Prayer for Papamoa
Situated in the Bay of Plenty region on the northeastern coast of the North Island, Papamoa is the largest suburb in Tauranga, just 11 kilometers from the city centre. Known for its miles of white sandy beach which stretches from Mount Maunganui to the Kaituna River, Papamoa is growing fast.
‘It’s exploding in population,’ explains Lieutenant Ben Willis. ‘It used to be the little sibling of Mt Maunganui but now they both have similar populations and Papamoa is predicted to double, reaching between 40 and 50 thousand by 2040. It’s a place on the up and up!’
Lieutenants Ben and Jesse Willis, along with their two young children, were appointed as planting officers of Papamoa Salvation Army in January. In August the couple launched a 24/7 prayer campaign inviting salvationists across the territory to sign up and pray for the plant throughout September.
‘Since the beginning we’ve had a prayer intercessors group that we send a regular email to,’ says Ben. ‘The 24/7 prayer campaign is about taking that prayer support further and with the start of house church, our first official gathering, the timing couldn’t have been better.’
In a moment of transparency, Jesse says she had a bit of trepidation about asking people to sign up and pray for the plant. ‘What if we put it out there and no one signs up? But I’ve been so humbled and so blessed by people’s willingness to pray! I don’t know why I was so surprised that people would want to pray so that in itself has been huge for me—a real encouragement!’
Ben adds, ‘It’s felt like a real aroha korowai (cloak of love) is wrapped around us and that’s pretty neat.’
Jesse explains that planting has meant a significant slowing down of ministry pace, with prayer and seeking God a central part of their routine and rhythm.
‘So far we’ve been preparing the soil before planting really by praying and surveying the land and getting to know the community,’ she says. ‘We’ve been keeping an eye out for where the need is and where the gaps are and so on. We’ve been slowly getting to know people.’
Ben adds that many of the connections they’ve made have been with those who have moved to Papamoa in the last five years.
‘They’ve said there’s a lack of community connection here in Papamoa so our ideas about planting have grown from noticing this. House church came about because we sensed a need to bring people together to connect and build relationships, so it’s about sharing a meal and doing life together.’
Ben says the house church group is made up of people they connected with through a series of ‘divine appointments’ with locals, Family Store volunteers and even a customer.
‘We expect to be a pretty small group to start with and go from there and try and build a team. At this stage it’s not about Sunday services but about encouraging and equipping each other to be sent out to fulfil God’s mission in our own lives every day. We also really care about planting intergenerationally, and Next Gen ministry is very important in our thinking about the future. It’s all pretty exciting really!’
