that Connect Groups are the hub of the church. When we meet on a Sunday we get to fellowship with our church family, but this time is never enough to build strong, intimate relationships that we are designed to have with each other. Connect Groups provide the opportunity to get more involved with other group members' deeper needs, and to support each other in a real way that is not only encouraging for our spiritual walk but practical also. Our desire is to have everyone of our church family connected to a group in some way, and for our groups to be actively loving God, loving each other and loving the lost.

Internship

Having organic beginnings in 2020, our internship program has a focus on taking those who are interested in full time ministry through a year of practical ministry and learning. The internship applies theology to everyday church situations and provides insight into how a church operates on a daily basis and how it is governed and lead by a group of elders and deacons. We look forward to seeing the program grow in the future as we help prepare the next generation of church leaders.