About us
Welcome to Central! We are a caring, loving, welcoming community that provides a safe place for everyone to experience the love of God and grow in their walk with Jesus. We are a compassionate whānau of faith learning to share the love of Jesus with the people and places around us under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We hold diverse views on a range of topics, yet we are committed to walk together in unity in Christ. We are guided by Ephesians 4:2-3 We welcome people of all ethnicities, nationalities, ages, genders, varying physical abilities and socio-economic levels. We welcome women in leadership in the church, including serving in a pastoral role. LGBTQ+ followers of Jesus are welcome to participate in leadership and service in our faith community.
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Meet our Team
Our story...
Our story...
We’re part of a great story! Since the beginning of time, God the Father has been at work through the Son and by the Holy Spirit to bring heaven on earth. At the end of time, we’re promised, the work will be finished when heaven and earth are finally united. And here in the middle of history, we’ve been caught up in this heaven-on-earth story through Jesus, who came saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus lived, died, was raised to life, and returned to heaven, before sending the Holy Spirit to rest on his followers, his church. The same Jesus is at work here in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington): Jesus still sends us his Spirit, still invites us to receive the love of God for ourselves, still calls us to share it with the people and places around us. That’s the story we’re part of at Central Baptist.
Beyond Ourselves
At Central we are keen to demonstrate God’s love and concern for the world.
Candle People
As well as partnering with organisations for the good of Wellington (see “Guiding Stars”), most Sundays at Central we light candles and pray for people from our community who are involved in mission initiatives around the world. We currently support people who are partners of the agencies above.
Being Baptist
Wellington Central Baptist Church is a member of Te Hāhi Iriiri o Aotearoa (Baptist Churches of New Zealand). In fact, in October 1882 our church played host to the official formation of the Baptist Union of New Zealand. And what makes us “Baptist”?
The Baptist movement’s one great distinctive—and its one great contribution to the wider body of Christ—is its radical vision of the church.
The early Baptists form[ed] radical communities of believers who were deeply committed to God and to one another. Drawing on Scripture, they argued that a true church is a community of disciples who Christ gathers together to live under his rule in committed relationship both with God and each other. (You can find out more about what New Zealand Baptists believe here.)
Aside from this one distinctive, Baptists believe in common with the great tradition of the Christian church. A good summary of our beliefs can be found in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds.
