KEY POINTS:
Taggers painted the whole front side of a church on Dawson Rd, in Otara, at the weekend.
East Tamaki Congregational Christian Church of Samoa has been defaced with graffiti once before, with the congregation being forced to pay to have the tags removed.
Church minister Peniamina Vai says he cannot understand why kids tag, especially when the buildings they tag have been put up for their benefit.
"The church is here for them.
"Everything we do, the preschool we set up, the Sunday school, is for them. I don't understand why they want to wreck that."
Graffiti tagging has been around for up to 40 to 50 years, with hip hop music videos making them popular among youths.
A major problem in South Auckland, Mr Peniamina says he usually sees graffiti around shops and on the street, but cannot believe it has hit churches.
"It just tells you that kids are not valuing the church any more.
"And yet the church is not here to harm them, rather it's here to help their thinking."
Mr Peniamina acknowledges the hardships many young people face, but says more involvement from parents is needed to stop bad behaviour.
"It's a reminder to people that values must still be taught strongly to children.
"Don't stop teaching your kids good and right from wrong, because that is a parent's role."
