If you’ve been following my charges over the past few years, you may have noticed a recurring theme.
Two years ago, I challenged us to acknowledge that we have a "hole in our bucket" – and that we have an urgent need to change if we wish to survive as a church. And you responded with honesty and lament.
Last year, I reminded us that, while we face many challenges in our diocese, there is still "hope in the boat" – and that with God, we have what it takes to sail into uncharted territory with the good news of Jesus. And you responded with courage and boldness.
This year, while both of those things still remain true, I have a new call for us as a diocese.
I’d like to begin by taking you back to my childhood in Kenya.
Growing up in a village on the slopes of Mount Kenya, there was a time each year that brought great joy and hope. As the rains began to subside and the golden sun kissed the earth, our village would prepare for the harvest. The crops, which were carefully tended during the rainy season, were now almost ripe and ready to be gathered. The air was filled with the scent of millet, sorghum and maize, and the villagers eagerly anticipated filling their baskets with the bounty that would sustain them through the dry season.
And every year there was a special moment when we knew the harvest was ready. When someone would return from the fields with a basket full of produce, or when we saw the first fruits of the new harvest presented in a church service.
This year, I want to call our attention to the reality that the spiritual temperature in our society is beginning to change, that spring is arriving, and there is a “harvest in the basket” waiting for us outside the walls of our churches!
Now I’ll come back to my story a little later – but first, I want us to reflect on the theme of an early harvest, and of first fruits, as illustrated in John.
Do you not say, "There are yet four months, then comes the harvest"? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are ripe for harvest.
John 4:35
There are three areas that, as bishop, I feel we need to focus on as we prepare for this harvest.
We have to look out and prioritise our evangelistic focus significantly more.
You see, before Jesus starts talking about the bountiful harvest in John, he had just ministered to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Her incredible testimony of salvation had spread rapidly, drawing the townspeople out in large numbers to see if her claims about Jesus are true.
Jesus' focus remains on fulfilling the task God gave him: to be the saviour of the world.
In Jewish culture during Jesus' time, the saying “there are yet four months, then comes the harvest” was common. It referred to the agricultural cycle of sowing and reaping, emphasising that one cannot expect to harvest a field they just planted. Farmers knew they had to wait between the sowing and reaping seasons.
Here, Jesus says that the time for gathering the harvest is now.
When Jesus says the fields are “ripe for harvest”, I believe he is inviting us to look out at the fields beyond our churches and to realise that the time to invite people into God’s kingdom is now. Recognising the harvest is ripe should stir a sense of urgency and excitement within all of us.
Jesus is inviting us to keep our eyes peeled, willing to seize any opportunity he presents us with to share the good news of Jesus with others.
So look out, because there’s a harvest in the basket!
Yes, I can hear you say, the harvest may have been ripe in Jesus’ time, and perhaps it were ripe in Billy Graham’s era… but people in New Zealand today simply aren't interested in the good news.
Or are they?
I asked our team to share what they’re noticing, and this is what Jason, our social services coordinator, had to say:
In every corner of our diocese, I’m discovering that God is very much at work. Preparing the soil and highlighting the abundant opportunities before us. These stories demonstrate that our church is not only relevant but essential to the lives of those we serve.
Jason told me of a heartening moment during a meeting with a social service agency. He was with 14 social workers to discuss how the church could assist them. He assumed they’d be most interested in the money we could give them.
But when asked how the church might help beyond financial support, their responses were eye-opening – a long list of needs that we are already well-equipped to meet.
For example, with the rising cost of living, families are desperately seeking safe spaces for their children. Our youth groups, our after-school programmes, and our holiday activities were all on their wish list. They also expressed a desire for places where parents could connect and support each other – needs that our programmes like Messy Church, Kids & Coffee and Kids & Kai are already addressing. Jason said that their openness to partnership shifted something in him, from a suspicion that the church is not needed or wanted to a new awareness that our communities not only care about the church, they actually see us as allies.
He also told me of a conversation he had with a local council around funding possibilities. He risked being upfront about our Christian identity and our diocesan values and was pleasantly reassured by the response.
This conversation shatters the myth that when we engage with society, we must hide our faith. On the contrary, being open about our Jesus-shaped mission will continue to open doors to new opportunities.
Jason says he has found a remarkable openness to spiritual conversations from those facing life’s tough challenges. There are plenty of people who are willing and eager to talk about Jesus when we go there, and this always leads to deep, faith-affirming discussions.
Finally, he told me of a youth worker dealing with some very challenging kids. She was the one to reach out with a request to partner with the church saying, “These kids need hope. The church has hope, so we need them to mix.” Our busy youth leaders recognise this invitation. It is an encouraging signal, pointing to a growing recognition of the church’s role in nurturing hope in our young people.
Those are amazing stories, right? But we’re seeing a harvest in the basket in many other areas as well.
These are just a few examples.
What are you noticing of the harvest being gathered in, God’s kingdom breaking through?
Pray that the Holy Spirit would open our eyes wide to see the harvest. We can and we should develop eyes to see – I believe that the hunger for the Good News of Jesus is palpable.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19
How do we seize this moment?
Continue doing the wonderful work you’re already doing. But I’d like to invite all of our ministries across the diocese to be laser focussed on evangelism during 2025.
We are calling this initiative “Haere Mai – Jesus matters, come and see”, and you’ll hear more about it later in the year.
Just as the Samaritans responded to Jesus, we are reminded of a time in this whenua when people responded to the gospel. Tāmihana Te Rauparaha, the Māori evangelist of the South Island, passed through our region, and it was said that the “gospel spread like seeds on the wind”. I pray that we will once again see the gospel spreading from person to person, from community to community, like seeds on the wind when the harvest is ready.
So look out, because there’s a harvest in the basket!
Back to my village in Kenya. When the first harvest came in the basket, we knew the urgency wasn’t just about picking the grains, but we also needed to prepare the place for storing the harvest. And so when these signs of a new harvest began, our focus quickly shifted to the granary.
Every harvest season, the villagers would come together to fill the granary with their crops. The women, carrying large baskets on their heads, would walk in rhythm, their colourful garments swaying with each step. As they poured the grains into the granary, they sang songs of gratitude, knowing that their hard work would sustain not only their families but others in need. The granary symbolised safety, nourishment, and hope.
You see, the granary was more than just a storage place – it was the heart of the community, demonstrating the strength of people working together to ensure their survival. Even today, in some villages, the granary remains – a weathered but strong sacred place where the past and present meet.
So, when the first harvest arrived, it was time for us to mend the baskets, make new ones and tidy up the granary. We would clear out the cobwebs, fix the thatched roof, and ensure everything was in order.
And the same is true for us as a church.
If we are to gather in the harvest, we have some housekeeping mahi to do. We need to address the failures of our past, the historical injustices and our shortcomings in living up to what God calls us to be. The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has highlighted many of these failures. I commend the report to you and its recommendations, urging us to read it and to carefully reflect on what it means to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God, as Micah 6:8 calls us to do.
I've been reading a great book called The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper. I’m struck by how the great evangelical preacher Charles Finney would give new converts a pen and direct them to sign up for the abolitionist movement, seeing this as an essential part of being a Christian in the 1800s.
I think it’s time for us, as an evangelical diocese, to rediscover God’s passion for justice and to look within, that we would welcome God’s light to shine into the dark places so that our church can be a safe and trusted place for the vulnerable.
I want to challenge us to look up – to look up to God with a new passion for prayer and Spirit-led planning, so we can prepare for the harvest in the basket.
There's nothing worse than a ready harvest being ruined by rain.
Every year we would pray for God to hold back the rain until the harvest had been gathered in. And even when you're excited about the harvest, there is still a sense of vulnerability.
And as I look around the diocese, I can see the fragility and the difficulties we face. Be it rising insurance costs, dwindling or non-existent reserves, aging volunteers, and the unique challenges of evangelism in our cultural moment. We are uncertain, vulnerable and fragile.
And while we are beginning to see fruit, and we can see that spring is near – I want to be entirely honest with you.
It's going to get tougher in the coming years.
We need to be prepared for these challenges, and not waver in our focus on God’s calling to us as a church. We might struggle to sustain clergy stipends, and some parishes may need to be disestablished – hopefully for just a season.
These challenges can’t be painted over. They can’t be avoided. There is no secret pot of money that can make all of our problems disappear.
But it’s also in these hardest of moments that God helps us to clarify our purpose, to grow in our tenacity, and to deepen our trust in him.
I urge us, during these hard times, and as we have to have courageous and honest conversations and make difficult decisions, to continue to turn our focus upwards to God. I want to invite us to prioritise prayer and Spirit-filled strategic planning in our approach as we venture forward.
Many of us may well need to release our personal preferences or sentimental attachment to our buildings. And while changes like these is painful – we must try to see that these challenges also present new opportunities. Through all of this I encourage you to seek support from the Bishop’s Ministry Team as you refine your vision for the next 10 years and develop goals and strategies to navigate these challenging times, and to welcome in the harvest.
This work of looking outwards in evangelism and looking inwards towards restorative justice is not something we can do in our own strength or in isolation. We need God, and we need each other.
I invite you to join hands in unity across our diocese to gather in the harvest. Remember that we will rise together.
As the Māori whakataukī says:
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive
We are in this together – gathering the harvest and using our diverse gifts in the sowing and the reaping. We’re also in this together in addressing the seeds of injustice sown in the past, rediscovering our vision, and supporting each other in God’s mission.
Hear Jesus’ words afresh:
“Open your eyes – and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”
Yes, there is a hole in the bucket.
But we have hope in the boat.
Let’s get ready for the harvest.
God of the harvest, pour your Spirit upon our diocese afresh so that we can once again confidently declare, and see many across our communities joyfully say, “We have heard for ourselves, and we know that Jesus really is the Saviour of the world.”
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.
If you’ve been following my charges over the past few years, you may have noticed a recurring theme.
Two years ago, I challenged us to acknowledge that we have a "hole in our bucket" – and that we have an urgent need to change if we wish to survive as a church. And you responded with honesty and lament.
Last year, I reminded us that, while we face many challenges in our diocese, there is still "hope in the boat" – and that with God, we have what it takes to sail into uncharted territory with the good news of Jesus. And you responded with courage and boldness.
This year, while both of those things still remain true, I have a new call for us as a diocese.
I’d like to begin by taking you back to my childhood in Kenya.
Growing up in a village on the slopes of Mount Kenya, there was a time each year that brought great joy and hope. As the rains began to subside and the golden sun kissed the earth, our village would prepare for the harvest. The crops, which were carefully tended during the rainy season, were now almost ripe and ready to be gathered. The air was filled with the scent of millet, sorghum and maize, and the villagers eagerly anticipated filling their baskets with the bounty that would sustain them through the dry season.
And every year there was a special moment when we knew the harvest was ready. When someone would return from the fields with a basket full of produce, or when we saw the first fruits of the new harvest presented in a church service.
This year, I want to call our attention to the reality that the spiritual temperature in our society is beginning to change, that spring is arriving, and there is a “harvest in the basket” waiting for us outside the walls of our churches!
Now I’ll come back to my story a little later – but first, I want us to reflect on the theme of an early harvest, and of first fruits, as illustrated in John.
Do you not say, "There are yet four months, then comes the harvest"? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are ripe for harvest.
John 4:35
There are three areas that, as bishop, I feel we need to focus on as we prepare for this harvest.
We have to look out and prioritise our evangelistic focus significantly more.
You see, before Jesus starts talking about the bountiful harvest in John, he had just ministered to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Her incredible testimony of salvation had spread rapidly, drawing the townspeople out in large numbers to see if her claims about Jesus are true.
Jesus' focus remains on fulfilling the task God gave him: to be the saviour of the world.
In Jewish culture during Jesus' time, the saying “there are yet four months, then comes the harvest” was common. It referred to the agricultural cycle of sowing and reaping, emphasising that one cannot expect to harvest a field they just planted. Farmers knew they had to wait between the sowing and reaping seasons.
Here, Jesus says that the time for gathering the harvest is now.
When Jesus says the fields are “ripe for harvest”, I believe he is inviting us to look out at the fields beyond our churches and to realise that the time to invite people into God’s kingdom is now. Recognising the harvest is ripe should stir a sense of urgency and excitement within all of us.
Jesus is inviting us to keep our eyes peeled, willing to seize any opportunity he presents us with to share the good news of Jesus with others.
So look out, because there’s a harvest in the basket!
Yes, I can hear you say, the harvest may have been ripe in Jesus’ time, and perhaps it were ripe in Billy Graham’s era… but people in New Zealand today simply aren't interested in the good news.
Or are they?
I asked our team to share what they’re noticing, and this is what Jason, our social services coordinator, had to say:
In every corner of our diocese, I’m discovering that God is very much at work. Preparing the soil and highlighting the abundant opportunities before us. These stories demonstrate that our church is not only relevant but essential to the lives of those we serve.
Jason told me of a heartening moment during a meeting with a social service agency. He was with 14 social workers to discuss how the church could assist them. He assumed they’d be most interested in the money we could give them.
But when asked how the church might help beyond financial support, their responses were eye-opening – a long list of needs that we are already well-equipped to meet.
For example, with the rising cost of living, families are desperately seeking safe spaces for their children. Our youth groups, our after-school programmes, and our holiday activities were all on their wish list. They also expressed a desire for places where parents could connect and support each other – needs that our programmes like Messy Church, Kids & Coffee and Kids & Kai are already addressing. Jason said that their openness to partnership shifted something in him, from a suspicion that the church is not needed or wanted to a new awareness that our communities not only care about the church, they actually see us as allies.
He also told me of a conversation he had with a local council around funding possibilities. He risked being upfront about our Christian identity and our diocesan values and was pleasantly reassured by the response.
This conversation shatters the myth that when we engage with society, we must hide our faith. On the contrary, being open about our Jesus-shaped mission will continue to open doors to new opportunities.
Jason says he has found a remarkable openness to spiritual conversations from those facing life’s tough challenges. There are plenty of people who are willing and eager to talk about Jesus when we go there, and this always leads to deep, faith-affirming discussions.
Finally, he told me of a youth worker dealing with some very challenging kids. She was the one to reach out with a request to partner with the church saying, “These kids need hope. The church has hope, so we need them to mix.” Our busy youth leaders recognise this invitation. It is an encouraging signal, pointing to a growing recognition of the church’s role in nurturing hope in our young people.
Those are amazing stories, right? But we’re seeing a harvest in the basket in many other areas as well.
These are just a few examples.
What are you noticing of the harvest being gathered in, God’s kingdom breaking through?
Pray that the Holy Spirit would open our eyes wide to see the harvest. We can and we should develop eyes to see – I believe that the hunger for the Good News of Jesus is palpable.
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19
How do we seize this moment?
Continue doing the wonderful work you’re already doing. But I’d like to invite all of our ministries across the diocese to be laser focussed on evangelism during 2025.
We are calling this initiative “Haere Mai – Jesus matters, come and see”, and you’ll hear more about it later in the year.
Just as the Samaritans responded to Jesus, we are reminded of a time in this whenua when people responded to the gospel. Tāmihana Te Rauparaha, the Māori evangelist of the South Island, passed through our region, and it was said that the “gospel spread like seeds on the wind”. I pray that we will once again see the gospel spreading from person to person, from community to community, like seeds on the wind when the harvest is ready.
So look out, because there’s a harvest in the basket!
Back to my village in Kenya. When the first harvest came in the basket, we knew the urgency wasn’t just about picking the grains, but we also needed to prepare the place for storing the harvest. And so when these signs of a new harvest began, our focus quickly shifted to the granary.
Every harvest season, the villagers would come together to fill the granary with their crops. The women, carrying large baskets on their heads, would walk in rhythm, their colourful garments swaying with each step. As they poured the grains into the granary, they sang songs of gratitude, knowing that their hard work would sustain not only their families but others in need. The granary symbolised safety, nourishment, and hope.
You see, the granary was more than just a storage place – it was the heart of the community, demonstrating the strength of people working together to ensure their survival. Even today, in some villages, the granary remains – a weathered but strong sacred place where the past and present meet.
So, when the first harvest arrived, it was time for us to mend the baskets, make new ones and tidy up the granary. We would clear out the cobwebs, fix the thatched roof, and ensure everything was in order.
And the same is true for us as a church.
If we are to gather in the harvest, we have some housekeeping mahi to do. We need to address the failures of our past, the historical injustices and our shortcomings in living up to what God calls us to be. The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care has highlighted many of these failures. I commend the report to you and its recommendations, urging us to read it and to carefully reflect on what it means to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God, as Micah 6:8 calls us to do.
I've been reading a great book called The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper. I’m struck by how the great evangelical preacher Charles Finney would give new converts a pen and direct them to sign up for the abolitionist movement, seeing this as an essential part of being a Christian in the 1800s.
I think it’s time for us, as an evangelical diocese, to rediscover God’s passion for justice and to look within, that we would welcome God’s light to shine into the dark places so that our church can be a safe and trusted place for the vulnerable.
I want to challenge us to look up – to look up to God with a new passion for prayer and Spirit-led planning, so we can prepare for the harvest in the basket.
There's nothing worse than a ready harvest being ruined by rain.
Every year we would pray for God to hold back the rain until the harvest had been gathered in. And even when you're excited about the harvest, there is still a sense of vulnerability.
And as I look around the diocese, I can see the fragility and the difficulties we face. Be it rising insurance costs, dwindling or non-existent reserves, aging volunteers, and the unique challenges of evangelism in our cultural moment. We are uncertain, vulnerable and fragile.
And while we are beginning to see fruit, and we can see that spring is near – I want to be entirely honest with you.
It's going to get tougher in the coming years.
We need to be prepared for these challenges, and not waver in our focus on God’s calling to us as a church. We might struggle to sustain clergy stipends, and some parishes may need to be disestablished – hopefully for just a season.
These challenges can’t be painted over. They can’t be avoided. There is no secret pot of money that can make all of our problems disappear.
But it’s also in these hardest of moments that God helps us to clarify our purpose, to grow in our tenacity, and to deepen our trust in him.
I urge us, during these hard times, and as we have to have courageous and honest conversations and make difficult decisions, to continue to turn our focus upwards to God. I want to invite us to prioritise prayer and Spirit-filled strategic planning in our approach as we venture forward.
Many of us may well need to release our personal preferences or sentimental attachment to our buildings. And while changes like these is painful – we must try to see that these challenges also present new opportunities. Through all of this I encourage you to seek support from the Bishop’s Ministry Team as you refine your vision for the next 10 years and develop goals and strategies to navigate these challenging times, and to welcome in the harvest.
This work of looking outwards in evangelism and looking inwards towards restorative justice is not something we can do in our own strength or in isolation. We need God, and we need each other.
I invite you to join hands in unity across our diocese to gather in the harvest. Remember that we will rise together.
As the Māori whakataukī says:
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive
We are in this together – gathering the harvest and using our diverse gifts in the sowing and the reaping. We’re also in this together in addressing the seeds of injustice sown in the past, rediscovering our vision, and supporting each other in God’s mission.
Hear Jesus’ words afresh:
“Open your eyes – and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”
Yes, there is a hole in the bucket.
But we have hope in the boat.
Let’s get ready for the harvest.
God of the harvest, pour your Spirit upon our diocese afresh so that we can once again confidently declare, and see many across our communities joyfully say, “We have heard for ourselves, and we know that Jesus really is the Saviour of the world.”
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
