Reformed Churches of New Zealand

Reformed Churches of New Zealand
Classification	Protestant
Theology	Reformed
Polity	Presbyterian
Origin	1953
Congregations	19
Members	3,291
Official website	rcnz.org.nz

Reformed Churches of New Zealand is a Reformed Christian denomination in New Zealand. The denomination is constituted of 19 member churches, the first seven of which were formed in 1953. Total membership as of 2011 stands at 3,291.^[1]

Form of doctrine

The doctrine of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand is expressed in the four confessions of faith to which it subscribes. These are the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), Belgic Confession (1566), Canons of Dort (1619) (known collectively as the Three Forms of Unity), and the Westminster Confession of Faith. Also recognised are the Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed, all of which summarise the churches' doctrines.

The Reformed Churches of New Zealand are one of the few Reformed churches internationally to subscribe to both the Three Forms of Unity (common among Reformed churches with origins in the European continent, especially the Netherlands) and the Westminster Confession of Faith (common among Reformed or Presbyterian churches with origins in the British Isles).

Form of governance

The Reformed Churches of New Zealand hold to the system of Presbyterian church governance. Each church has a ruling Session composed of elders, one of whom is the church’s minister (also known as the teaching elder). Churches which have no minister are said to be vacant. Each church also has deacons who are charged with maintaining the temporal well-being of church members and with alleviating social distress. In larger churches deacons meet in their own Deacons’ Courts, while in smaller churches they meet together with the rest of the Session. Only men are eligible to serve in the offices of minister, elder, and deacon.

Churches belong to one of three regional Presbyteries which meet three times per year to discuss matters of common interest and to provide mutual oversight. Churches also meet in Synod once every three years to discuss matters of joint interest and to manage activities pertaining to the denomination. Rights of appeal are available to presbytery and synod.

Constituent churches

Ecumenical contacts

The Reformed Churches of New Zealand is a member of the International Conference of Reformed Churches . Sister-church relationships are held with churches abroad which hold to similar doctrine and practice.

• Sister churches:
  • Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia
  • Orthodox Presbyterian Church, USA
  • Canadian and American Reformed Churches
  • United Reformed Churches in North America
  • Die Gereformeerde Kerke in South Africa
  • Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Liberated) (Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland [Vrijgemaakt])
• Churches in ecumenical fellowship:
  • Christian Reformed Churches of Australia
• Other churches with which contact is had:
  • Free Reformed Churches of Australia
  • Presbyterian Reformed Church (Australia)
  • Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
  • Christian Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (De Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland)

History

Reformed churches have their origins in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the late 1940s a wave of migrants from the Netherlands settling in New Zealand expected to find their spiritual homes in existing churches of Reformed persuasion. Instead they found departures from Reformed doctrine and practice that they could not overlook. Discussions began in Auckland in 1951 with a view to establishing an indigenous Reformed denomination. A minister from the Netherlands, Rev J W Deenick, arrived in 1952 to support the fledgling group. The official establishment of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand took place in 1953 at a synod in Wellington, with churches from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch represented. By the end of that year further churches started operations in Bucklands Beach, Hamilton, Nelson and Palmerston North. A further 12 member-churches have since been formed.^[3]

Worship

The churches hold worship services twice each Sunday and generally on Christmas Day, Good Friday, Ascension Day and New Year's Eve. Preaching from the Bible is the central element of worship. Preaching is by ordained ministers, or alternatively sermons written by an ordained minister may be read by a lay male Session appointee when a minister is not available. Sung praise and corporate prayer are the next most significant elements of worship. The Christian Reformed Church in North America's Psalter Hymnal is the main source of hymnody, however the compilation and evaluation of a denominational psalter/hymnal is currently in progress. The singing of the Psalms features strongly in the hymnody. Corporate confession of sin and the assurance of God's pardon are an integral part of Sunday morning worship, while in the second service one of the creeds is usually recited in unison.

The sacrament of the Lord's Supper (or Holy Communion) is celebrated at least three-monthly. The sacrament of baptism is administered to new converts and to the infant children of confessing church members.

List of synods

Latest synodical appointments

• Standing committees
  • Church Extension Committee
  • Church Order Committee
  • Emeritus Fund Trustees
  • Interchurch Relations Committee
  • Overseas Mission Board
  • National Diaconate Committee
  • National Publishing Committee
  • Synodical Interim Committee
  • Hymnal Committee
• Study committees
  • Forms and Confessions Update Committee
• Other appointments
  • Stated Clerk
  • Synodical Treasurer
  • Deputies for Students to the Ministry
  • Synodical Archivist
  • Year Book Editor
  • Synodical Liaison to Calvinist Cadet Corps
  • Webmaster

See Acts of Synod 2011^[4]

References

Further reading

• Dirk Vanderpyl (ed) Trust and Obey: A History of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand: Hamilton: Reformed Church Publishing Society: 1994.

External links

• Reformed Churches of New Zealand