An induction service was held at Omokoroa Community Church on Sunday 15 November, during which Pastor Matthew Needham was formally appointed as Minister/Pastor. Reverend Tim Collins was the guest speaker and the service was followed with a shared lunch with the congregation.

Matthew and his wife, Natasha, have recently moved to Omokoroa from West Auckland where he was the Senior Pastor of Ranui Baptist Church for 3.5 years. Prior to that Matthew was based in Fiji sharing and teaching the Bible to the locals, mainly to the Indian community. It was there that he met and married Natasha.

Matthew considers himself non-denominational and he has a strong evangelical background. He is a Godly man who has a caring pastoral heart and a passion to share the Gospel. He says “It was the power of God that touched my life so I believe the power of God can come into people’s situations and bring change.”

As Minister of OCC, Matthew will continue the work of Reverends Don and Lynda Moses who were highly respected and valued pillars of our community, and who left in September to lead a parish in Wakefield, near Nelson.

“We’re here to help the community with whatever their need is, wherever they’re at – whether they need marriage counselling or encouragement, prayer for something in particular, or just a listening ear, come and see me. We’re here to help, as well as provide emotional and spiritual support to the community.”

Meanwhile, OCC are grateful to the local and visiting ministers whose preaching we have enjoyed at the Sunday services over the past three months while we awaited the appointment of a new minister.

We hope you will join with us in making Matthew and his family feel welcome in our church and wider community… Come along this Sunday as we hear Matthew share his heart for our church going forward – Jesus is Lord!