All About Community

Westgate Corps in Auckland is prioritising connections and relationships with their community and reaping the benefits.

A lifetime Salvationist, Auxiliary Captain Ian Wells has been part of Westgate Corps (church) in
West Auckland for 27 years. Unexpectedly, but happily, Ian became the corps officer (leader) in 2021. Enthusiasm for his new role radiates from Ian and he has no regrets about leaving the corporate world.

‘Sure, the to-do list is never-ending,’ laughs Ian. ‘But I just love seeing God at work in this beautiful community.’
Ian’s a Westie from way back, so he’s seen it all and not much surprises him anymore. But what is new in West Auckland are the people moving in from other parts of Auckland. Some are grappling with Westie culture and the team at Westgate are speaking into that.

‘Yes, crime happens in West Auckland,’ explains Ian. ‘We know that, so we look out for each other, we support each other and we help each other. That’s the Westie way—we just get on with it! The current financial crunch and new high-density housing is bringing people to us who don’t know this good stuff about West Auckland—yet!’

Ian highlights the relationship the corps has with the local PAK’nSAVE.

‘If you go down to PAK’nSAVE any day of the week, you get to see West Auckland shining bright! PAK’nSAVE has a big crate in their foyer all year round for food donations to the Sallies. We are blessed abundantly! And that just speaks to the character and generosity of Westies. That’s who we are. And as The Salvation Army, we’re part of that culture. So, we keep building connections with our community and demonstrate Christ’s love and abundant life through who we are, to whoever comes across our path.’

All about community

When asked what Westgate Corps is known for, Ian doesn’t hesitate.

‘We’re known for being The Salvation Army! A place where people can come for help and know they will receive it with love and respect. We’re known for being a compassionate Army and people find love here. Authentic love. We don’t have an ulterior motive. We’re not trying to grab ya and convert ya! We just want to love people and, when the opportunity arises, introduce them to Christ authentically. But it starts with being part of the neighbourhood.’

Ian makes no bones about the fact that Westgate Salvation Army is community centric.

‘We’re not a corps that is centred around worship on Sundays—we do community seven days a week. The Family Store is integral to our context and key to our community connection. Without a doubt it funds our wider mission, and with team leader,
Noue Price, who is also part of the corps, God has created a harmonious link!’

Ian explains that the call to connect in a deeper way with the local community emerged from conversations at a local leadership summit in 2018. Captains Dan and Juanita Buckingham were the officers during that season, and concern for the local community rose to the surface and became a conviction and a calling that remains to this day.

‘From that conversation we decided that we would do whatever we could to contribute to building a healthy community. We’ve remained faithful to that vision. What I love most about Westgate, eight years later, is that we are not just an appendage to the community, we are part of the community.’

All sorts of community groups, including rugby clubs, orchestras, businesses, local families and other churches, use the facility for meetings, rehearsals, team-building days, dinners and birthday parties—
you name it! At Westgate Salvation Army, community connections are prioritised, and the recent building redesign is all about the ongoing implementation of that vision.

Building the dream

It was the early 1980s when a much younger Ian was attending New Lynn Corps and heard about a new ministry taking place in someone’s garage a few suburbs away in Massey. Soon the work was recognised, leaders appointed and the fledgling Massey Corps was born. It wasn’t long before the land the corps currently sits on was purchased. In the late 90s, stage one of building the Westgate Shopping Centre began, and with the Northwestern Motorway connection to the Northern Motorway opening in 2006, the name of the corps was changed to the more appropriate Westgate Corps. Over the years, the parcel of land was added to, and, in June 2021, 22 social housing units were built next to the corps buildings, making it the first combined site in the country.

Originally, the main entrance to the corps buildings opened onto Don Buck Road. However, with the social housing at the back of the site, and in anticipation of the 10,000 planned houses for a new adjacent suburb called West Hills, the mission centre building has been redesigned and extended, with the new entrance opening onto brand new Kāpia and Manarini Roads.

‘Our concern is that all these houses just become dwellings, rather than homes that are part of a community. We are trying to take a leadership role in growing community in our own backyard,’ says Ian.

The new look Westgate Salvation Army building (pictured on the previous page) was opened in February 2025 by Commissioner Janine Donaldson, and includes the Family Store, auditorium and worship space, prayer room, versatile office and community rooms, kitchen, gym and staff room, with the spacious Koinonia Café, which is open to the public five days a week, sitting very intentionally in the centre. A labour of love, prayer and pivoting, the corps did all of this without leaving the site!

‘We moved the Family Store into the auditorium, and our worship services into the foyer,’ explains Ian. ‘We navigated temporary car parks and building delays. We took the existing building and extended out the back along the same roof line and flipped the auditorium 180 degrees. There were certainly a lot of challenges, but it was so worth it!’

Stories that speak

When Ian says Westgate Sallies are not just an appendage to the community but part of it, he’s not exaggerating. The stories speak for themselves.

During the building project, Community Ministries Manager Wendy Lokeni needed a suitable place to work from. The local library, Te Manawa, came to the rescue—and for free!

‘Wendy does our financial mentoring and food security. Any connection becomes a relationship when she’s involved,’ explains Ian.
As Christmas loomed large, it became apparent that the building was not going to be ready for the annual hamper preparations. Wendy spoke with her friends at Te Manawa, and they were immediately on board.

‘Recognising the value in community connection and sharing our passion, they gave us the use of their conference facility free of charge! I was so excited, but in those early conversations I had to make sure they knew exactly what they were getting into, like, are you sure you’re happy with us bringing six freezers in and setting them up on your parquet flooring?!’

PAK’nSAVE also got involved and not only underwrote 250 hampers, but staff helped pack the hampers—with some who had never been inside Te Manawa before! They were joined by the community group Massey Matters, and when the building refurbishment was completed and planning for opening celebrations were underway, Wendy reached out again and volunteers from Massey Matters and Te Manawa came to help.

‘We catered for 120 people, with one of our Family Store team members doing the cooking and all these wonderful people helping with the serving and clean-up,’ explains Ian. ‘So much of what we do is supported and financed through community connections and engagement, so we prioritise community connections and engagement. It’s a beautiful thing!’

Serving up love

Community connections are also being fostered and celebrated between corps in West Auckland as the
new café is managed by Ree Tupe, a soldier from Waitākere Central Corps.

‘Ree is a beautiful Westie,’ says Ian. ‘She’s the right person for the job and great with people. But initially, she didn’t know how to make coffee! I spoke to our coffee supplier (Monsoon) when we were setting up and he said, “Ian, don’t worry. I can teach anyone to make coffee in one morning! Find the right person—it’s the character and passion you want—making coffee can be taught.” He was right and what Ree is doing to build community in that space is just wonderful!’

Ian shares stories of Westies from all sorts of backgrounds who are finding the café to be a place where they feel safe and included. It may have only been open for a few months but it’s making an impact already. A local community group who are facilitating a neighbourhood clean-up day got in touch to see if they could end their day with coffee at Koinonia Café!

‘That’s it,’ says Ian. ‘That’s people hearing about us because we are participating in our community in an authentic and loving way. Just offering what we have with Christ’s love.’

While serving up love is a privilege, it’s also a challenge. For a time, a woman known to the Community Ministries team was sleeping rough around the neighbourhood. People were concerned and thought she might be dangerous.

‘We were able to speak into that and say, “Hey, look, you don’t have to be too concerned about this lady. She is known to us, and there are complex issues for her. She just feels that this is a safe part of town to sleep in.” And people tended to hear that because we offered a voice that reminded everyone, she was human; someone having a rough time, but not a threat or a danger. We asked people to keep an eye out for her safety rather than keeping an eye on her.’

Grateful for community

Westgate Corps recently did a thanksgiving campaign at PAK’nSAVE to acknowledge the community support for The Salvation Army. ‘Shieldy [Army mascot] joined us, and we went down and handed out chocolates. People couldn’t process that we weren’t asking for money! But it was so good to be able to say, “Hey, we just want to thank you for supporting us. No strings!”‘