Worship service in City Impact Church Auckland North Shore.

City Impact Church (CIC) is a pentecostal church based in Auckland, New Zealand. It operates a network of satellite churches across New Zealand, and in Canada, India, Mexico, the Philippines, and Tonga.[1][2] It operates several community outreach programmes in New Zealand, including a school, a "Community Impact" support programme, and three childcare centres.[3][4][5][6]

History

City Impact Church – Mt Wellington

Formerly known as Bays Christian Fellowship, it was founded in 1982 by current senior pastors Peter Mortlock and his wife Bev Mortlock.[7]

The church ran the television programme Impact For Life on TV channel Prime, as well as on Shine TV. The programme has been screened regularly on the Australian Christian Channel, United Christian Broadcast in UK, Power Vision in India, Cook Islands TV in Rarotonga, World Harvest Broadcasting network in Fiji and Daavo Christian Bible Channel in the Philippines.[8]

City Impact Church operates a network of churches in Auckland (North Shore, Mount Wellington, Westgate, Botany), Tauranga, Queenstown, Invercargill, and Balclutha, and has satellite churches in Canada, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Fiji and Tonga.[9][2][1]

In 2011, City Impact Church earned a revenue of $10,000,000 – roughly $6.9 million of that coming from donations.[10][11]

Community outreach programmes

City Impact Church North Shore Campus
City Impact Church North Shore Campus

City Impact Church runs several community outreach programmes including a school, a "Community Impact" support programme, and three childcare centers in Auckland and Queenstown.

City Impact Church School

CIC founded City Impact Church School in 2004, where subjects include History, Geography and Doctrine, Language, Mathematics, Science, Art, Music, Drama, PE, and Kingdom Building, and teaches Years 0 through to 13 (Primary, Intermediate and Secondary school).[12][13][14][15] It was temporarily closed in 2005 by the Ministry of Education because it was not a registered educational institution, but soon reopened once registration was complete.[16][17][18] In 2015 a new classroom block was opened to accommodate growth.[3]

Community Impact

The church runs a community support program called Community Impact,[19] which involves over 700 church volunteers going to schools, hospitals and private homes to help clean, garden and maintain properties, as they seek to put biblical principles into practice.[20][4][21][22] The church holds three or four Community Impact days a year, with volunteers reaching 150–200 homes across New Zealand.[20][23] City Impact delivers over 1000 Christmas boxes every Christmas to underprivileged individuals and families as part of their Christmas community impact day.[4] To help identify and support families City Impact works with numerous community organisations.[24]

City Impact Childcare

The church has three childcare centres, two in Auckland and one in Queenstown.[6][25] 80% of their teachers are qualified and they are open to both church members and not-church members.[6][26] In 2014 one of their head teachers, Francesca Bunting, was awarded the NZ's Most Inspiring Teachers award in the Early Childhood category.[26][27]

Activism and controversies

Opposition to same-sex marriage

Enough Is Enough rally

City Impact Church has historically worked alongside Brian Tamaki's Destiny Church. In 2004 they jointly organised the first of the Enough Is Enough rallies protesting against the legalisation of civil unions in New Zealand and promoting "traditional family values."[28] A subsequent editorial in The New Zealand Herald pointed out that "for all the fear and loathing [the march] aroused in liberal discussion" the church had done nothing to suggest "that its intentions are other than law-abiding and democratic."[29][30][28][31]

Poll controversy

In January 2013, The New Zealand Herald reported that pastor Peter Mortlock had attempted to manipulate a same-sex marriage poll.[31][32] The poll was set up on the website of Member of Parliament Murray McCully, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in reference to Louisa Wall's Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Act 2013, and asked "Do you support or oppose the proposed legislation that would make it possible for same sex couples to marry?" Mortlock emailed his congregation stating "Since we are able to vote as many times as we like, I'd encourage you to place your votes and keep checking back." The multiple votes were spotted by the McCully staff and were removed.[33]

COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, City Impact Church claimed a total of NZ$1.08 million from the Government's wage subsidy programme, including NZ$869,944.80 for 131 employees in Auckland, NZ$75,866.40 for 12 staff in Balclutha and NZ$133,562.4 for 19 employees in Queenstown.

In early October 2021, the church's leader Peter Mortlock encouraged members to attend an anti-lockdown protest in Auckland organised by Destiny Church leader Tamaki, claiming that "freedoms were being stripped away."[34][2] Following Tamaki's remand in prison for violating bail conditions, Mortlock issued a statement objecting to his imprisonment, describing it as a "sad day for New Zealand." In addition, five North Island pastors penned a letter deploring Tamaki's imprisonment and calling for his release.[35] Tamaki was subsequently released on 26 January after High Court judge Paul Davison ruled against the decision to remand him in prison. However, Tamaki was subject to new bail conditions prohibiting him from organising or participating in future anti-lockdown protests and a 24 hour curfew.[36]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Locations". City Impact Church. Archived from the original on 26 August 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Farrier, David (6 October 2021). "Destiny Church isn't the only problem; what about the white megachurches?". Stuff. Stuff. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Christian School Celebrates |". Scoop. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Church decorates Waitakere Hospital". Stuff. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  5. ↑ "Newspaper Articles". Community Impact by City Impact Church. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "About Us | Our Christian childcare centre". City Impact Church Childcare Centre. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "City Impact Church volunteers make a difference in the community". Stuff. Stuff. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "Impact for Life". City Impact Church. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "Hundreds benefit from City Impact Church's blanket drive". Stuff. Stuff. 15 June 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  10. ↑ Marvin, Frank (27 September 2012). "Huge jumps in tithes and profit at City Impact Church". Mountain Scene. Queenstown: Allied Press. p. 4. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  11. ↑ "City Impact Church". Charities Services. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Subjects". City Impact Church School. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  13. ↑ Counts, Education. "Ministry of Education - Education Counts". Education Counts. Ministry of Education. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  14. ↑ Counts, Education. "Ministry of Education - Education Counts". Education Counts. Ministry of Education. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "ERO City Impact Church School". Education Review Office. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  16. ↑ "Church school forced to shut". North Shore Local History. Auckland Council. 17 February 2005. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  17. ↑ "Church school vows to reopen". North Shore Local History. Auckland Council. 1 March 2005. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  18. ↑ "School jumps gun". North Shore Local History. Auckland Council. 10 February 2005. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  19. ↑ "Community Impact By City Impact Church". Community Impact by City Impact Church. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  20. 1 2 "Church volunteers make a big impact". Manukau Courier. Stuff. Archived from the original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  21. ↑ "City Impact Church volunteers - Well Foundation - Boosting Health & Wellness in Auckland's North and West". wellfoundation.org.nz. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  22. ↑ "City Impact Church Working Bee at Bailey Road School". www.baileyroad.school.nz. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  23. ↑ "Community Impact By City Impact Church". Community Impact by City Impact Church. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  24. ↑ "Partners & Organisations". Community Impact by City Impact Church. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  25. ↑ "City Impact Kindergarten". ChildcareOnline.co.nz. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  26. 1 2 "Welcome to City Impact Church Childcare". Vimeo. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  27. ↑ "The Warehouse Group Limited Annual Report 2014". The Warehouse Group. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  28. 1 2 "Auckland civil union march noisy but peaceful". The New Zealand Herald. Auckland. 5 March 2005. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  29. ↑ Bailey, Michael; Redden, Guy, eds. (2011). Mediating Faiths: Religion and Socio-cultural Change in the Twenty-first Century. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-7546-6786-5.
  30. ↑ "Editorial: Church has every right to be heard". The New Zealand Herald. 25 August 2004. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  31. 1 2 Samways, Ana (16 January 2013). "Sideswipe: Jan 16: Plate with confusing point". The New Zealand Herald. Auckland. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  32. ↑ Littauer, Dan (16 January 2013). "Pastor caught rigging New Zealand gay marriage poll". Gay Star News. London. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  33. ↑ Pinfold, Corinne (17 January 2013). "New Zealand pastor accused of trying to rig equal marriage poll". Pink News. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  34. ↑ Tan, Lincoln (6 October 2021). "Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Churches supporting anti-lockdown rally took more than $1.2m from Government's wage subsidy scheme". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  35. ↑ Burrows, Matt (22 January 2022). "Kiwi pastors pen letter urging Brian Tamaki's prison release, say his arrest is 'warning sign' for Christians". Newshub. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  36. ↑ "Brian Tamaki walks free: Destiny Church leader wins appeal against being remanded in custody". The New Zealand Herald. 26 January 2022. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.

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