The first Congregational Church in New Zealand was formed in 1840 by Rev. Barzillai Quaife, who was a missionary to the Maori. This cause did not give rise to any lasting church, neither did one formed in New Plymouth in February 1842. Mr. Jonas Woodward, a leading businessman in Wellington, founded the Congregational church in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in May 1842, and because this gave rise to a long term church, it is considered by all as the first. There was considerable growth in both North and South Islands with churches established in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1851, Dunedin in 1862 and Christchurch in 1864 and many other places also. The 1875 Census lists the Congregational Independents as the fourth largest Protestant Denomination in Auckland, and the fifth largest in 'The Colony.' Initially because of lack of roads, two unions were formed, one in the North Island the other mainly in the South Island. These merged to form the Congregational Union of New Zealand (CUNZ) in 1884. In 1890s women were admitted to the Assembly as full members. In 1902 the Presbyterian church made overtures to the CUNZ and the Methodist Churches regarding church union. Discussions on this were held occasionally over many years but no real action was taken. However, in 1943 the Raglan Congregational church merged with the Presbyterian church to form the first Union church in New Zealand. In 2019 this church severed all ties with the Presbyterian and Methodist churches and became a Congregational church again. A few months later the Assembly of the CUNZ severed all ties with the Uniting Churches of Aotearoa New Zealand (UCANZ), as the body was now called. From the very beginning the CUNZ had had strong links with the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

, both in sending and supporting missionaries, so in 1947 it accepted responsibility for their work in churches in the Pacific islands of

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

, and

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

. In 1969 a majority of the ministers and churches associated with the CUNZ, including the Pacific Island Congregational Churches, split and merged with the

Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand The Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) is a major Christian denomination in New Zealand. A part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in New Zealand, and known for its relatively progressive stanc ...

. The minority remained as the Congregational Union of New Zealand. In the 50 years since that split, the number of churches has increased although still small and fluctuating having currently 670 members and 13 congregations. It is a member of the

World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship The World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship (WECF) is a global association of evangelical Christian Congregational Churches, from various national associations around the world, which is united by a common belief in the lordship of Jesus Chris ...

, and the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational ChurchesImportant Links | 1 - Congregational Union of NZ
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References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.congregational.org.nz/ Congregationalism Congregationalist denominations