Stratford Church Plant 2026

This Sunday, January 4, the first of what we hope will be many many more Sunday morning meetings will be held at the Stratford War Memorial Hall Function Centre, at 55 Miranda Street, Stratford, at 10am, for a church plant that has been named the Stratford Reformation Fellowship.

The first two meetings, on January 4 and January 11, will be essentially pre-launch meetings, preparing for a more formal launch on January 18. This is to be accommodating to the fact people are often away on holiday at this time of the year. So the idea is the first two services will be a kind of introduction, with a plan to get more stuck in from January 18.

Over the past 6 months, my wife Nia and I have been busy doing geotech, digging holes and trucking in concrete and timber to prepare the foundations for this new church plant. I’m speaking figuratively here, of course! What matters isn’t the location and foundations of the building the church meets in – but rather, the spiritual location and foundations that the people lean on and trust in, in their Christian faith.

A church plant is an initiative with the goal of putting down a new set of spiritual roots into the soil, built on a foundation of faith in Christ, to become a self-sustaining community of faith that can be fruitful over a long period of time.

A faithful church plant is propelled by the life, love and power of Jesus Christ himself, as we come to the cross and recognise Jesus’ death as the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. As we put our faith in Christ and in his loving sacrifice, God imparts to us his very spirit, so that we can show the same kind of love that Jesus showed in the self-giving sacrifice of the cross. A faithful and successful church plant must be propelled by this same spirit and love.

This is God’s design for his church. It is Jesus’ intent that we would live grounded in faith and powered by his spirit, bearing much fruit (John 15:5). Such a life will show fruit of obedience to Jesus’ commands – obedience that is more than just fearful duty. Obedience that is a natural consequence of gratitude for his love, motivated by the powerful presence of his spirit in our lives. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22, 23).

It is with this thinking in mind, that we are keen on the motto, “All of Christ for all of life!” Being faithful as Christians means seeing Jesus for who he really is, as scripture reveals him to us, rather than how we might prefer him to be, and selectively read him to be. It means accepting Christ’s death as the one perfect sacrifice for human sin, and accepting that we stand before God by his righteousness and not our own. It means living in submission to all of scripture, and obeying all that Christ commands us, and doing this out of a deep sense of gratitude, propelled by the transforming power of his Holy Spirit. And it means being gracious and patient with each other, as works in progress, growing together to become more and more like Christ.

As we accept the Gospel as a call to embrace all of Christ for all of life, and as we accept and appreciate the power of the blood of Christ, and the challenge to join Christ at the cross, and live by the law of Christ – all of this has consequences for how we live as Christians, and how we do life together as the church.

It means accepting what is true about God – what the Bible reveals about God, and what Christ reveals about God. And likewise it means accepting what is true of ourselves, which we can see clearly by the light and the mirror of God’s word (James 1:23). It means accepting this truth, and speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) for the purpose of building one another up, not tearing each other down (2 Corinthians 13:10). And it means loving not merely with words or talk, but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:18).

It is this understanding that informs the kinds of foundations we are putting in, for this church plant. From the rhythms and patterns of the Sunday morning service – to the life of the church over a week, a month, a year. From how we approach preaching, music and singing, The Lord’s Supper, prayer and discipleship – to how we frame our constitution and our core beliefs, and how we govern the church. In all of this, we seek to be faithful to all of God’s word, and to embrace all of Christ for all of life.

In the last verses of the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, we hear these words:

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

As we put down the foundations for this church plant, we want to pay heed to these words of scripture. When Jesus appeared among us, 2000 years ago, teaching with great wisdom and healing with great power, the way had been prepared by his cousin John the Baptist. In the same spirit as that great prophet Elijah, John the Baptist called people back to God’s law. And both John the Baptist and Jesus both called men back to their duties and husbands and fathers, to love their wives and to love their children.

Christ has come. We know that, we’ve only just 6 days ago celebrated Christmas. And yet that great and dreadful Day of the Lord still awaits us all.

Christ came the first time as a lamb. The first time, he came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). On the cross at Calvary, Jesus proved that he was the true Lamb of God, the only sacrifice that could atone for the sins of the world. A man tempted as we are, yet without sin, death could not stick to Jesus. He rose again, and ascended to the right hand of his Heavenly Father.

Jesus’ death on the cross was an atoning death, a free gift offered to all who would accept it. A gift that could absolve us of our guilt, and usher us into the throne room of God. A gift that could qualify us to be received as God’s children, and to be the recipients of the gift of God’s Holy Spirit.

Christ’s life, death, resurrection and ascension achieved all of this for us. And yet he has promised that he will indeed come again, to judge the living and the dead.

John the Baptist knew Jesus as the Lamb of God sent to take away the sin of the world. But he also knew him as the one with a winnowing fork in his hand, here to gather his wheat into the barn, and to burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12).

As we await the coming of this great judge, we do well to turn the attention of the people to the Law of God. For, as the Psalmist says, the law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul (Psalm 19:7). Too often we despise and neglect God’s law, thinking we can rely on his grace, and meanwhile our lives flounder for lack of guidance and principle. The law does not save us. But it certainly helps us to live. And most importantly it helps us understand our need for the salvation from sin and death, and from the judgment of God, that is offered to us in Christ.

And as we await the coming of this great judge, we do well to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the children to their fathers. Families and communities flourish when men step up and take responsibility for the families that God has placed them in, and given to them. Families and communities flourish when husbands love their wives as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25). Families and communities flourish when fathers encourage their children, and refrain from provoking them (Colossians 3:21). Families and communities flourish when wives build up, trust and submit to their husbands, in godliness (Ephesians 5:22), and when children are taught to obey their parents (Ephesians 6:1) and are disciplined effectively (Proverbs 19:18). Families and communities flourish when marriage is honoured, and family is celebrated, and children are welcomed as valued and included members of the people of God (Matthew 19:14). The Bible time again talks about marriage as God’s main illustration for what his love for his people looks like. God is glorified through marriages and family life that reflect his covenant love and faithfulness.

We know that marriage and family life, husbands loving their wives and children, wives submitting to husbands, and children honouring parents, is no small task. Perhaps the most difficult of Jesus’ commands. My wife and I are blessed to have been able to see fruit from taking these commands seriously in 15 years of marriage. And we know just how blessed we are in this regard, and we are yet certainly very much works in progress.

We know this is hard in a world that often promotes living for ourselves, and for pleasure, rather than living to serve others, and being willing to sacrifice for others. Forgiveness is hard. Saying sorry is hard. Trying again is hard. And sometimes things are a write-off, for sure. But we carry with us a conviction that marriage matters, and family matters, and that God has designed men and women differently, with different natures, and different roles, and marriage only works well when we honour this. Our preaching and church culture will reflect these convictions.

If you are finding that the convictions and principles driving this church plant are convictions and principles you share, and you have a sense that God is leading you into something new, then we do hope and pray you will join us this Sunday, January 4, at the Stratford War Memorial Hall Function Centre, at 55 Miranda Street, Stratford, at 10am.

As I mentioned earlier, the first two meetings, on January 4 and January 11, will be essentially pre-launch meetings, preparing for a more formal launch on January 18. This is to be accommodating to the fact people are often away on holiday at this time of the year. So the idea is the first two services will be a kind of introduction, with a plan to get more stuck in from January 18.

While the service starts at 10am, our regular singing practice and Under 10s Sunday School begins at 9:15am, starting this Sunday. So do come along from 9:15am to learn our songs, and develop in your singing. And if you have children under 10, they will really benefit from the 9:15am Sunday School.

There is no separate Sunday School for children during the service, as we value having children in the service with us. We don’t at all mind the sound of young children who might make a bit of noise. But we do provide an area in church for young children to play quietly, as well colouring options and sermon note sheets for older children.

Sermons will be recorded and available online, so don’t worry if being in church with your children might mean you miss the odd bit. And I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised how well your children pay attention, and how much they pick up.

If you’d like to know more, please look up our website at www.stratfordreformationfellowship.co.nz.

Before reading this, please see my previous three posts and videos, which together with this post are part of an introductory series regarding establishing a Church Constitution and regarding the Great Confessions of the Reformed Tradition.

Part I:    He’s been in a good paddock…
Part II:   The Great Confessions of the Reformed Tradition
Part III:  Adopting and Adapting the Westminster Confession Faithfully for 2026

Please also note that the proposed constitution has been further developed to achieve what is discussed in this post, by adopting the 39 Articles of Religion and the London Baptist Confession as well as the Westminster, while clearly allowing discretion in matters of conscience where these confessions conflict, and emphasising that which is held in common, while broadly honouring and not condemning the wider content of the confessions. You can read more about this in the article Stratford Church Plant 2026: Constitution.

SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING FOR CONSTITUTION OF NEW CHURCH PLANT FOR STRATFORD

Tuesday November 11, 7:30pm

A new church plant is planned for Stratford for 2026. A meeting is being held tonight, November 11, at 7:30pm, at the Stratford A&P Showgrounds, at the old Skinner Road Hall at the entrance to the showgrounds. The purpose of this meeting is to table and discuss a confession and a constitution that can govern a new church plant.

A church plant is an initiative with the goal of putting down a new set of spiritual roots into the soil, built on a foundation of faith in Christ, to become a self-sustaining community of faith that can be fruitful over a long period of time.

A faithful church plant is propelled by the life, love and power of Jesus Christ himself, as we come to the cross and recognise Jesus’ death as the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. When we put our faith in Christ and in his loving sacrifice, he imparts to us his very spirit, so that we can show the same kind of love that Jesus showed in the self-giving sacrifice of the cross.

This is God’s design for his church. It is Jesus’ intent that we would live grounded in faith and powered by his spirit, bearing much fruit (John 15:5). Such a life will show fruit of obedience to Jesus’ commands – obedience that is more than just fearful duty. Rather, obedience that is a natural consequence of gratitude for his love, motivated by the powerful presence of his spirit in our lives. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). For the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22, 23).

To successfully build a church community that is faithful to the power and the reality of this gospel is no small task. As has been discussed, many churches have begun with such intent, but over time have lost focus on preaching the gospel and expecting to see its power at work. Instead of preaching the great doctrines of grace, pulpits have become pre-occupied with everyday wisdom and counsel, and with peoples’ stories and anecdotes. And often such preaching completely neglects to discuss the details of what Christ achieved on the cross, and what he can achieve in our lives through the indwelling of the spirit. Often such preaching fails to tackle head-on the idols of our age, and the social trends and fashions of the world that defy God’s standards and yet seep into our churches.

As we prepare for this church plant, I am tabling some proposals for a constitution that I hope will help to protect our new church plant from becoming undermined in this way. I have already talked about the value of being a confessional church. I have discussed the various confessions that have served Protestant churches in the last 500 years. I have identified the Westminster Confession as a good basis, and I have proposed some amendments that enable this confession to be adopted, and yet adapted. So it can be a confession that does not go beyond what scripture would require of us. So that differences of opinion that are held with a strong conscience, and can be argued for from scripture, can be honoured without requiring homogeneity on such matters.

Adopting a confession that is biblical and truly catholic (with a small c) is, I think, the most critical element to settling a sound constitution for a church plant. Yet, there are lessons to be learned from what has happened in the last 500 years of church history, that indicate there are other critical matters that also need to be addressed, namely:

• providing for church membership and government structures
• identifying commitments that would be required for members
• establishing clear processes for conflict resolution and discipline

Submission and democracy

The Bible teaches us that Christians who are led by the spirit of God submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:21). Many Christians will jump straight to Ephesians 5:22, to discuss the duty of wives to submit to their husbands – and yet completely overlook Ephesians 5:21. Husbands, how can you expect your wives to submit to you, if you don’t know how to submit to the church?! The Bible says we are one body (1 Corinthians 12:12 – 27), a temple of living stones (1 Peter 2:5), and that we are to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, outdoing each other in our honour for one another (Romans 12:10).

Some might say it’s a bit rich of me to talk about submitting to the church, when I’m the guy talking about starting an independent church plant – rather than going and submitting to a congregation that already exists. And yet, as Ecclesiates 3:1 says, there is a time for a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. I have certainly had by time of submitting to the work of other men in this space. I am well practiced at it! But I have often noticed that in many of these works, there is little sense of those same men themselves being in submission to their Christian brothers and sisters. There is little conversation about how governance works in the church, how elders are identified and developed, or how diligence is shown in the pulpit.

This is one of the driving concerns behind establishing a new church – to address this need to have a church culture and church government structure committed to accountability between the leadership and the wider church, and committed to developing leaders. Having a clear constitution is a great help, in identifying goals and guardrails that can develop leadership the accords with God’s will articulated in the Bible. It is also necessary, though, to establish governance structures and patterns that ensure a congregation can keep their leaders accountable, and keep them faithful to the Bible.

Historians show there is a strong link between belief in the power of the gospel, and the development of democratic systems of governance in societies, churches and governments over the last few centuries. On one hand, the earliest explicitly democratic systems of governance appear to have come from the Greeks. Yet, the idea of deliberation by community, and of grounding power away from the centre, had a much longer history in Israel. Each tribe was directed to elect its own leader from “among the congregation” (Numbers 1:16), and God warned Israel against having a king. Deacons were elected by the congregation in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1 – 6).

If the church is the body of Christ, all joined to the head which is Christ, and if each believer is to be led by the spirit, and together have the mind of Christ – then it is sensible for the leaders of a church to be in subjection to the deliberation of the wider congregation. So long as there is plenty of room for leaders, preachers and teachers to persuade the congregation where necessary. And so long as the church has confidence that all of the members of the congregation are committed to obedience to God’s will and God’s word.

Membership

And this is why membership is important. And this is why it is important to ensure that the constitution and confession articulate scripture and scripture alone, and do not go beyond scripture. The requirements for members ought to include a commitment to upholding the constitution of the church, and upholding its confession. The constitution includes the confession, and also includes an outline of the processes by which a church will be structured and governed.

Book of Order

In Presbyterian churches, as well as having a confession, these churches typically also have a Book of Order (also called Book of Procedures, or Book of Discipline), examples are linked below:

The Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand

The Book of Church Order of the Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand

Governing Documents of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches

These documents go into much more detail concerning the operational procedures of a denomination, including details about how a Presbytery is run, and how a church manages interests across a number of congregations.

Settling and establishing a book of order like this is no doubt valuable. And to review these documents and check their suitability as a faithful articulation of the bible, that doesn’t go beyond the Bible, and fits with the consciences of those in a new congregation in Stratford, is obviously no small task. I am comfortable with tabling an adopted and adapted confession. But to do the same with one of these documents would be a task for a church that is between the stages of conception and birth. In the meantime, a standard democratic constitution used by incorporated societies could be adopted to govern the affairs of a church in transition, until such a time as a Book of Order like those discussed above can be adopted.

Discipleship bands

Finally, when the requirements for membership are considered, it seems plain to me that the commitments required of church membership should include a commitment to Christian discipleship, and this commitment should reflect the obligations the bible requires of Christians. One of the greatest success stories of Christian discipleship and church planting in the last few centuries was that of the Methodist movement, founded by the brothers John and Charles Wesley.

Two things clearly made this movement a success. One of those things was a commitment to and belief in the power of the gospel and preaching that gospel. The other was a commitment to and belief in the power of a holy life. Methodists believed that the gospel was a promise of salvation not just from Hell, but from sin. Methodists expected that a Christian would put to death sin in their lives, through the power of the Holy Spirit. And they required that every member of a Methodist society attend regular class meetings for the purposes of discussing together their battles against sin, and arming each other with encouragement and prayer to be victorious in those battles.

It is obvious that this commitment to holiness, together with the commitment to gospel preaching, was why God used the Methodist movement to radically change lives and change a nation through the life and times of John and Charles Wesley, and the likes of William Wilberforce. It is also obvious that when the Methodist churches were reconstituted in the early 20^th Century, and the requirement to attend class meetings was dropped, the result was the rapid demise of the Methodist church.

For this new church plant in Stratford to be a success, we need to have the same commitment to holiness, and to each other, that these early Methodists had.

Tonight, November 11, at 7:30pm, at the Stratford A&P Showgrounds, at the old Skinner Road Hall at the entrance to the showgrounds, this day November 11, all of these matters will be discussed:

An Adapted Westminster Confession for Stratford in 2026

A constitution based on the democratic standard used by incorporated societies

The inclusion of commitment to discipleship as a requirement for membership in discipleship bands

I want to close with the words of the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians, which express the heart of what these meetings are all about, and why it is important that everyone, everywhere, takes this work of preaching the gospel and teaching God’s word so seriously.

From 2 Corinthians 5:14 – 21:

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Be reconciled to God, to Jesus Christ, and to his body, the church.

Before reading this, please see my previous two posts and videos, which together with this post are part of an introductory series regarding establishing a Church Constitution and regarding the Great Confessions of the Reformed Tradition.

Previous articles:
Part I:    He’s been in a good paddock…
Part II:   The Great Confessions of the Reformed Tradition

Please also note that the proposed constitution has been further developed to achieve what is discussed in this post, by adopting the 39 Articles of Religion and the London Baptist Confession as well as the Westminster, while clearly allowing discretion in matters of conscience where these confessions conflict, and emphasising that which is held in common, while broadly honouring and not condemning the wider content of the confessions. You can read more about this in the article Stratford Church Plant 2026: Constitution.

Confessions about confessions

It is fair to describe the Westminster Confession of 1646 as the greatest resource for theology and church discipline outside of scripture itself. And yet it is a human document, established by one group of Christians in opposition to another group, arguing that their confession is more biblical. The points of tension that saw other Christians with strong and sound biblical reasoning take to it with a red pen reveal that, as discussed in my previous article, and as the Westminster Confession admits itself, it is not an infallible document.

I do consider that there are clauses of the confession that go beyond the rule of scripture alone interpreting scripture.

Church government negotiable

I am happy to operate under a Presbyterian system of church government, under the rule of synods and councils, with ministers and deacons serving the church. And yet while this may be ideal, the Bible does not make this a rule for all times and all places. The Bible does not condemn or reject an arrangement of bishops, vicars and priests.

Terms of the role of the civil magsitrate negotiable

I can understand the value of kings and governments taking the initiative to aid the church, as did King James I, with his authorised Bible of 1611. And the Westminster Confession provides for such intervention as appropriate and right.

However, scripture nowhere requires kings or governments to make rulings for churches, or to intervene in their affairs, save in matters of criminal prosecution. And it certainly does not require wholesale obedience to the civil magistrate when that obedience clashes with matters of conscience in religion, as some use the Westminster Confession to argue. So I have sympathy for the opposition of the Congregationalists, and for the Savoy Declaration of 1658, and for the American amendments to the Westminster Confession in 1788.

Infant baptism negotiable

I accept the practice of baptising infants early, not requiring from them a confession of repentance, faith and obedience – if they’re in a covenant family, allowing them the same sign of entry into the covenant community of faith as anyone privileged to enter into that community. And yet I can appreciate the dissent of those who reject infant baptism, who say the Bible does not require it, and therefore they are not going to do it.

So on one hand I understand the reasons for the 1689 London Baptist Confession. But I reject the Baptist extreme that rejects baptism as a sign of entering into a family covenanted to Christ, and limits it only to those professing repentance, faith and obedience. I also accept the practice of having children participate in taking the bread and the wine at The Lord’s Supper. But I consider that each family should have discretion to practice baptism and participation in The Lord’s Supper as they see fit, according to their conscience, for their family.

Views on spiritual gifts negotiable

And in our day, some would interpret the first Clause of Article 1 of the Confession as teaching that God’s use of gifts such as prophecy, tongues, words of knowledge and wisdom as being no longer in play today, and that our only means of guidance today is via scholastic study of the scripture, and via the teaching of men trained in such study.

Yet such an interpretation would, again, go beyond the rule of scripture interpreting scripture. By all means, God is not in the business off adding new doctrines to the church. He has provided everything we need to understand his worship and his salvation in the 66 books of the Bible. And yet he speaks and guides us daily in many ways, but always only ever with instruction consistent with the Bible.

To be denominational or not to be denominational

Debates about the understanding of church government, submission to authorities, and the right way to practice baptism, and debates about the use of spiritual gifts in the church, have often been the wedges that have caused the separation of churches, and beginning of new churches. And yet scripture itself cannot be read plainly, on its own terms, with scripture as the only point of reference, to justify separation over these matters.

It is by all means natural for birds of a feather to flock together, especially when facing persecution for holding fast to their convictions. But as we consider the constitution for a new church plant in Stratford in 2026, in Godzone, in the free world, we have no need to fix ourselves to a mould that goes beyond what scripture requires. Rather, we need to remember that unity and reconciliation is at the heart of what the Christian gospel and life is all about, and at the heart of what gathered worship is all about. And so, to draft up the flock into silos that are simply unnecessary and inappropriate for 21^st Century New Zealand would not appear to be an optimal path at all.

In saying that, we need to address that there is an attraction to adopting a confession wholesale, and signing up with an existing denomination, that can’t be ignored. Such a route is attractive because of the authority and support that would be available to guide the work, through that association. It is attractive because the pastors and elders of a congregation would have an authority and tradition they are accountable to.

And yet, a denomination that operates in a way and with an authority that goes beyond what the bible requires, following an errant confession without amendment or exception, may be putting unnecessary stumbling blocks in the way of genuine Christians. Where a denomination imposes unnecessary restrictions, burdens and prohibitions, that go against convictions of conscience that are grounded in the Bible – convictions of of great value spiritually – it appears to me that cost of that support and authority could easily be greater than the benefit.

I am not completely against wholesale confession to a subscription. We do have to live in the real world, here on planet Earth. The existence of Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists and Pentecostals is no accident. God is sovereign, and all of this is of his designing. But I see the emergence of churches and denominations like CREC in the USA as a sign of the times. There are many ways in which this new way of coming together seems to me to bes clearly fashioned for the 21^st Century.

It seems to me that to seek alignment with an existing denomination before initiating this church plant would actually be to put the cart before the horse. Each tradition has its strengths and its weaknesses. Rather than choosing one and taking a cookie-cutter approach to building church, why not create a platform whereby this new church can work with the convictions of the hearts and consciences that God has already planted in our rich volcanic soils.

Adopting and adapting

It is with this kind of thinking in mind that, instead of proposing wholesale subscription to a Confession or denomination, I am proposing a CREC approach of adopting and adapting. The adopting consists of recognising the richness and breadth of the Westminster Confession. The adapting is to allow discretion in matters of church polity, the place of government authority, whether or not infants are baptised or participate in communion, and the practice of spiritual gifts – so long as these things are guided and bound by what scripture teaches plainly.

A draft of what this could look like as a constitutional document is available for download at this link, here.

My next post and video will be the last of this series ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, addressing other aspects of forming a Constitution, such as:

• providing for church membership and government structures
• commitments that would be required for members
• the establishment of clear processes for conflict resolution and discipline
• avenues for establishing a legal trust or incorporating a society to manage church affairs.

Up next:

Part IV: Other Constitutional Matters

This article is the first of a 4-part series called  Introduction To Church Constitution And Confessions.

See also:
Part II: The Great Confessions of the Reformed Tradition
Part III: Adopting and Adapting the Westminster Confession Faithfully for 2026
Part IV: Other Constitutional Matters 

Please also note that the proposed constitution has been further developed to achieve what is discussed in this post, by adopting the 39 Articles of Religion and the London Baptist Confession as well as the Westminster, while clearly allowing discretion in matters of conscience where these confessions conflict, and emphasising that which is held in common, while broadly honouring and not condemning the wider content of the confessions. You can read more about this in the article Stratford Church Plant 2026: Constitution.

STRATFORD CHURCH PLANT 2026

INTRODUCTION TO CHURCH CONSTITUTION AND CONFESSIONS

SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING FOR CONSTITUTION OF NEW CHURCH PLANT FOR STRATFORD

Tuesday November 11, 7:30pm

HE’S BEEN IN A GOOD PADDOCK… (PART I of IV)

A new church for Stratford in 2026

Today I want to draw your attention to some great news for our wonderful town of Stratford, here in the heart of Taranaki – Stratford is getting a new church!

Hallelujah, indeed! Because, really I don’t think that in this day and age you can have too many churches!

After spending 20 years of my life in big churches, over the last 5 or 6 years my wife and I have come to love small church life.

Churches don’t need to be massive – small churches can be great. Big churches can be great too. But what really matters isn’t quantity, but quality.

And this is why you can’t really have too many churches in a town like Stratford, in 2026. There is always room for another church – especially if it is a church that is going to be interested in quality.

Jesus was always more interested in quality than quantity. He very famously told those who were following him, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” And the bible says that as Jesus began to preach in this way many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him (John 6:35 – 66).

In 2026, Stratford will be getting a new church that knows what it is to feed on Christ.

Planting

When I advertised meetings for a new “church plant” on the Stratford Banter Facebook group last month, the question was duly asked, “What is a church plant?!”

A definition from Google was provided by another member of the public;

“A church plant is a new Christian community established to spread faith in a new area, with the ultimate goal of creating a self-sustaining and reproducing community of faith.”

In the Bible, Jesus describes the church as a tree. He says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit” (John 15:5).

A church plant is an initiative with the goal of putting down a new set of spiritual roots into the soil, built on a foundation of faith in Christ, to become a self-sustaining community of faith that can be fruitful over a long period of time.

A faithful church plant is propelled by the life, love and power of Jesus Christ himself, as we come to the cross and recognise Jesus’ death as the one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world.

When we put our faith in Christ and in his loving sacrifice, he imparts to us his very spirit, so that we can show the same kind of love that Jesus showed in the self-giving sacrifice of the cross.

For the church plant planned for 2026, work is being done to prepare the ground, to test the soil. Many conversations have been had. Meetings have been held to discuss the principles and concerns driving the new church plant. Various venues for meetings are being considered. Formats and patterns for church life are being discussed.

Fencing

I learned from a good friend this week that grapevines don’t actually require great soil to be fruitful. What they need is regular care and protection, and good access to sunshine. They need to be well pruned, and kept from destruction from the elements.

In Stratford, we don’t know much about making wine. We know much more about producing red meat and dairy. And while farming benefits from great soils, to be optimal, pasture also needs regular care, fertiliser, protection from pests, and good grazing practices. And it is impossible to keep pasture in this way without a good fence.

It always makes me chuckle when I think of grandpa’s face lighting up at the sight of a bonny curly-headed toddler, as he says, “He’s been in a good paddock!” It is Jesus’ intent to put his sheep in a good paddock.

Jesus says in John 10:14 & 15; “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Psalm 23 says;

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

A successful church plant will likewise produce spiritual sons and daughters whose faces glow, as evidence that the good shepherd has indeed led them to good pasture (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The main point of the four information meetings held last month was to discuss the importance of establishing clear boundaries, so that those who come will be able to truly feed on Christ. To talk about giving attention to detail, and establishing patterns of care, that can help to make this new church plant in 2026 a success.

That means being genuinely willing to engage with and obey all of scripture – not just the bits that we like. That means taking seriously the need to articulate and defend good doctrine. And it means being willing to engage with the great confessions that have set out the core beliefs of the Christian faith, and helped the church go from strength to strength through the ages.

Meeting Tuesday November 11, 7:30pm

This Tuesday, November 11, at 7:30pm, I will be hosting another meeting at the Stratford A&P Showgrounds on Flint Road, in the old Skinner Road hall at the entrance to the showgrounds.

The purpose of the meeting is to table a constitution that can be the 9-wire post and batten fence that this new church plant needs. A fence that can keep out the pests and protect the pasture. A fence that sets us up to be a church that can articulate and defend the whole counsel of God’s will we find in scripture. A fence that can help us to become the kind of church that is prescribed in the Bible: That glorious bride that our Lord Jesus plans to return for.

Confessions and Fallibility

Now, of course, this is no small task. All of the great confessions that guided the church through the ages have in some sense been established by one group of Christians in opposition to another group, arguing that their confession is more biblical.

The Westminister Confession of 1646 is perhaps the greatest resource for theology and church discipline, apart from obviously scripture itself, in the English speaking world, and yet in Chapter 31 it says,

“All synods or councils, since the Apostles’ times, whether general or particular, may err; and many have erred. Therefore they are not to be made the rule of faith, or practice; but to be used as a help in both.” (Article 31, Clause 4).

Indeed, this must then also be true of the Westminster Assembly that produced this confession.

But this fallibility is not a reason to reject or decry such confessions. It is a reminder that we must be diligent to engage confessions with another great rule of the Westminster, that when it comes to understanding the will of God revealed in the Bible, the infallible rule of interpretation of scripture is scripture itself (Article 1, Clause 9).

Creating a Constitution

This Tuesday I will be tabling a proposed constitution for this new church plant, based on the Westminister Confession, with a few amendments and exceptions.

In the next few days I will put up some further posts and videos explaining a bit more about the Westminster Confession, and others like it. I’ll provide links and resources concerning these confessions. And I will outline and discuss some proposed amendments and exceptions, and the rationale behind doing so, with reference to global trends in this space.

I will also discuss other aspects of forming a Constitution, such as providing for church membership and government structures, commitments that would be required for members, the establishment of clear processes for conflict resolution and discipline, and avenues for establishing a legal trust or incorporating a society to manage church affairs.

With this new church plant, what we need to see in Stratford is a church where all who come are able to learn to know God’s word and apply all of God’s word to all of life. We need to have a church that doesn’t rely on just one leader, and doesn’t lean out to just one person’s biases and direction.

We need a church where many people can be developed into mature Christians who know what it means to be faithful to all of scripture. Where many people are armed to understand God’s word and God’s will, so that they, too, can become the mature leaders that the church needs and that their families need.

So please, do come back for the next post, and take this opportunity to learn more about what it might look like to take all of scripture as a foundation for life and for church.

Up next:

Part II: The Great Confessions of the Reformed Tradition