Congratulations! MCBC has paid off its debt of $2.4 million this January and is now officially debt-free! This is a major milestone for one of our customers as it signals an exciting new chapter in their journey.

The Auckland Chinese Methodist Church was established in 1993 with a passion for seeing Chinese speaking immigrants have a church community. Their vision for this community included not just one in which congregants could speak and attend a service in Mandarin but also one that could make the gospel accessible to those whose first language is Mandarin.

First initiated in 1989 by the Central Baptist Church of Palmerston North, the organisation is committed to unleashing the potential of whanau and the whole community through providing integrated, holistic services that have arisen from ongoing community research.

We are fully delighted with our new junior teaching block which we started using at the beginning of term two. Our official opening was 18 June when our school and wider community came together to celebrate and give thanks for what God has done.

Liberty Christian Fellowship

The team at Community Finance is very pleased to have got off to a good start but there is a lot more work to do. Since we last provided an update, the social housing waiting list has grown even more and is now heading towards 24,000 households.

'The opening of this new extension was a very significant event for Elim Christian Centre, and especially the Botany campus. The existing property has served the church well for 30 years, but this new extension will enable a great deal more to be achieved'

Starting in 2020, with the finishing touches in 2021, Laingholm Baptist Church opened after their new redevelopment, which included re-purposing part of the existing building to accommodate a community shop, new kitchen, an upgraded café space and covered outdoor area

We are currently living in a time of historically low interest rates, drastically unequal distribution of wealth but also (encouragingly) the rise of consumer awareness of how our lifestyles and expenditure can have an impact (both positive and negative) on our planet and its people.

The building is called The Crossing - a community centre at the heart of our community with a heart for our community. It’s been a long journey to get here, with the church gathering on Sunday mornings for 24 years in local school halls just a stones throw from the site.

2021 marks the third year as a Full Area school, rolling out a year 11 class and Richmond View School’s 40th birthday! The school also partnered with Christian Savings to open the new state-of-the-art science and technology building.

The new Auditorium has been named the ‘Is54 – The Centre’ named after Isaiah 54:2-3. The Isaiah reference is about expanding: “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back, lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes” with a vision of renewal and revival for their next growth phase.

Tiroroa provides a unique residential experience, encouraging Maori women to thrive and flourish in a dynamic environment. The aim of Tiroroa Residences is to provide a safe, familiar environment where whanautanga is lived everyday in student community.

Christian Savings is excited to celebrate with Majestic as they open the doors of their new home.Majestic is a church in the centre of Christchurch that opened their brand-new complex to the public in July 2020. After the church lost their former building in the Christchurch earthquakes, they began looking for a new place to call home.

Elim Christian Centre is a Multi Campus church with seven campus locations (soon to be eight!) in Auckland and Whangarei. They are a contemporary, multi-cultural and multi-generational church with a vision to be a centre of hope, to reach, serve and influence communities.

A Move to Ethical Investing - HE WAKA EKE NOA – A WAKA WE ARE ALL IN TOGETHER

In late 2019, Habitat for Humanity Nelson had outgrown their current premises and were on the search for a new home to lease. Just before Christmas the group visited a large community building in Nelson that had been up for lease and mostly empty for two years. While visiting the site, the real estate agent suggested the owners were actually considering selling and sent through the paperwork the following day. Not long after, the board agreed to make an offer.

‘We have a mission to not just be at the heart of the community, but to be the heart of the community,’ says Keith McMinn, Treasurer for Long Bay Baptist Church. ‘If you can serve in that way so that people know you’re there, that’s the best witness we can be.’

Many people in New Zealand are in need of affordable,secure, stable and healthy homes. The Housing Foundation is a not-for profit charitable trust that assists people in making this a reality for low income households.

Tamahere Eventide Home was opened in 1966 as a 20-bed rest home and has grown significantly over the past 50 years. Most recently, the organisation has begun stage one of a new development after partnering with Christian Savings.

When the church came to look at restructuring their loan in 2017, they approached the team at Christian Savings to see if we could work together. ‘We were able to share our vision with the directors of Christian Savings about growth plans. The Christian Savings team were able to articulate many options that they had assisted other churches with. These included ideas that we had not considered.’

Over a decade ago the opportunity arose to purchase a building right in town that had formerly been used as a gym, and the church took the leap of faith to move to a more modern, centrally-located building. Over the years, some work has been completed in the building to cater for its expanded use, but the vision to develop the site and create a multi-use facility has been in sight for many years. “It has been a challenging process with many obstacles in the way, but when God is building the house, He will accomplish what He intends,” says Pastor Paul Ballard.

The congregation in Alexandra first heard about Christian Savings when Elim Church of NZ became a shareholder in 2017. ‘When it came time to purchase this particular piece of land, the first option we thought of was Christian Savings and it was really good for us,’ says Pastor Aaron More.

Years after its buildings were damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes, Oxford Terrace Baptist Church is finally celebrating a construction milestone. Church manager Bradley Nicolson says, ‘We had a fantastic opening weekend with over 600 people attending six events over three days, including a bouncy castle, sit-down dinner, official ceremony, combined service and organ recital – all having different configurations of seating in the Auditorium.

Elim Nelson’s new facility is now a great asset for the congregation and for the wider community. It’s location and warm, welcoming design has resulted in people driving past and then visiting church on a Sunday. It’s an excellent multi-purpose site, used throughout the week and available for local groups to hire.

Generosity and partnership are hallmarks of every part of Bethlehem Community Church’s current building project.BCC hosts about 800 people each week in its facilities, from choirs to op-shop customers, most of whom are not members of the church. They even have a community garden onsite.

Bays Community Housing Trust provide quality, affordable housing for people who need it on Auckland’s North Shore and began over 15 years ago. They have a strong emphasis on community and holistic care that goes far beyond providing housing.

“Christian Savings has been a dream to work with,” says ARISE Church General Manager, David Monk. “We’ve been able to partner with a funder who shares our core values and together build the Kingdom of God. Working with Christian Savings has meant we’ve built a relationship with people who actually understand the church.”