A Rocha Aotearoa New Zealand established the Eco Church Aotearoa Project in 2020 as an ecumenical initiative to support church communities across Aotearoa to actively care for God’s earth as an integral part of their mission.

Now more than ever, church communities are waking up to the call to actively care for the environment. Over the last 15 years we have been on a journey, building strong relationships with Christian environmental leaders in the A Rocha network, with church / hāhi communities and local government agencies, growing a network of people who recognise that caring for the environment is essential to a life of faith. Our focus has been on developing a new generation of kaitiaki through nature-based and ecology focused camps for rangatahi and tamariki, tertiary level eco-theology courses, environment and theology focused publications, seminars and hui, nature-based restoration projects and sustainability workshops.

Our programmes support and grow the capacity and capability of whānau, the church / hāhi, community and partner organisations. Through strong collaborations we have been able to grow the urgent call for churches and partner organisations in Aotearoa to the theological imperative to care for God’s creation as part of their mission.

What does Eco Church do?

Eco Church Aotearoa works alongside eco church advocates / kaihāpai, church leaders, environmental leaders, rangatahi and tamariki, denominational bodies, and other organisations - anyone with the common goal to see church communities across Aotearoa take an active role in caring for God’s creation.

We support church communities, eco church teams and eco church champions and help them get started and get organised. Being a part of the Eco Church Aotearoa whānau means that we are not journeying on our own. We are part of a bigger mission spanning various parishes, church groups and denominations across Aotearoa. We are gathering our efforts under one umbrella – to give voice and momentum to our efforts. We support each other through the celebration of knowledge and stories which inspires others to action. Collectively our actions lead to a measurable reduction in waste, carbon, pollution, energy use and much more, and leads to more sustainable ways of living that restores and enhances our natural environment.

Why the Eco Church Aotearoa project?

We are responding to three biblical challenges:

1. Living a faithful life - following Jesus

   Caring for God’s earth is an integral aspect of Christian discipleship. It is first and foremost a response of faithfulness and gratitude to the One who created the earth in love and entrusted humans to care for it.

2. Loving our neighbours in a resource-limited world

   Demand for the natural resources that humans depend on has doubled in the last 50 years. At the same time, global diversity is in steep decline, the scale and rate of climate change impacts are increasing, and ecosystem processes are being disrupted beyond their ability to recover. The earth’s ability to support human life is being rapidly depleted, and the poor are suffering most.

   We want to achieve transformational change for our natural world, and by doing so create a better world for both people and nature - our neighbours.

3. Reflecting and protecting the glory of God

   Caring for God’s earth is an essential part of the church’s mission in the world. We know that churches can be agents of restoration and healing in their local communities. Churches can be places where Christians model ways of living sustainably that give hope.

   Whether individually or collectively - we can all make a difference. Many people have already connected to A Rocha in a variety of ways - and together we inspire and motivate each other to connect the good news of Jesus to the pressing environmental issues of our day. Working in partnership, we are uniting together to address the most challenging issues of our time.

Who’s behind Eco Church Aotearoa?

Eco Church Aotearoa is a project of A Rocha Aotearoa New Zealand. We are made up of a small team of staff and volunteers who have built strong relationships with Christian environmental leaders, church communities, local government agencies, community conservation groups, individuals and a wide range of organisations across the country.

The Eco Church Aotearoa project is supported and endorsed by denominational groups and organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand who share our concerns for a sustainable world. We also collaborate with and are supported by the A Rocha worldwide family and their network of Eco Church projects in other countries.