Oasis, an Ōpōtiki mission project to sustain community and grow faith

Written By Guest User

By Jill Kayser

A New Vision for Church in Ōpōtiki

The Ōpōtiki Mission Project was established with a clear purpose: to serve as a catalyst for rejuvenating God’s church in the Ōpōtiki community.

Since April 2024, Mission Facilitators Jared and Jess Suisted have been leading an initiative endorsed and supported by Kaimai Presbytery, PressGO and the Justice-Compassion Trust of Aotearoa New Zealand, focussed on building relationships in the community and creating spaces where people can connect with God and with one another.

At its heart, the Ōpōtiki Mission Project seeks to reimagine what church can look like in today’s world. “It’s less about buildings and Sunday schedules and more about people living out their faith together every day of the week,” explains Jared.

The project began as a “seedling” nurtured by St John’s Union Church, a church that has faithfully served the community for more than 100 years. “The leaders and people of St John’s Union Church really embraced us, graciously allowing us to trial different ways of worshiping God and introducing Jesus, that would connect with our local community.

This sometimes pushed them out of their comfort zone” says Jess. Over time, this seedling grew to the point where it needed to be “re-planted” in order to flourish. “As you can imagine, this involved some challenging conversations, as we sought to maintain positive relationships and respect each other’s ways of worshipping God. Together, we decided that planting a new faith community alongside the existing was the most loving way forward, allowing people of all ages to be able to worship God in ways that are meaningful for them.”

Putting in the umu at the Forge Aotearoa hui

Earlier this year, St John’s Union Church blessed and released Jared and Jess to lead this emerging faith community and allow it space to develop its own culture and identity. After prayer and consultation it was decided to call the emerging faith community Oasis.

While Ōpōtiki is a place of immense potential, it faces deep-seated challenges, marked by a socio-economic divide and the complex realities of work apathy and substance abuse. Historically, the local churches have served as pillars of support, but today they face their own struggles with aging congregations and dwindling numbers. By seeking to rejuvenate the church of Ōpōtiki, Oasis aims to breathe fresh life and hope into the community by encouraging and empowering people from all walks of life.

Oasis: A Place of Rest and Renewal

“Just like an oasis in a desert, our vision is that this faith community will be a place where people find rest in God’s presence, are replenished with the life-giving water of Jesus and resourced both practically and spiritually for the journey God leads them on next. We live in a transient community so we don’t have any expectations that everyone will be a part of the Oasis community long term, we invest in them and send them off trusting in God’ plan for them. ”
— Jared Suisted (Mission Facilitator)

The new community co-exists alongside the existing established St John’s Union Church congregation. Both communities share the facilities at 100 St John Street, Ōpōtiki, meeting together for morning tea after Sunday gatherings and throughout the month for prayer, potluck meals and other events.

The Oasis community is already bearing fruit. Through gatherings, outreach events and creative initiatives, more than 300 people outside the existing church congregation have connected with Oasis in the last year. At the heart of these connections are strong relationships built in the community over time.

 

Creative Community Outreach Through the Easter Journey

“Events such as the Easter Journey have created opportunities for us to invite people we’ve been journeying with to explore God and faith in a welcoming and accessible way. We’ve run the Easter Journey for the last three years over Easter Weekend to encourage our community to engage with the story of Easter. We set up our church spaces with different stations and activities to help them engage with the story in a creative hands-on way.” says Jess.

These inclusive and creative events have fostered connections with non-church goers and revealed a growing desire among many people for a fresh and life-giving way to connect with God.

“Since Easter, we’ve started watching “Long Story Short” at our Sunday morning gathering. This nine-episode video series offers people the opportunity to journey through the Bible, experience God and ask questions,” says Jess.

 

This year’s event was shared in the Ōpōtiki newspaper:

The Easter Journey held at St John’s Union Church over Easter weekend was a great success, with many adults and children engaging in a range of creative and interactive ‘stations’ exploring the Easter story. “There were no spare seats around the art table facilitated by artist Jodi Collins as children and adults created art pieces from air dry clay and painted crosses,” says Jess Suisted, Mission Facilitator and one of the organisers of the event. “The art table was busy with people making Easter art from driftwood, shells, sand, rope, beads and old frames. And the children loved the Easter egg hunt.” Local sisters Elodie and Avie Taylor contributed simple drawings to tell the Easter story, and Whakatāne artist Brian Phipps displayed his work entitled ‘Great Love, Great Suffering’, a cross made from barbed and copper, in the entrance of the building. On arrival visitors were directed through seven red curtains, representing the seven times Jesus bled on the way to the cross.

Read the full article by scrolling down to the ‘Resources’ section below

 

Michele Suisted (6) and Joyce Ash (12) reading an Easter story under the gazebo

Growing a Sustainable Faith Community

Oasis is seeking to be a faith community that is authentic and relevant to the local community, centred on prayer and committed to growing disciples who use their God-given gifts to serve the wider community and Body of Christ.

“Our long-term vision is to become a self-sustaining faith community that encourages people in their walk with Jesus and provides practical solutions to the needs in our wider community. Ideas are developing for raising our own finances in a way that benefits the community.” says Jared.

As a first step toward this long-term vision, the St John’s Union Church Manse next door to the current church buildings has been leased by Kaimai Presbytery to give the Oasis community more space to grow. The “manse” is now a mission hub known as Oasis House. Oasis House had its official “housewarming” on Thursday May 14th 2026 and is already a space that hosts prayer meetings, Bible study groups, and children and youth ministry gatherings.

“We have a prayer room where people can come to pray and spend time with God, this space doubles as a pastoral care and counselling space. In time, we hope to have Christian counsellors onsite who could provide a much-needed service in our community,” says Jess.

A local development team offers practical skills, spiritual insight and prayer support for the team growing Oasis and an external oversight team including experienced leaders from the Presbyterian Church provide guidance and accountability.

The Opotiki Mission Project is a hopeful step towards a renewed expression of church in the community. Through relationship-building, prayer and community engagement, Oasis seeks to become a place where people can rest in God’s presence, replenish through the life-giving water of Jesus and be resourced both practically and spiritually for the journey ahead, with opportunities to grow in faith and discover the love of God.

Resources:

Guest User
Next

Peter Matheson