On the West Coast, not far from the beach, stands an old shed.
It’s filled with second-hand couches, an assortment of music equipment, two tables – one of pool and one of tennis, a handful of Xbox consoles, gym equipment and a supply closet of arts and crafts. There’s a room covered in paint. And I mean covered – painted names covering older painted names covering a wall that probably no one remembers the original colour of. Vibrant cardboard depictions of characters and animals line the walls of the main room, each representing a theme of the annual ball that they decorated.
Outside, a flat green lawn waits for the sporty kids to trample it every week, while a bonfire, basketball court and handmade minigolf course sit beside the building.
There’s something to keep every young person entertained.
The Shed was the highlight of Andy’s highschool years. “Tim and Nicki always made everyone feel loved and welcome.”
“I loved it,” Anna enthuses. She loved hanging out with schoolmates, making new friends, going to the Bible studies and attending The Shed Ball. “I will always have fond memories of my times at The Shed, and with Nicki and Tim.”
“The Shed was probably one of the first ‘leadership’ spaces I was a part of as a teen,” says Claudia, “and along with learning useful youth leader basics, I always felt valued in the feedback space and learnt a lot about heart attitude from the servant-hearted leaders who cared so deeply for our young people and creating a safe and loving space.”
I was a year old at the time of The Shed’s inception, but I spent my teenage years there too. As a shy, homeschooled farm girl, it helped coaxed me out of my shell and into some lifelong friendships. Nicki’s weekly Bible study was integral to my developing faith. Growing older, it was also a safe environment for me to step into leadership for the first time. There are many others that can attribute parts of their faith journey to their time at The Shed.
“I remember our first gatherings at Tim and Nicki's house, and the start of an incredible ministry,” Ben reminisces. From half a dozen or so on the first night, he remembers the list of youth involved in The Shed surpassing one hundred within a few years.
Tim and Nicki arrived on the West Coast in 1998, where Tim began training as a priest with Reverend Robin Kingston, and Nicki stepped into the role of parish youth worker. They moved into a house on Greymouth’s Main South Road, on a property rented to them by the parish.
At first, the youth group met in their home, but quickly outgrew it in the first year. They moved to the church hall for a year, but their eye was always on the large joinery factory right next to the house.
The parish, stepping out in faith to invest in the dream, managed to purchase the property and work began to strip the factory of all its machinery. Tim put his handyman skills into operation and, over the next two decades and with the help of many other individuals and groups, developed the building into the amazing youth centre it is today, with spaces and activities to cater for almost anything a young person is into.
“It was at The Shed that I learned to pray,” Ben continues. He’s now served over six years as an Anglican vicar in Christchurch.
The Moras played a defining role in Claudia’s faith too. “Nicki was one of the first people who taught me to delight in God’s presence, and always encouraged us to hear him for ourselves.”
“I can trace a lot of what I’m doing now back to what God started in that environment,” says Mike, now a pastor and Bible college teacher. He speaks affectionately about his time at The Shed in the early 2000s. “The Shed sparked a love for faith and ministry. It was also the place I first encountered the Holy Spirit – and I love telling my Pentecostal tribe about how a bunch of Anglicans made space for that!”
“Youth work is always about building relationships where you earn the trust to speak into young people's lives in a meaningful way,” Tim Mora affirms. “It's not the building that has made the ministry so successful, it is the myriad of leaders that have come and gone over the years and supported us in building a culture of unconditional love, respect, community, opportunity to grow, and a place to explore faith. From the beginning we have earned the trust and enjoyed the support of the community, government agencies, schools, parents, churches, funders and businesses. We could not have done what we have done without that support.”
“It truly is a community effort,” he continues, “but like all successful ministries it needed a driver – and that driver was Nicki. She is the heart of The Shed, embodying its values in her person. Inspired by her love of God and passionately caring for the young people under her care. It would not have happened without her.”
“It’s such an honour and privilege to know you have been part of someone's journey,” Nicki says, “especially their faith journey.”
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
On the West Coast, not far from the beach, stands an old shed.
It’s filled with second-hand couches, an assortment of music equipment, two tables – one of pool and one of tennis, a handful of Xbox consoles, gym equipment and a supply closet of arts and crafts. There’s a room covered in paint. And I mean covered – painted names covering older painted names covering a wall that probably no one remembers the original colour of. Vibrant cardboard depictions of characters and animals line the walls of the main room, each representing a theme of the annual ball that they decorated.
Outside, a flat green lawn waits for the sporty kids to trample it every week, while a bonfire, basketball court and handmade minigolf course sit beside the building.
There’s something to keep every young person entertained.
The Shed was the highlight of Andy’s highschool years. “Tim and Nicki always made everyone feel loved and welcome.”
“I loved it,” Anna enthuses. She loved hanging out with schoolmates, making new friends, going to the Bible studies and attending The Shed Ball. “I will always have fond memories of my times at The Shed, and with Nicki and Tim.”
“The Shed was probably one of the first ‘leadership’ spaces I was a part of as a teen,” says Claudia, “and along with learning useful youth leader basics, I always felt valued in the feedback space and learnt a lot about heart attitude from the servant-hearted leaders who cared so deeply for our young people and creating a safe and loving space.”
I was a year old at the time of The Shed’s inception, but I spent my teenage years there too. As a shy, homeschooled farm girl, it helped coaxed me out of my shell and into some lifelong friendships. Nicki’s weekly Bible study was integral to my developing faith. Growing older, it was also a safe environment for me to step into leadership for the first time. There are many others that can attribute parts of their faith journey to their time at The Shed.
“I remember our first gatherings at Tim and Nicki's house, and the start of an incredible ministry,” Ben reminisces. From half a dozen or so on the first night, he remembers the list of youth involved in The Shed surpassing one hundred within a few years.
Tim and Nicki arrived on the West Coast in 1998, where Tim began training as a priest with Reverend Robin Kingston, and Nicki stepped into the role of parish youth worker. They moved into a house on Greymouth’s Main South Road, on a property rented to them by the parish.
At first, the youth group met in their home, but quickly outgrew it in the first year. They moved to the church hall for a year, but their eye was always on the large joinery factory right next to the house.
The parish, stepping out in faith to invest in the dream, managed to purchase the property and work began to strip the factory of all its machinery. Tim put his handyman skills into operation and, over the next two decades and with the help of many other individuals and groups, developed the building into the amazing youth centre it is today, with spaces and activities to cater for almost anything a young person is into.
“It was at The Shed that I learned to pray,” Ben continues. He’s now served over six years as an Anglican vicar in Christchurch.
The Moras played a defining role in Claudia’s faith too. “Nicki was one of the first people who taught me to delight in God’s presence, and always encouraged us to hear him for ourselves.”
“I can trace a lot of what I’m doing now back to what God started in that environment,” says Mike, now a pastor and Bible college teacher. He speaks affectionately about his time at The Shed in the early 2000s. “The Shed sparked a love for faith and ministry. It was also the place I first encountered the Holy Spirit – and I love telling my Pentecostal tribe about how a bunch of Anglicans made space for that!”
“Youth work is always about building relationships where you earn the trust to speak into young people's lives in a meaningful way,” Tim Mora affirms. “It's not the building that has made the ministry so successful, it is the myriad of leaders that have come and gone over the years and supported us in building a culture of unconditional love, respect, community, opportunity to grow, and a place to explore faith. From the beginning we have earned the trust and enjoyed the support of the community, government agencies, schools, parents, churches, funders and businesses. We could not have done what we have done without that support.”
“It truly is a community effort,” he continues, “but like all successful ministries it needed a driver – and that driver was Nicki. She is the heart of The Shed, embodying its values in her person. Inspired by her love of God and passionately caring for the young people under her care. It would not have happened without her.”
“It’s such an honour and privilege to know you have been part of someone's journey,” Nicki says, “especially their faith journey.”
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
