Harvest Centre Senior Pastors Dave and Jill Moore. Mr Moore said church has to be relevant to people's lives. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER
Drive past any of Rotorua's churches on a Sunday and you will likely notice the scores of cars up and down the road. Alison King finds out why locals are seeking out religion.
Living Well church pastor Andrew Parrington believes people are seeking something else to add to their lives.
The church has a regular congregation of about 300 for its Sunday morning service and 180 at the evening service.
"I definitely think this year we've seen an increase in attendance," he said.
"I think there's a genuine hunger, a return to perhaps searching again. I don't know what the trigger is, or why it's happening but I'm glad it is happening."
Even with a congregation of around 300, Mr Parrington believes there is still room for more.
"We think Rotorua is capable of larger congregations. We are familiar with churches in this country with 100 on a Sunday morning in our style of church."
Living Well was founded in 1990 by Mr Parrington and six others. It started with just those seven people and has grown over the years.
Mr Parrington said they were visited by a lot of out-of-town worshippers looking for a place to worship on a Sunday, but they also had a steady stream of people inquiring for longer term worship.
"There's definitely a searching again and that's quite exciting to see. I've not seen a wave like this for a while.
"They don't come because they necessarily know what they are looking for. They come because they are hoping to find something when they come."
For Maxine Rennie QSM St Faith's will always have a place in her life - and in death. At 77 she has been a parishioner all her life and as is tradition among Ohinemutu villagers, she will continue to worship there until her last breath.
"When you live in the village you live with the people around you," Mrs Rennie said.
"The meeting house, dining room and church are the buildings that surround you, they are part of our normal world. I was christened there, confirmed there.
"I've been to other churches for funerals and weddings but I've not attended any other church for worship."
The missionaries in the 19th century divided up the Ohinemutu residents depending on which side of the meeting house they sat. Her aunt grew up a Catholic attending St Michael's as a result, with her immediate family Anglican.
St Faith's is a traditional church, she said, the parishioners growing old, and the young attending churches "with music, screens and dancing".
Mrs Rennie said despite this she felt St Faith's held such a strong position in the village that it would continue on with its traditional approach.
Its minister, the Reverend Tom Poata, is a true man of the people, she said, and followed a long line of "beautiful ministers".
"He is such a hard case, very intellectual and very quick-witted, which sometimes makes us sit up. I remember when Bishop Bennett died. We stood to attention and sang his favourite hymn.
"The minister baptises, confirms, marries and buries us. He does the whole spectrum that meets our needs and our role is to support him in his role."
Her own favourite hymns are Holy, Holy, Holy and Nearer, My God, To Thee. Her 77 years of worship mean she has plenty to choose from and can sing them from her heart.
Likewise, she knows the Lord's Prayer in Te reo - half of the St Faith's service is in Maori.
"Ohinemutu and St Faith's are unique. It's a very special place."
Churchgoers from the past may be surprised at what a Sunday service now looks like, at the Harvest Apostolic Church at least.
Senior pastor Dave Moore was brought up Anglican, but he said it had no relevance to his life. He rediscovered church while at university and his calling as a pastor eventuated. The church moved 16 months ago from industrial Old Taupo Rd to the former Centre for Performing Arts at Westbrook.
"I grew up thinking church was irrelevant for real life," Mr Moore admits.
"How relevant a church is deemed to be for a community these days, most people are in a time warp and had their church experience over 50 years ago. Most are surprised at the vibrancy, style of music and how they can connect.
"The way the church delivers the message is changing but the message is still the same." He said they no longer used hymn books, instead projecting song lyrics onto a screen and there is no organ, instead the church has its own band.
About half of the Harvest Apostolic Church's 250 congregation are children and teenagers, Mr Moore said. They have a strong youth ministry, with teenagers whose families are not church members.
"While most people nowadays don't grow up attending church, there's that need in people's lives to wonder what life is about. Some people when they come along are pleasantly surprised by what they find; even shocked a little." People sometimes came due to circumstances but not always.