We invite your church to join us on the Eco Church journey!

Joining Eco Church means becoming part of a nationwide movement of churches who are committed to working towards integrating creation care into every aspect of what it means to do and be the Church. Joining Eco Church is a statement of intent - a declaration that your church community is concerned about the environment and wants to do something about it. By joining, you’ll have access to:

• Support from our Eco Church team.

• Support from other Eco Churches and the wider community.

• Resources, events, and updates to keep your church motivated and informed.

• Priority access to our youth and youth leaders training course - He Māhuri Tōtara programme.

It’s free to register, but we do ask you and/or your church to consider giving to A Rocha Aotearoa New Zealand to support the project and our work in Aotearoa New Zealand. Your church is invited to fundraise for the Eco Church project or to take up a special offering at least once a year towards the Eco Church cause.

Do you have more questions? Contact our Eco Church Regional Coordinators below or check out some frequently asked questions here:

How do I join?

Simply click the button below to fill out the registration form with basic details about your church. Before you submit the registration form, ensure that you have:

• Approval from your church decision-making body. As this a commitment by a congregation or parish, we need approval from its decision-making body. This varies by denomination but it could be the Vestry or Parish Council - or it could be a pastor, minister, priest or other clergy. The Eco Church NZ Relationship Commitments document sets out the commitments to each other as we journey together to care for God’s earth and is a useful document to share with the decision-making body.

• A contact person. We ask for at least one contact person to be named on the registration form - we call these people our Eco Church “kaihāpai” (advocate / promoter / champion). This should be the point person for us to get in contact with to chat about Eco Church at your church.

What happens next?

Once you’ve registered your church, you are part of the Eco Church whānau! Nau mai, haere mai!

We will:

• Send you a welcome email to confirm that you are now a part of the Eco Church Aotearoa network!

• Add you to the mailing lists you subscribed to. If you did not subscribe when you register, please sign up for the A Rocha e-news to keep up-to-date with news and upcoming events. Anyone is welcome to join the mailing list.

• Put your church on the Eco Church Aotearoa locations map.

• Introduce you to the Eco Church Regional Coordinator in your region.

• Send you an Eco Church sign that you can put up at your church.

Next steps for your church:

• Join the Eco Church NZ group on the A Rocha Aotearoa New Zealand Facebook page to chat with others and support each other.

• Join our next Kaihapai Kōrero and Eco Church Wānanga to connect with other like-minded people around the country.

• Get people together to form an eco team. Having a team is going to be helpful to get energy and momentum behind the eco church kaupapa. People with different skills and passion can share the load, pray together, support each other, and explore different areas together. If possible, a member of the eco team should also be part of the leadership team so that the eco church kaupapa is integrated into the rest of the church. Give your team a name if you like, create a group chat, and set regular meeting times.

• Ensure your Eco Church intentions are visible to the whole church community - more keen people might put their hands up to join the eco team. You may want to consider:

  • Holding an Eco Church launch service.

  • Introducing the Eco Church team to the whole congregation during a service.

  • Having an Eco Church / creation care notice board.

  • Featuring an Eco Church section or creation care tips in the church newsletter.

  • Sharing about your church’s commitment to creation care on your church website.

• Once you have a team together and you’re ready to embark on the Eco Church journey. Go to our Get Started page and begin the iterative journey of setting goals, taking action, and reviewing and sharing your story.