Scripture Union supports churches to help children and young people discover Jesus and become life-long disciples who serve the world around them.

To carry this out, we offer leadership development, camps for children and young people, community programmes, mental health programmes and innovative resources to help churches connect with children and young people in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

In Aotearoa, SUNZ partners with many hundreds of volunteers leading and running our activities. We work alongside churches to encourage their work with children, young people and their families, and promote Bible engagement for all ages. We teach and practise regular Bible use and prayer as key parts of growing holistically as lifelong followers of Jesus.

E ū pūmau ana a Scripture Union ki ngā kaupapa nunui o te noho kōtui tūturu, o te tiaki, me te whāinga wāhi o tētahi, o tētahi, ka takea mai I Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We are firmly committed to honouring the principles of partnership, protection and participation inherent in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Ko tātou te Kaitiaki o Aotearoa - the Board of Scripture Union New Zealand recognise SUNZ’s role as ‘Kaitiaki’ in New Zealand and expects that SUNZ staff take all reasonable steps to implement SUNZ procedures and policies in ways that promote environmental responsibility and stewardship.

Take a look at this video. It sums up what we are all about — lifelong discipleship with children and young people.

Our Statement of Faith

We support churches to help children and young people discover Jesus and become life-long disciples who serve the world around them.

Revelation

We at Scripture Union New Zealand believe in and trust one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Spirit speaks supremely through Jesus the Christ, God’s living Word. God’s written word, the Bible, is the ultimate source of authority concerning God’s being, His standards for how we should live and His activity in the world. On the basis of the Bible we affirm the following:

Creation

God created the world for us to live in and created us for relationships of love and freedom – with God, others, ourselves, and the created world, of which we are to be careful custodians. God created us in His own image so that we might choose to know God with our minds, trust Him with our hearts and participate with Him in fulfilling His purposes for creation. As members of families and communities we are to love, and live in peace with, one another.

Fall/Sin

Ignoring God’s goodness towards us, humanity rejected God’s loving rule and rebelled against His purpose for the world. This has led to brokenness, alienation, suffering and death – with each other, creation, and with God. All of us have fallen short of God’s plan and standards for our lives.

Plan of Redemption

But God has acted in human history to restore us to our true humanity, dignity and freedom as His children. Even though we were helpless and deserving of judgement, God lovingly chose to redeem us through the perfect work and sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.

Incarnation

In Jesus, God came to us as a human being, like us in every single way yet without sin. Through His ministry, Jesus established God’s rule and reign showing us who God truly is, who we truly are and the true nature of God’s Kingdom.

Death and Resurrection

Through suffering and dying upon the Cross as our representative and substitute, God has dealt with the power and penalty of our sin. By raising Jesus bodily from death, God has demonstrated His power to heal our brokenness and restore the world. Jesus has won victory over sin and death giving hope to those who believe both in the present and in eternal life with God as king.

Holy Spirit

God has made the death and resurrection of Jesus a living reality for each of us personally through the work of the Holy Spirit who leads us to faith and empowers us for witness and service as part of God’s worldwide family, the Church.

Our Response

Therefore, in partnership with local churches, we are committed to participating in God’s mission through the power of the Holy Spirit to bring the knowledge of these things to people in ways they are best able to understand and respond to.

We do this confidently, knowing that God calls and equips us for this task, in the joyful anticipation that God will finally fulfil His purposes for creation through Jesus Christ at His promised return.

Our Logo

Our logo represents the flame in the lamp of the international logo.
In 2012 SUNZ branding was reviewed to unify the branding of different ministries around a common look with a strong indigenous style and meaning.

The new visual identity was inspired by the landscape of New Zealand, rivers and mountains, as well as the traditional Scripture Union lamp or flame. The artist, Mike Pewhairangi, saw the rama (light) of the lamp alongside the maunga (mountain) of God to whom we are connected. The white space in the logo represents the journey we take through the landscape and how SUNZ connects with us along that journey

Our by-line from Psalm 119:105 reflects our reliance on God’s word
as the light for our feet, he rama ki ōku waewae.

Our Values

Our values reflect the values and heartbeat of the Movement. They come from Scripture Union’s International Working Principles and reinforce our way of fulfilling ministry.

Our Policies

Read more about our commitment to Christian Leadership and our Privacy Policy

SUNZ Commitment to Christian Leadership

Thank you for seeking to volunteer with SUNZ.

As a SUNZ leader you are a Christian leader and that means you are discipling and shepherding people. That's a great deal of responsibility and a privilege. We want to stand with you and ensure that those benefitting from our ministries are led by those with a strong commitment to Christ.
This commitment to Christian leadership is a discipleship-based approach which applies to everyone taking a leadership role in Scripture Union that involves providing pastoral care. It accompanies our Statement of Faith and should be read alongside it. Our leadership vision and the way we see leadership is based on our leadership model. We see effective, Jesus-centred leadership as the intersection of character formation, context-specific knowledge, and biblical understanding. Please take your time with this Commitment to Christian Leadership and feel free to discuss it with us before signing it.

Character formation: are you actively seeking to grow as a disciple of Jesus and work this out in your life?
Context-specific knowledge: are you growing in the skills needed to work well with children and young people in the context in which you seek to serve?
Biblical understanding: do you engage with the Bible and pray? Are you confident in the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus?

Everyone who is on the journey of discipleship in Jesus is welcome. Leadership responsibilities however are subject to a stricter scrutiny. Because if this and in submission to the Scriptures, SUNZ holds to the following position.

Everyone is fully welcome to SUNZ events.
SUNZ recognises that all disciples of Jesus are participants in Jesus’ Church.
Leadership at SUNZ events is limited to those who are certain of ‘Christ in them’ (2 Corinthians 13:5) and not led by the world (Galatians 5:19-21), bearing fruit in their walk with Christ (Galatians 5:22-24) and in fellowship with other disciples.
Leadership at SUNZ events takes place within the policies and guidelines of SUNZ.

If you are not able to agree with all four of these statements, or with our Statement of Faith, we ask that you do not lead on a Scripture Union event. However, you are still very welcome to join with us as a participant as outlined in 1 and 2 above.

Our expectation is that everyone who comes on any SUNZ event will respect the dignity of all people regardless of age, race, religion, gender, political belief, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation and that everyone will be treated with compassion, respect, consideration, and fairness. This will work its way out in our practice, activities and all communication and conversation. We recognise that Scripture Union works with children and young people in temporary communities, and we need to respect and care for them within this context. This means that some controversial topics are not suitable for discussion within SUNZ events. We will provide training to leaders around what these topics are and how to handle these particular topics with care for the children and young people who may bring them up.

Our approach to leadership is intended to reflect the behavioural evidence of following Jesus in ways that model the faith to others. We require that any in leadership provide frank and full disclosure of any physical, mental, emotional, or medical condition they have which may impact on their ability or suitability to hold a leadership role within Scripture Union. We also require the disclosure of any past criminal convictions) except to the extent not required by the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004, and any pending criminal charges) and complaints made about moral conduct whether made to any government agency, employer, institution, or church.

We require leaders always respect and comply with the reasonable instructions of Scripture Union staff (and any appointed leader of an activity) whilst acting in a leadership role with Scripture Union and a Scripture Union staff member be advised immediately if this Commitment to Christian Leadership is breached by anyone in a leadership position. This commitment applies to the full extent permitted under the laws of New Zealand. If you are not comfortable with any part of this commitment, please speak to a Scripture Union staff member before committing to a leadership role.

Our Annual Review

Read about all that has been going on at SUNZ in the last year.

For Voting Members

SUNZ is a volunteer-dependent organisation which deeply appreciates the many ways people are actively supporting and involved in the movement. We would love more input from any individual who wants to be part of the future shaping of SUNZ's mission. If this is you – we would like to invite you to consider applying to be a voting member, enabling you to have a say in decisions made at our AGM (or at an extraordinary general meeting if one were called).

If you would like to apply to become a voting member please download the Application form, or read more info.

Download application

More info

About SUNZ