Our Mission
Sharing Jesus, Bringing Hope
People matter to God. The Mission of God is transforming the world one person, one land, one group, one tribe, one nation, one language, one culture, one generation, one woman, one man, one child at a time.
Napier Baptist Church loves mission both in and out of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Our Values
Compassion
Is caring deeply enough to reach out and help bring freedom.
Kindness
Is giving true grace and love without fear and without expecting anything in return.
Humility
Is abandoning conceit and judgment, and instead seeing and championing the good in others.
Gentleness
A strength which shows respect and uncompromising tenderness.
Patience
Working persistently with God's agenda in God's time without hurry and stress.
Our People
Andrew and Sonja Mitchell
Senior Pastor
On Sunday 12 February 2023, Napier Baptist Church will commission Andrew Mitchell as Pastor. Our congregation is excited to see this currently vacant lead position so ably filled.
Andrew and his wife Sonja bring well-rounded pastoral experiences to Napier Baptist, including outreach ministries, relationship building with local community organisations, and establishing a church as a significant community hub. They have together been directly involved in church growth and programme developments, such as youth groups, internship programmes, home and study groups, all which support the congregation and its community to live meaningful God-centred lives.
Andrew and Sonja bring nine years of formalised pastoral work. They have been committed Christians all their lifetime.
Andrew and Sonja have six children and nine grandchildren.
Margaret Foster
Administrator
Margaret has danced and taught Maths from Bolivia to Italy to Taiwan. She now grows orchids and tutors teenagers.
John Bebarfald
Leadership Team
John is a retired project manager who loves cycling and is passionate about fitness.
RuthThomas
Leadership Team
Ruth has a lifetime experience in education and loves the outdoors.
PatSwinburn
Leadership Team
Pat is a former business owner with a highly creative mind. She also has a passion for Golf in her spare time.
Napier Baptist Church is a member church of the Baptist Union Of New Zealand.
Our History
Napier Baptist Church has been sharing the good news of Jesus across our city for more than 130 years. The church was started in 1887 and is one of the early Baptist churches in the country.
The first church building was opened in 1888 in Hooper's Lane, Napier completely free of debt. The first service in Hastings was held in 1894 and grew into Hastings Baptist Church. The Napier Baptist Church buildings in the CBD were destroyed in the 1931 earthquake, but the church grew and thrived despite adversity.
The first meetings in Taradale began in 1952 and subsequently became the former Taradale Baptist Church. The present Napier Baptist buildings were opened in 1968 on land that rose out of the estuary following the earthquake.