Tell a Friend
Historically significant church celebrates dedication
Gisborne, New Zealand
Melody Tan
Gisborne Seventh-day Adventist Church, one of the first four churches established in New Zealand, dedicated its new church building on May 17.
Pastor Jerry Matthews, president of the New Zealand Pacific Union Conference (NZPUC), conducted the dedication service at the church’s current location on Victoria Street. The Mayor of Gisborne, Meng Foon, were amongst the special guests that day.
Some 300 people from the local community and the nearby Napier and Hastings Adventist Churches, as well as musicians and the choir from the Pakuranga Adventist Church attended the church’s celebrations of the day, which included a ribbon cutting ceremony to open its new hall and a concert in the evening.
“There is a lot of history in the Gisborne church which is very signification to Adventist history in New Zealand,” says Allan Brown, pastor of the Gisborne Adventist Church. “We not want to share our Adventist faith in our city but also up and down the coastal areas of almost 250km.”
Ellen G. White, one of the Adventist Church’s founding pioneers, conducted open-air evangelistic meetings on Sunday afternoons in Gisborne in the 1890s. Her meetings were successful in breaking down prejudices and increasing attendance at church.
Early church pioneers met in a tent on Cobdon Street until a building was constructed on the same location in 1892, and a school added on in 1927. Two years ago, it bought a new church building, property and a number of flats adjacent to the church.
Some 60 church members regularly attend church service every Sabbath.
“We look forward to the challenge of filling our new 500 seat facility,” says Pastor Brown.
Gisborne, New Zealand
Melody Tan
Gisborne Seventh-day Adventist Church, one of the first four churches established in New Zealand, dedicated its new church building on May 17.
Pastor Jerry Matthews, president of the New Zealand Pacific Union Conference (NZPUC), conducted the dedication service at the church’s current location on Victoria Street. The Mayor of Gisborne, Meng Foon, were amongst the special guests that day.
Some 300 people from the local community and the nearby Napier and Hastings Adventist Churches, as well as musicians and the choir from the Pakuranga Adventist Church attended the church’s celebrations of the day, which included a ribbon cutting ceremony to open its new hall and a concert in the evening.“There is a lot of history in the Gisborne church which is very signification to Adventist history in New Zealand,” says Allan Brown, pastor of the Gisborne Adventist Church. “We not want to share our Adventist faith in our city but also up and down the coastal areas of almost 250km.”
Pr Brown inside the current Gisborne Adventist Church
With 119 years of history, the Gisborne Adventist Church, located in the North Island of New Zealand, has produced teachers, missionaries, doctors and presidents of church conferences and the South Pacific Division.Ellen G. White, one of the Adventist Church’s founding pioneers, conducted open-air evangelistic meetings on Sunday afternoons in Gisborne in the 1890s. Her meetings were successful in breaking down prejudices and increasing attendance at church.
Early church pioneers met in a tent on Cobdon Street until a building was constructed on the same location in 1892, and a school added on in 1927. Two years ago, it bought a new church building, property and a number of flats adjacent to the church.
Some 60 church members regularly attend church service every Sabbath.
“We look forward to the challenge of filling our new 500 seat facility,” says Pastor Brown.
Find out more about Gisborne Adventist Church.
