ANNUAL REVIEW 2016
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Maureen Gunston SUNZ Board Chair
A ‘Long Walk of Faith’ Working with churches we create opportunities for children and young people to discover and follow Jesus, grow as leaders and influence our world. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always… As we remember again God’s faithfulness to Scripture Union NZ (SUNZ), we also rejoice that, in 2017, Scripture Union
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International will celebrate a journey that began 150 years ago! The new SU International Covenant of Interdependence will have our same aims, belief and working principles at its roots. Being ‘online’ enables new levels of sharing but we are thankful for all the ‘human contact’ we have with our international family, especially our Pacific neighbours.
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Pray continually… We engage with volunteers, staff, churches and others, and work on strategic plans, budgets, policies, procedures, risk management and legal obligations (such as the recent Health and Safety at Work Act). But, unless we are open to God’s prompting, we may miss the unexpected moments or new directions which He has planned. Rob Harley, in ‘The Power to Go the Distance’ 1, comments that ‘You never prepare for the moment that changes your life’ and suggests that ‘Opportunities don’t shout they whisper’. What is God whispering to SUNZ as we look afresh at the multi-cultural challenges of today? Let us pray that together we will recognise His opportunities. Bible engagement remains core to our mission. The WordLive SU Bible reading guide I follow recently looked in Genesis at Abraham’s ‘long walk of faith’ 2 – no easy journey! Our desire to see young people exploring God’s Word as they walk through life is behind our efforts to operate more closely with other groups. We work with churches to help them connect with their communities and to share the ‘long walk of faith’ with their children and young people. We are developing programmes and camps spanning the school years to help us be
part of that ongoing faith journey. The SUNZ Board are now in conversation with Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship (TSCF), exploring how to ensure the cycle of support is not broken when young people move into tertiary study, work and family responsibilities. We hope they will transition into local churches... and even back into SUNZ/TSCF involvement of some sort. However, the sad truth is that there are times in that journey when they can be easily ‘lost’. Let us pray that they will remain faithful and will influence our world as God leads them.
Give thanks in all circumstances… We all remain thankful for those who pray faithfully, support us financially, or volunteer their time and skills in a myriad of ways. You are a vital part of our work alongside National Director Wayne Fraser and his staff (many of whom now have long service status), SUNZ Board, Finance (FARC) and Advisory Group members. We continue to seek potential Board members to work alongside Alastair Boult (Treasurer), Meredith MacKenzie (Deputy Chair with FARC role), Ruth Vercoe, Kim Shaw, Wayne Fraser and myself. It has been our privilege to share in the challenges faced and to witness God at work in so many ways. Thank you for your support.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 1 Rob Harley, The Power To Go The Distance, Castle Publishing & Distribution, 2005 2 https://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2016-04-21/All-too-much ANNUAL REVIEW 2016
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Wayne Fraser SUNZ National Director
National Director's Report At staff retreat this year I shared the story of the Boudin family who were master bakers during the gold rush days in California. They discovered that the sourdough culture there was unique and they became famous for making bread with this special flavour. Miners flocked to the bakery to buy this special tasting bread. The same sourdough culture called the 'Mother Dough' has been used since 1849. In 1906 San Francisco suffered a devastating earthquake that caused fires which all but destroyed the city. The one thing that was saved from the bakery was the 'Mother Dough' which enabled the bakery business to continue doing what it did best. Today the Boudin bakery is still in business in San Francisco and their sourdough is still famous. It is made from the same culture that is now more than 160 years old. Preserving and protecting 4
that 'Mother Dough' was central to the business changing from an old world bakery and establishing state of the art facilities and services in 2016. The shape and presentation of the bread and shop have evolved, but the key ingredient is the same. I use this story to emphasise our need to protect the future of our movement by taking the 'mother dough' of Scripture Union DNA and being prepared to give it some new shape in changing times. We have a solid foundation of core values and proven key ministries and experience. Evangelism, discipleship and engaging with a living word are at the heart of all we do. What remains ongoing is the work of discovery and action in a new era. Reinforcing the need for this are the reports and commentary we have seen this year that describe the church in New
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Zealand as largely plateaued or declining. SUNZ remains committed to the church being God’s instrument of mission in this world. Therefore a critical path for us is applying our ‘mother dough’ to turning this situation around. This year, as we have worked our way through and out of IT and website issues, I have detected some signs that we are beginning to address the bigger picture questions. A recent staff trip to the historic Rangiatea Church in Otaki highlighted the need to be more intentional about our bicultural and treaty responsibility as an organisation. We are making progress towards an important board appointment to help us do that. As we journey in this direction we will be preparing ourselves better to serve the multicultural New Zealand society that is growing up around us. Record numbers at WAY2GO and the increasing interest in the Exodus Prime leadership development events prove that there is a need for contemporary training and leadership development — and that SUNZ can contribute significantly to that need. In the South Island it has been pleasing to see camps being offered that genuinely offer the chance for us to journey with a young person through the different stages of their school life and into leadership. This is something we want to replicate across our ministry areas and is illustrated in our brand logo by the path that winds between the mountain and flame symbols. A quote from Ed Catmull, president of Pixar and Disney Animation, illustrates this: 'The healthiest
organisations are made up of departments whose agendas may differ but whose goals are interdependent. If one agenda wins, we all lose'. Plans are also in place to use Richard Starling’s outstanding service in the Stay Real programme as a catalyst for other communities who want to reach a similar audience. I have a hope that learning from our bicultural journey will also help us to serve our Pacific brothers and sisters more consistently. The Pacific Community Group has begun to meet and, while we will continue supporting SU in Tonga, it was very encouraging to see sharing and resourcing beginning to happen across all movements. I must mention here that we were saddened to farewell Fusi, the SU Tonga director, after a short battle with cancer this year. A new appointment has been made and Benji Tonga is a 26-yearold ball of energy breathing new life into that movement. Finally, I am again deeply grateful to all who partner with Scripture Union in New Zealand. Whether that be to pray, give, stuff envelopes, lead a camp or club, be on staff, or maintain the lodge — we give thanks for you all. I particularly want to acknowledge Ben Necklen’s outstanding work on our safety and risk management processes and obligations which are so critical for what we do. Thank you also to Maureen for her commitment to the role of board chair and perseverance during very hard family times this year. We continue to pray for you all. Mā te Atua e manaaki, May God bless you. ANNUAL REVIEW 2016
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Hilary Hague
Children and Families Ministry Leader
A shift is taking place in the spiritual lives of children across New Zealand. Lessening Christian influence in our society combined with growing influence from other faiths and secularisation mean that many children are growing up knowing very little about God or the Bible. Emerging research is bearing this out.1
had less than five children join the church in that year.
This has implications for churches, both now and in the future, and makes it imperative that our churches engage meaningfully with the communities around them. Yet according to Te Waka Eke Noa, SUNZ’s research conducted in 2014, many churches are struggling to do this effectively. 34% of churches reported that no children had joined the church as a result of their community programmes, and the majority of the remaining churches
With this in mind, the Children and Families team have decided to bring a different emphasis to our work:
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SUNZ, as an organisation that aims to encourage discipleship and evangelism among children and families, needs to be concerned about this. Churches need us to speak into this area, both inspirationally and practically.
1. We will create opportunities to motivate and inspire churches to build relationships with their communities. We will communicate God’s call and the reasons for community engagement through our events and whenever possible in other writing/speaking forums.
1 For example Pass It On, 2015 Biblical Literacy Survey. Published by the Bible Society New Zealand.
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2.
We will use our training events to encourage churches to see the ‘big picture’ and equip them to use their programmes and activities well, so that they become more effective at evangelism and discipleship, and at integrating people into their overall church life.
3.
We will actively help churches choose the most strategic programmes for their context from a range of programmes including SUPAkidz and SURGE Clubs, SUPAkidz Camps, holiday programmes and one-off events. This part of our work is traditionally the one we have emphasised the most. It will still be very important but will be carried out in the context of the two points above.
We have already begun this changed emphasis — and we hope to see it bear fruit.
and.
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WAY2GO has continued to be popular and a very effective way of training a large number of people. This year our Bible theme — looking at Daniel and the way he lived boldly in the midst of a culture that did not believe in God — was very applicable for life here in NZ. We also looked at some of the new insights from Te Waka Eke Noa and investigated what the findings mean for the future of our ministries. Seventy-five workshops were run across the country. They ranged from workshops for new through to experienced leaders. The new mix of providing material to some trainers and encouraging others to share their own experience worked well. More than 600 people attended in Auckland, Wellington and Invercargill and feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
We also ran four WAY2GO Focused regional training days and participated in training for CEC and various children’s ministry networks and other organisations. WAY2GO Feedback • ‘What an amazing and incredible experience! I have lots to pray and think about and do.’ • ‘It has ignited a new passion to go forth and serve with all my heart.’ • ‘What wonderful workshops I attended on Saturday in Auckland and I have to add that ALL the workshops I attended were absolutely excellent.’
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You're Losing Us You’re Losing Us is a workshop that encourages churches to think about why so many young people are leaving the church within the context of their own church community. These workshops continue to be in demand with more than 15 workshops run and 1300 people attending — and more workshops booked ahead. Please continue to pray for these churches. ‘We need to look under the surface to the heart of this distressing problem to the need for an urgent rethinking of what it takes to grow lifelong, active followers of Jesus.’2
Te Waka Eke Noa Te Waka Eke Noa — We’re all in the waka together is the research we undertook in 2014 when we surveyed a cross-section of New Zealand churches in order to find out what was happening in children’s ministry. This year we published this research and used it to inform the direction of our ministry and as a tool for training. It was very well received and we look forward to results of our 2016 survey which will help us to monitor trends. 2 From here2stay.org.au
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This year we ran four SUPAkidz Camps and two camps with Prison Fellowship, with a total of 186 campers and 82 leaders. 45 campers came through Prison Fellowship. We have 24 SUPAkidz Clubs (primary) and 2 SURGE groups (intermediate). Our SUPAkidz and SURGE clubs are increasingly under pressure to move out of schools and new clubs are very hard to start. This changing environment in schools will continue to make an impact on these programmes and on the confidence of leaders. Please pray for these leaders and for us as we support them in all they are doing. Theological Discussions at the SUPAkidz Camp in Wellington ‘How did God be the ruler of heaven?’ ‘How do you know when you are part of Jesus’ team?’ ‘I wonder if God sleeps?’’ ‘I wonder if God still loves you if you wreck your relationship with him?’ ‘I wonder how God feels when we don’t listen?’ Straight from the Southland SUPAkidz Camp M had never met his dad and his step-dad wasn’t exactly a great role model. M was being teased at school. He didn’t quite know how to fit and sat around the fringes and off to the edge. ‘Everyone thinks I’m a loser and I’m starting to believe it,’ he confided in a leader. It took patience from the leaders and learning about God’s acceptance, but by the end of camp he was fully involved and even volunteering to lead the singing up the front. It was a delight to see his heart soften and the way he even caringly helped out some other campers. 10 Annual Review 2016.indd 10
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WAY2GO Magazine and the Children’s Ministry Blog The WAY2GO magazine goes out as part of the Adventure magazine to more than 7000 people and feedback is positive. It contains a mixture of news and practical ideas and training for children’s ministry workers. The children’s ministry blog which provides a mix of commentary on topical matters, children’s ministry resources and publicity for coming events, has been well received too. Check it out at www.childrenandfamiliesnz.blogspot.co.nz
Staff and Volunteers We have an amazing number of volunteers who run clubs, lead on camps, pray, help with WAY2GO and a wide variety of other responsibilities. The staff team — Nigel Winder, Andrew Ramsbottom, Raewyn Rowney, Annette Osborne, and Paul Dadd — continue to bring thoughtful wisdom and commitment to the ministry of SUNZ. They have done so much to help shape ministry to children and families across New Zealand. They are ably supported by administrator Alison Davies. He hōnore, he korōria ki te Atua Honour and glory to God. Please continue to pray for this ministry. ANNUAL REVIEW 2016 Annual Review 2016.indd 11
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Neville Bartley Youth Ministry Leader
Every year it feels like the last year has just gone faster than the one before! Here I am writing this article and it doesn’t seem like it has been 12 months since I wrote the last one! Here is what has been happening in the youth department.
We have had a team of three Youth Consultants, two camps facilitators, one camp administrator, one camp admin assistant, one at-risk worker and one National PA — spread from Invercargill to Auckland.
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EXODUS P R I M E
TRANSFORMING YOUNG CHRISTIAN LEADERS
A key marker of youth ministry success this year was that Exodus Prime involved 43 young people, compared with 21 last year. The value of the programme is shown by 67% of the first Exodus Prime intake returning for the second year of the programme in 2016. 80% of this year’s attendees are now in church leadership roles such as worship leaders, members of vestry and youth group leadership.
Youthserve events based around local mission projects for young people showed steady growth over 2016. Two week-long events in Auckland and six one-day events in Northland and Auckland involved approximately 125 people from 13 churches. An all-age version called ‘Beyond borders’ ran successfully and this version is being further developed. In the next year Youthserve will also move into the South Island, with events already booked in Otago and Southland.
Youth Consultants Our youth consultants — Andy Banks (Auckland/ Northland), Steve Adams (Waikato/BOP), and Aaron Douglas (Otago/Southland) — continue to work at helping young people transition from intermediate ANNUAL REVIEW 2016 Annual Review 2016.indd 13
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to high school and from high school out into the big wide world. In the last year 1290 copies of the ‘It’s Your Move’ book for young people moving into high school went out from SUNZ. Trials of the ‘Transitions’ programme for young people leaving high school have been successfully completed in Nelson and we are working towards running programmes around the country towards the end of the third term of 2016. We are seeing a shift within schools ministry with all the recent debate in the media over religion in schools. Many schools are responding by just not allowing any religious groups to run in their schools. Our youth consultants continue to work at connecting with schools through youth ministries outside the school setting. Their work with church youth groups is vital to help equip young people to look at other ways to impact
their schools for Christ. The team are always looking for new ways to help young people grow in their faith and develop their ability to connect with God through scripture and prayer. We have a presence at the Abbey (Anglican), Baptist and Presbyterian youth conferences, and are increasingly being invited to speak at youth ministry events across the denominations. We were very sad to farewell Rebekah Smith from our youth staff in the last year. She made a huge contribution to the quality of our ministry.
This year 16 camps ran under the SUCamps brand, up from 15 in the 2015 year, and the number of campers increased by nearly 20%, from 376 in the
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2015 year to 453 this year. In addition 11 young people (compared with 9 last year) attended the E3 adventure expedition which we run in partnership with A Rocha Aotearoa NZ and Adventure Specialties. Over 150 staff and volunteers were involved as team members at camps during the year, and 49 camp leaders attended two camp leader training weekends. We are piloting new areas of ministry like the ‘Man Up Camp’ for boys without a significant male figure in their lives and ‘The Story’ events that use storytelling to help youth to engage with scripture. ‘The Story’ ran as a tent station at Baptist Easter Camp this year, and the first weekend ‘The Story’ and ‘Man Up’ camps are running in the 2016-2017 year. The crew in the South Island have been more intentional about providing opportunities for young people to develop their faith from primary age to their secondary school years. Four new South Island camps were developed this year, and three of these focused on junior youth. The four new camps ran at nearly full capacity. This has been a great opportunity to help young people keep the passion for SUCamps throughout the year, and from primary through the intermediate stage and into secondary school. Our camps team of Ben Necklen (South Island Facilitator), Wayne Goodchild (North Island Facilitator), Heather Zwies (Camps Administrator) and Bronwyn Withington (Admin Assistant) have all, ANNUAL REVIEW 2016 Annual Review 2016.indd 15
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as usual, been working hard to provide top quality camps that are fun, safe and challenging on both a physical and a spiritual level. Wayne Goodchild moved on to take up a senior role at Tui Ridge Camp in Rotorua at the end of January. We say a big ‘thank you’ to Wayne for a lot of hard work and for a lot of laughter, and wish him and his family all of God’s richest blessings. Ben Necklen has been doing a wonderful job to help us make our way through all the new audit processes that are a very big part of all adventure activities now. We acknowledge the Youth Consultants for their continued support in promoting and running the camps, and all our wonderful volunteer camp leaders — we could not do any of what we do without them. The aim for the future is to continue to make sure that our camps run efficiently and effectively, and that we are training our volunteers so that what we provide is always to a very high standard. Please pray for this team as we move forward as regulations continue to change and as we look at new opportunities within the camps ministry.
Richard Starling who is based in Christchurch manages Stay Real programme working with at-risk youth. We have a joint venture with the
Crossroads Youth Trust and we thank them for their involvement in helping make this amazing ministry happen. A great team of youth workers helps Richard deliver the Stay Real program in four local schools. Richard is just putting the finishing touches on some amazing resources. We will soon be making these available to churches across New Zealand as well as a training package that will be used to help equip churches who are interested in using Stay Real to impact their local schools. Richard and his team are being asked by more schools in Christchurch to run the program with them, so please pray that funding and staff can be found to meet those needs. Please pray that, as Richard gets out there and starts working with local churches, we see this ministry grow and impact our schools across New Zealand.
ENGAGE: We continue to have new people downloading our Bible app ‘Engage’ every day and we are excited about the way that it is being used by individuals and by groups and families. From launch in May 2015 till the end of March 2016 there were 1691 downloads of the app and 10,518 launches. We have had a few difficulties with translators for our Te Reo Maori part of the app but hopefully we have found someone who can help us in that area. We are progressing towards adding a new and exciting part to the app — a video
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version of the daily readings aimed at the deaf community. Please pray for the team involved as they work out the best way to present this material.
I thank all our families too, for supporting us all in the work we are called to do. Thank you also to Gwen Hague, my assistant who also left during the year to pursue study.
I thank our whole youth team for all the hard work that they have put in over the past year. These men and women work hard and are passionate about Scripture Union, but more importantly they are passionate about God and seeing His followers equipped and supported to do the ministries He has called them to.
Finally I thank all our supporters: your prayer, your financial support, the time that you give. I hope and pray that you will continue to be supportive of what Scripture Union is being called to do in Aotearoa New Zealand. Please continue to pray for our team as they go forward into the years ahead.
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Maurice Roberts Resources for Life Manager
Last year I reported that IT issues had impacted my area — unfortunately they carried on in to this year, and RFL has had no webstore for 11 months of the year! Now that the website is operational again, the focus is on getting people to visit the store again. Another priority is looking into e-books, and other digital material, for the growing number of people who like to source material this way. But enough about what we cannot do — and more about what we have done! The resource centre in the National office remains a great venue for holding events and exposing people to our range of resources at the same time.
The Bible Reading Guides (our locally published versions of Encounter with God and Daily Bread) continue to be really well-received. However the challenge in the coming years will be to engage younger readers in the printed version. We are, however, planning to publish e-book versions later this year. Neville Bartley and the youth team have had good success with the Engage Bible Reading App launched in July 2015 and it is planned to continue to grow the digital side of our resources in coming months. The Light range of curriculum-based material for children’s and youth work
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is going okay, but given the fact that we dropped prices by at least 25% in the last 12 months, and that we still have only a small number of churches who use it on a regular basis, the challenge remains on how to grow this along with other curriculum-based resources. In light of my comments about growing digital content, it is well worth people taking a look at the Guardians of Ancora (available as an app and also online) which is a world-class digital game: an amazing virtual world that 8- to 11-yearolds can enter, and a place where the Bible stories come alive. While fun to play, the intent of the game is, however serious — to help children meet with God through the Bible and prayer, and grow in their faith in the Lord Jesus. This was launched in July 2015, following five years of careful planning.
been launched to complement the game. The book market remains a challenging environment to survive in, let alone thrive in — Manna bookshops have closed several more outlets in the last 12 months, and Epworth books who distributed the CRE materials shut in April. During the year the NZ Bible Society also closed its retail shop in Wellington. We used this opportunity to expand our range of Bibles for children and youth — however the adult market has far too many options to choose from so we are not stocking for this group. Despite the difficulties, I remain committed to building a growing range of quality resources at affordable prices — so please help by letting people know our webstore is again open for business.
Guardians of Ancora was created because the number of children reading Scripture Union’s daily Bible Reading Guides had been dramatically declining. However hard they tried, a small printed set of notes just wasn’t being read like this anymore. The experience in the UK would be similar to our experience here in NZ with Bible engagement amongst children. The vision of Scripture Union UK is that by 2020, 20 million children worldwide will have opportunities to discover Jesus and engage with the Bible through the game. New content is continually being added to keep the game fresh and engaging, plus other items like a Holiday Programme Resource and Christmas Comic have also ANNUAL REVIEW 2016 Annual Review 2016.indd 19
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Pacific Report Sam Emery
Pacific Region Coordinator
Sam Emery continues to lead Scripture Union ministry in the Pacific. From the beginning of 2015 this work has been part of Scripture Union International rather than operating as SU Pacific.
Tonga SUNZ retains a strong relationship with Tonga. The last year has been a challenging period for the SU ministry there. SU Tonga National Director Fusi Vaki, who had led the ministry so well with few resources, passed away in February after a very short illness. The Tongan Board have appointed 26-yearold Benny Tonga as Director and Fa'onelua as Ministry assistant. These two enthusiastic and passionate leaders are having a big impact in the schools: SU Tonga is now present in every secondary school in Nuku’alofa and also some of the outer islands. Benny and Fa'onelua 20
are providing ongoing training and development for the volunteer leaders who are already involved in these schools and growing the work. As part of the SU Tonga partnership with the Methodist Churches in Tonga, more than 500 Sunday school teachers and youth leaders attended a training week in early January. A visit from Sam Emery followed in April with a full day of training on different aspects of discipleship and creative Bible engagement. We are encouraged for the future of the work in Tonga!
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Fiji
Papua New Guinea
In June 2015 the National Director of SU Fiji, Sisa Telai, died suddenly and unexpectedly after an emergency operation. He had faithfully served Scripture Union in Fiji for over 30 years and persevered in some trying circumstances — a Godly dedicated worker for SU and the Gospel.
SU Papua New Guinea staff and volunteers held their first National Key Leaders’ training, ‘Shaping for Service', on 15-18 April 2015: four wonderful days with 12 Regional/District Coordinators and staff plus some council members attending when they were able — a total of 16. The aim was to train these volunteers to be better equipped to multiply and increase the work of SU Papua New Guinea. We all look forward to the fruit that will come from the rich and inspiring time they have had together.
Fiji was severely impacted by Cyclone Winston in February 2016 when the islands experienced the highest wind gusts recorded in the Pacific for some time. We are thankful that no SU Fiji ministry sites were damaged.
Vanuatu The rebuilding of the SU Camp near Port Vila continues following the major damage sustained in Cyclone Pam in March 2015. Glen Coombes from Auckland has been coordinating volunteer teams to assist with the rebuild. Just before the cyclone, additional land next door had been purchased to expand the camp to about twice the original site. The rebuild will enable better use of the total land area which will help camping programs as well as build financial capacity for the ministry. It is expected that ongoing building by volunteer teams will continue for the next three to four years. The SU Vanuatu ministry is in good heart. They really see the hand of God enabling the purchase of extra camp land just before the Cyclone!
Sam Emery thanks and pays tribute to the council, the director Walo Vali, the staff and volunteers for the hard work and time they put into making the training possible. Thanks also go to SU Queensland for their generous contribution to the training.
Solomon Islands In 2015 three regions asked SU Solomon Islands to organise Community, Youth, Children and Sport (CYCAS) Training Workshops followed by ‘KidsGames’ programs. The ‘KidsGames’ programme was introduced to the Solomon Islands in 2013, and is designed to engage children in creative Bible engagement and teach Biblical values. This year’s events in Apalolo Parish in South Malaita, East Malaita and in Honiara City have been very successful.
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First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. (Romans 1:8)
Volunteers
Supporters
•
Camp leaders have led, fed, supported, prayed for and instructed hundreds of campers in both our youth camps and SUPAkidz camps.
1,454 individuals, 87 Churches, 13 corporates and 38 trusts made 18,166 donations during the year. Thank you!
•
WAY2GO has yet again broken records. The high attendances have again put the wonderful volunteer team under real stress. As usual they have responded brilliantly.
•
Prayer groups have continued round the country. We do not believe that much of our ministry could succeed without this surrounding prayer.
• SUPAkidz and SURGE clubs are led quite brilliantly by committed volunteers.
In Rememberance • Kevin Simpkins – Council member and Honorary Treasurer 2005-10 • Kevin O’Sullivan – Council member 1948-77, Chair 1963-69 and President 1989 • Elizabeth Singleton – Volunteer for SU in Northland for over 10 years and with her husband hosted Waipu camps • Pat Chamberlin – Much loved hostess for Ponui Island camps for many years and past Vice President
Board • • • • •
Maureen Gunston (Chair) Meredith MacKenzie (Deputy Chair) Kim Shaw Ruth Vercoe Wayne Fraser (National Director)
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Churches & Trusts who donated over $1,000 Adventure Specialties Trust Ann Sinclair Charitable Trust Arohanui Charitable Trust Belmont Baptist Church Bollard Charitable Trust Cornelius Charitable Trust Cotswold Trust Board Daphne Ford Trust Decal Trust E N Lundquist Trust Eden Community Church Forrest Hill Presbyterian Church Fountain Developments Limited Fraser Charitable Trust G & S Vickers Charitable Trust Gateway Christian Fellowship Glenfield Presbyterian Church Gospel Outreach Trust Hutt Valley Greenlane Christian Centre Gumgo Trust Hillview Trust Holy Trinity Anglican Church Homelands Trust Hunt Foundation Group Invercargill Methodist Church Jones Missionary Trust Jubilee Church Tauranga K J O' Sullivan Charitable Trust KB and RJ Taylor Charitable Trust Koha Trust Leone Palmer Family Trust Lochiel Community Church Longview Trust Max Architectural Design Charitable Tr. Methodist Church of NZ Nelson Christian Trust
Otago Foundation Trust Board Otatara Community Church Oteramika - Kennington Presbyterian Church PC & HPW Green Charitable Trust Powley Village Chapel Committee River Valley Baptist Church Rosedale Bible Chapel Roskill Christian Trust Rotorua Baptist Church Safar Trust Shepton Trust Soul Purpose Trust 1999 St Chad's Anglican Church St Martin's Pres Food & Fellowship St Michael & All Angels Anglican Church Stoney Farm Charitable Trust The Anchor Church Whitby The Ruth Gillon Memorial Trust The Tidd Foundation Incorporated Tipene Plumbing Ltd Titahi Bay Community Church W & M Bear Trust Waidale Missionary Trust Wellington South Baptist Church Wilberforce 21 Trust Windsor Community Church Missions
Bequests Isobel Harry Myra Christina Lawry Barbara Jean McKercher Keith Martin Harry Jessie Ruth Moore Kevin John O’Sullivan
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FINANCIAL COMMENTARY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2016
Operating Results Scripture Union has reported an overall financial surplus for the 2015/16 financial year of $447,715 compared to a loss of $243,668 in the previous year. $183,554 of the 2015/16 year surplus was attributable to revaluations of head office property in Wellington and Adventure Lodge at Mt Ruapehu. The surplus from continuing operations for 2015/16 was therefore $264,161 compared to a loss of $216,371 in the previous year. The 2014/15 year was impacted by charges and costs attributable to the implementation of new information systems. These did not repeat in the 2015/16 year which was also buoyed not just by the property revaluations, but also by a reduction in “back office costs” as well as several large one-off donations and legacies. The 2015/16 year result is a significant turnaround and we give thanks to God and to our supporters for their faithfulness. We are always mindful that without the generosity of its supporters Scripture Union and its ministries with the youth in New Zealand and the Pacific would simply not be possible.
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Donations and legacy income for the 2015/16 year increased by $274,000 and $107,000 respectively compared to a year earlier. We are mindful that these amounts included several large one-off transactions that may not be always recur in future years. Total operating expenses reduced by $114,000 in 2015/16. Although some of this reduction reflects one-off charges in 2014/15 relating to information systems which did not repeat in 2015/16, approximately $80,000 has been shaved from the organisation’s cost structure on an annualised basis. Most of this saving has come from rationalising the back office function — the calibre and quantity of front-line ministries have been able to be maintained despite these cost reductions.
Financial Position Scripture Union is in a good financial position. Total cash and investments on the balance sheet at 31 March 2016 was $1.717m. In addition, at 31 March 2016 funds expected to be distributed to Scripture Union from a bequest and the value of an additional property bequeathed to Scripture Union were $114,414 and $37,326 respectively.
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As required by current accounting convention both of these amounts have been included in 2015/16 income and feature separately in the balance sheet. $906,000 of the organisation’s financial resources have been allocated to the Development Fund which has been set aside for special projects in the future. To enable Scripture Union to better manage its resources and to assess the performance of the organisational activities, resources are “categorised” into the Funds documented in Table 1 below: These summary financial statements have been extracted from Scripture Union full financial statements and do not provide the same level of information/ understanding as full financial statements. The full financial statements were approved by the Scripture Union Board on 18 July 2016 and both periods covered by the above financial summary were audited separately by accountants BDO who provided an unqualified audit opinion for
both years. The full financial statements include an explicit and unreserved statement of compliance with Public Benefit Entity Accounting Standards - Reduced Disclosure Regime for the year ended 31 March 2016 and have been prepared in accordance with these standards. Scripture Union first prepared financial statements in accordance with these accounting standards for the year ended 31 March 2016. The comparatives in those financial statements were prepared on the same basis. The above summary financial statements have therefore been prepared reflecting the first year in which the full financial statements have been prepared in accordance with these accounting standards. The above summary financial standards have been prepared in accordance with the following accounting standard released by the External Reporting Board - Public Benefit Entity Financial Reporting Standard 43. A copy of the full financial statements can be obtained by writing to Scripture Union, P O Box 760, Wellington 6140.
TABLE 1 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE BY FUND Year to 31 March 2016
(NZ$) Reported Annual Surplus/ (Deficit)
Equity
Scripture Union Total
General Fund
Team Support Fund
Development Fund
Camp Working Group Funds
Other Minor Funds
Property Revaluation Reserve
447,715
46,747
21,555
188,392
3,794
3,674
183,554
3,264,280
883,042
283,776
906,572
153,029
104,124
933,737
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SCRIPTURE UNION IN NEW ZEALAND INCORPORATED
STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE REVENUE AND EXPENSE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2016
2016 NZD
2015 NZD
INCOME
Resources for Life Sales Cost of Goods Sold Gross Profit from Trading Other Income Regional & National Personal Support Donations Camp fees/event income Other Finance income Legacies Rental Income Gain/(Loss) on sale of property Total Income Employee benefit expenses Other expenses Camps - other Car Travel and other Marketing and fundraising Depreciation Office administration costs Property costs and utilities Grants made Amortisation Total Operating Expenses Surplus/(Deficit) for the year from continuing operations Other comprehensive revenue and expense Gain/(Loss) on revaluation of property Impairment provision expense Other comprehensive revenue and expense for the year Total Comprehensive revenue and expense for the year
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123,088 142,825 (71,235) (72,322) 70,504 51,852 845,994 800,655 759,124 530,171 179,470 132,711 12,635 42,634 66,691 75,053 171,984 64,924 47,356 47,926 49 3,688 2,135,155 1,768,266 1,131,104 1,211,066 159,153 151,403 157,668 131,057 65,620 109,608 122,739 115,779 69,463 63,535 41,710 47,556 64,860 104,085 20,959 20,857 37,720 29,691 1,870,994 1,984,637 1,984,637 264,161 (216,371) 183,554 (27,296) 183,554 (27.296) 447,715 (243,668) (243,668)
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INCOME FOR 2016 FINANCIAL YEAR
Gross profit from trading Donations Other Legacies Gain/loss on sale of property
Regional and national personal support Camp fees/event income Finance income Rental income
EXPENDITURE FOR 2016 FINANCIAL YEAR
Employee benefit expenses Car travel and other Office administration costs Amortisation (software) Other expenses
Marketing and fundraising Property costs and utilities Camps - other Depreciation Grants made
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SCRIPTURE UNION IN NEW ZEALAND INCORPORATED
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 MARCH 2016 2016 NZD
2015 NZD
365,980
126,844
Inventory - RFL
28,850
18,693
Receivables (from exchange transactions)
74,189
97,766
Recoverables (from non-exchange transactions)
114,414
-
Assets held for sale
37,326
-
CURRENT ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents
Investments Total current assets
996,000
906,000
1,616,759
1,149,303
CURRENT LIABILITIES Payables under exchange transactions
157,883
97,656
Employee benefits
173,059
184,190
Provision Total current liabilities Working capital
-
16,708
330,942
298,553
1,285,817
850,750
1,568,096
1,350,939
NON-CURRENT ASSETS Property, plant and equipment Intangible assets
134,344
140,042
Investments
355,000
550,000
2,057,439
2,040,981
Total non-current assets NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
78,976
75,166
78,976
75,166
Net assets
3,264,280
2,816,565
Equity
3,264,280
2,816,565
Employee benefits Total non-current liabilities
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SCRIPTURE UNION IN NEW ZEALAND INCORPORATED
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2016
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES CASH WAS RECEIVED FROM: Regional & National Personal Support Donations Receipts from customers Camp fees Grants & legacies Rent Other income Interest CASH WAS APPLIED TO: Payments to employees Payments to suppliers Grants Net GST Net cash flows from operating activities
NZD 2016
NZD 2015
845,994 759,124 (16,190) 179,470 171,984 47,356 12,635 92,060
800,655 530,171 130,755 132,711 64,924 47,926 42,634 69,669
(1,138,425) (639,444) (20,959) (7,722) 285,883
(1,187,237) (1,017,636) (20,857) (45,542) (451,826)
(151,746)
(252,467)
105,000
(235,000) 715,000
(46,746)
227,533
0
0
239,135 126,844 365,980 239,135
(224,294) 351,138 126,844 (224,294)
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES CASH WAS APPLIED TO: Purchases of property, plant and equipment Term investments - Purchase of Investments - Sale of Investments Net cash flows from investing activities CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES CASH WAS RECEIVED FROM: CASH WAS APPLIED TO: Net cash flows from financing activities Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents Opening cash and cash equivalents Closing cash and cash equivalents Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
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SCRIPTURE UNION IN NEW ZEALAND INCORPORATED
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2016
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2015 BALANCE AT BEGINNING OF YEAR
TOTAL NZD
GENERAL FUND
3,060,234
1,055,868
(216,371)
(192,277)
(27,296)
(27,296)
(243,668)
2,816,565
TEA SUPP FUN
ICT RESERVE
REVALUATION RESERVE
750,183
16,345
(219,573)
0
0
836,295
750,183
16,345
Reserve trfrs in Reserve trfrs out Surplus or deficit from continuing operations Other comprehensive revenue and expense - Gain/(Loss) on revaluation of property - Impairment provision expense TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE REVENUE/(EXPENSE) FOR THE YEAR BALANCE AT END OF YEAR FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2016 TOTAL NZD BALANCE AT BEGINNING OF YEAR
2,816,565
GENERAL FUND
836,295
REVALUATION RESERVE
750,183
TEA SUPP FUN
ICT RESERVE
16,345
Reserve trfrs in
(171,984)
Reserve trfrs out Surplus or deficit from continuing operations
264,161
218,730
Other comprehensive revenue and expense - Gain/(Loss) on revaluation of property
183,554
183,554
- Impairment provision expense TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE REVENUE/(EXPENSE) FOR THE YEAR BALANCE AT END OF YEAR
30
447,715
46,746
183,554
0
3,264,280
883,041
933,737
16,345
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TEAM SUPPORT FUND
16,345
J& M LAIRD FUND
TENNENT KERSLEY FUND
DEVELOPMENT FUND
CAMP AND WORKING GROUPS FUND
282,523
6,925
73,440
694,787
180,167
(20,302)
323
3,423
23,393
(30,931)
0
(20,302)
323
3,423
23,393
(30,931)
16,345
262,221
7,248
76,862
718,180
149,235
TEAM SUPPORT FUND
16,345
J& M LAIRD FUND
262,221
7,248
TENNENT KERSLEY FUND
76,862
DEVELOPMENT FUND
718,180
CAMP AND WORKING GROUPS FUND
149,235
171,984 21,555
317
3,357
16,408
3,794
0
21,555
317
3,357
188,392
3,794
16,345
283,776
7,565
80,219
906,572
153,029
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He rama tãu kupu ki õku wae
National Support Centre (Wellington) e: info@sunz.org.nz p: (04) 385 0485 p: 0508 423 836 PO Box 760 Wellington 6140 9A Oxford Terrace Mt Cook Wellington 6021
Northern Regional Office (Auckland) e: info.auckland@sunz.org.nz p: (09) 379 9363 PO Box 8517 Symonds Street Auckland 1150 6 Madeira Lane Grafton Auckland 1001
Southern Regional Office (Invercargill) e: info.southern@sunz.org.nz p: (03) 214 1834 PO Box 7 Invercargill 9840 137 Yarrow Street Invercargill 9810
He rama tāu kupu ki ōku wae - Your word is a lamp for my feet - Psalm 119:105 SUNZ is a member of the Scripture Union International Family sunz.org.nz Front & back cover image by Ben Necklen. Page 22-23 image by Wynston Cooper ARPS 32 Annual Review 2016.indd 32
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