Reformed Churches of New Zealand

Reformed Churches of New Zealand is a Reformed Christian denomination in New Zealand. The denomination is constituted of 19 member churches, the first eight of which were formed in 1953. Total membership as of 2007 stands at 3,332.

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 General 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

"Church"	"Year Formed"	"Current Minister"
Auckland Presbytery
Reformed Church of Avondale	1964	"vacant"
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Bucklands Beach	1953	Dirk Van Garderen
Reformed Church of Hamilton [http://hamilton.rcnz.org.nz]	1953	Michael Willemse
Reformed Church of Hukanui	2002	Reinier Noppers
Reformed Church of Mangere [http://mangere.rcnz.org.nz]	1964	Sjirk Bajema
Reformed Church of North Shore	1980	John Rogers
Reformed Church of Pukekohe	1989	John Haverland
Wellington Presbytery
Reformed Church of Foxton [http://foxton.rcnz.org.nz]	1984	Pieter van Huyssteen
Reformed Church of Hastings [http://hastings.rcnz.org.nz]	1960	Bruce Hoyt
Reformed Church of Masterton	1987	Peter Kloosterman
Reformed Church of Palmerston North [http://palmnorth.rcnz.org.nz] (including a group in Wanganui) [http://wanganui.rcnz.org.nz]	1953	Michael Flinn "vacant"
Reformed Church of Silverstream	1967	Paul Archbald
Reformed Church of Wainuiomata	1975	Leo de Vos
Reformed Church of Wellington	1953	Andrew Nugteren
Christchurch Presbytery
Reformed Church of Bishopdale	1982	Robert van Wichen
Reformed Church of Christchurch [http://christchurch.rcnz.org.nz]	1953	"vacant"
Reformed Church of Dovedale	2001	Andre Holtslag
Reformed Church of Dunedin [http://dunedin.rcnz.org.nz] (including a group in Oamaru & Timaru)	1955	"vacant"
Reformed Church of Nelson	1953	"vacant"

Ecumenical contacts

The Reformed Churches of New Zealand is a member of the International Conference of Reformed Churches [http://www.icrconline.com] . Sister-church relationships are held with churches abroad which hold to similar doctrine and practice.
*Sister churches:
**Christian Reformed Churches of Australia [http://www.crca.org.au]
**Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia [http://www.pcea.org.au]
**Orthodox Presbyterian Church, USA [http://www.opc.org]
**Canadian and American Reformed Churches [http://www.canrc.org]
**Reformed Church in South Africa (Die Gereformeerde Kerke in Suid-Afrika) [http://www.gksa.org.za/]
**Christian Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (De Christelijke Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland) [http://www.cgk.nl]
** [Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Liberated)|Reformed Churches of the Netherlands (Liberated) (Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland [Vrijgemaakt] )] [http://www.gkv.nl]

*Other churches with which contact is had:
**Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand [http://www.gpcnz.org.nz]
**Free Reformed Churches of Australia [http://frca.org.au]
**United Reformed Churches in North America [http://www.trinityurc.net/urcna.htm]

History

Reformed churches have their origins in the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the late 1940s 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 were begun 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 Reformed Churches of New Zealand were officially established in 1953 at a synod in Wellington where churches from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were represented. By the end of that year further churches in Bucklands Beach, Hamilton, Nelson and Palmerston North were established. A further 12 member churches have since been formed.

Theonomy Debate

As with many other conservative Calvinist churches, the Reformed Churches of New Zealand were convulsed by controversy over theonomy, a theocratic theology that is otherwise known as Christian Reconstructionism, whose chief proponents were the late Rousas John Rushdoony, Greg Bahnsen and Gary North. In the early eighties, several Reformed Church of New Zealand trainees attended the Reformed Theological Seminary, where Greg Bahnsen was a lecturer, and were exposed to his theology.

Richard Flinn was a proponent of this theology, especially during New Zealand's debate over homosexual law reform in 1985/86, where he advocated the death penalty for homosexuality, which had not existed in the British Commonwealth since the nineteenth century. Flinn was minister at the North Shore Reformed Church, where he published The Isachaarian Report, and acolytes also produced Family Alert, and ran an organisation called Women of the Reformed Church. Flinn later left the North Shore Reformed Church under unexplained circumstances. The General Synod of the Reformed Church debated the issue in 1989, and reached no firm conclusions, therefore proponents of theonomy are not excluded from membership.

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 church members.

List of synods

No.	Year	Venue	Moderator and General Adjunct	Clerks
1	1953	Wellington	R E Dijkstra, Wellington J W Deenick, Auckland	1: A van Gelder
2	1953	Auckland	J W Deenick, Auckland E Dijkstra, Wellington	1: Th Althuis
3	1954	Wellington	E Dijkstra, Wellington J A Scarrow, Bucklands Beach	1: A van Gelder 2: F Channing
4	1955	Christchurch	B Boelens, Christchurch J W Deenick, Auckland	1: F Channing 2: P G van Dam
5	1957	Hamilton	J W Deenick, Auckland E Dijkstra, Wellington	1: W In’t Veld 2: J Kleinjan St: F Channing
6	1957	Dunedin	J A Scarrow, Bucklands Beach R J Venema, Dunedin	1: H van der Pols 2: P G van Dam St: F Channing
7	1961	Wellington	R J Venema, Bucklands Beach J W Deenick, Auckland	1: P G van Dam 2: W van Rij St: R J Venema
8	1962	Wellington	S Cooper, Christchurch P H Pellicaan, Dunedin	1: D G Vanderpyl 2: R O Zorn, Hamilton St: R O Zorn, Hamilton
9	1964	Wellington	R O Zorn, Hamilton P van der Schaaf, Christchurch	1: A I de Graaf, Wellington 2: F Channing, Nelson St: R O Zorn, Hamilton
10	1965	Christchurch	G I Williamson, Mangere P H Pellicaan, Dunedin	1: A I de Graaf, Wellington 2: F Channing, Nelson St: R O Zorn, Hamilton
11	1967	Avondale	H L Hoving, Silverstream R O Zorn, Hamilton	1: A I de Graaf, Wellington 2: T E Tyson, Bucklands Beach St: C J Reitsma, Wellington
12	1969	Nelson	C J Reitsma, Wellington T E Tyson, Bucklands Beach	1: D G Vanderpyl 2: F Channing, Nelson St: D G Vanderpyl
13	1971	Wellington	H L Hoving, Silverstream/ Wainuiomata A W Palmer, Mangere	1: W Wiersma, Christchurch 2: F W Kroon, Bucklands Beach St: D G Vanderpyl
14	1974	Silverstream	W Wiersma, Christchurch W A Davies, Bucklands Beach	1: D G Vanderpyl 2: H L Hoving, Invercargill St: D G Vanderpyl
15	1977	Hamilton	G I Williamson, Silverstream A W Palmer, Mangere	1: M Schwarz, Hamilton 2: L Reurich, Hastings St: D G Vanderpyl
16	1980	Palmerston North	M Schwarz, Hamilton J Goris, Avondale	1: J C Williams, Nelson 2: L Reurich, Kerepehi/ Tokoroa St: D G Vanderpyl
17	1983	Christchurch	P D Stadt, Christchurch J E de Graaf, Bishopdale	1: B U Kuipers, Palmerston North 2: C A R Larsen, Dunedin St: D G Vanderpyl
18	1986	Mangere	D J van Garderen, Bishopdale P R Flinn, North Shore	1: B Hoyt, Silverstream 2: L Draijer, Nelson St: D G Vanderpyl
19	1989	Silverstream	W Wiersma, Hamilton B Kroon, Christchurch	1: J A Haverland, Bucklands Beach 2: D van der Vecht, Avondale St: D G Vanderpyl
20	1992	Bishopdale	W Wiersma, Hamilton J A Haverland, Bishopdale	1: M A Flinn, Pukekohe 2: B Hoyt, Masterton St: J Ploeg
21	1995	Avondale	J A Haverland, Bishopdale M A Flinn, Pukekohe	1: B Hoyt, Hastings 2: W Walraven, Silverstream St: J Ploeg
22	1998	Wainuiomata	J A Haverland, Bishopdale G H Milne, Wainuiomata	1: B Hoyt, Hastings 2: M A Flinn, Pukekohe St: B Hoyt, Hastings
23	2001	Palmerston North	M A Flinn, Dovedale M Capill, Bucklands Beach	1: S Bajema, Mangere 2: J van Rensburg, Bucklands Beach St: B Hoyt, Hastings
24	2002	Christchurch	W Wiersma, Hamilton J A Haverland, Bishopdale	1: B Hoyt, Hastings 2: W Walraven, Silverstream St: B Hoyt, Hastings
25	2005	Hamilton	J A Haverland, Pukekohe M A Flinn, Dovedale	1: B Hoyt, Hastings 2: R de Vries, Christchurch St: B Hoyt, Hastings
26	2008	Hastings	J H Rogers, North Shore D J van Garderen, Bucklands Beach	1: P van der Wel, Hamilton 2: A Nugteren, Wellington St: B Hoyt, Hastings

Latest synodical appointments

*Standing committees
**Church Extension Committee
**Church Order Committee
**Emeritus Fund and Long Service Leave Fund Committee
**Education Resource Committee
**Inter-Church Relations Committee
**Overseas Mission Board
**National Diaconate Committee
**National Publications Committee
**Reformed Theological College and Student Assistance Committee
*Study committees
**Committee to Update Forms and Confessions
**Psalm and Hymnody Selection Committee
**Sexual Abuse Study Committee
**Who May Preach Study Committee
*Other appointments
**Stated Clerk
**Synodical Treasurer
**Deputies to the Reformed Theological College
**Synodical Archivist
**Year Book Editor
**Synodical Liaison to Calvinist Cadet Corps

Further reading

*John Haverland: "Theonomy: What Have We Learned?" in Dirk Vanderpyl (ed) Trust and Obey: A History of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand: Hamilton: Reformed Church Publishing Society: 1994.

External links

* [http://www.rcnz.org.nz Reformed Churches of New Zealand]