Churches are for sale all over New Zealand. (Northern News, December 10, 2014)

A parish council chairwoman says that:

—  “Christian worshippers on a  regular basis are dwindling.”

—  “we are almost a third-world country when it comes to Christianity.”

—  “we need to minister to ourselves instead of sending people overseas.”

This church in Cambridge in NZ is now a coffee shop

In the article I am reading that there is one church for sale in Whangarei. It used to be an Exclusive Brethren church, before it became a funeral parlour. The building has a commercial kitchen and a walk-in chiller.

“Latest Statistics New Zealand census figures show the number of New Zealanders who affiliate with a religion has dropped 5.5 per cent since 2006, a trend reflected in any area except Auckland, which had a 1.2 per cent increase in the number of religious residents.”

But let us always remember that the church is not a building, the church is the people.