October Newsletter
Hopeful Leadership in a Time of Challenge
Many young Christian leaders today feel a deep burden for the world they have inherited. Climate anxiety, political polarisation, and the sense that “things are getting worse” can be overwhelming. Yet history offers a different perspective; one of slow but extraordinary transformation, much of it driven by people of faith who persevered over decades.
As Marian Tupy and other researchers have shown, the past 250 years have witnessed sweeping advances in human dignity, freedom, and wellbeing.
Women’s rights, once barely recognised, have expanded across cultures. Education for girls, protection from violence, and the ability to participate fully in society were unimaginable for much of history. Likewise, the treatment of the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned has been transformed. Christian influence was central to these shifts: from the first hospitals and schools, to the prison reforms of John Howard, to William Wilberforce’s decades-long campaign to abolish the slave trade. These victories were not quick. They required patience, prayer, and a belief that even entrenched injustices can be overcome.
Warfare, while in our face at the moment with the horrific casualties in Palestine and Ukraine, is thankfully a lot less prevalent for the majority of the world's population. Ordinary people who for centuries were conscripted into brutal conflicts now live in a world where traditionally fought large-scale war between great powers is rare.
Environmental concerns, by contrast, are relatively new on the global stage. Only in the past 30 years have most people begun to grasp the scale of our impact on the planet. It is understandable that many feel overwhelmed. Yet the very fact that environmental damage is now widely acknowledged and that cleaner technologies are emerging signals the beginning of another great transformation.
For young Christian leaders, this history should nurture hope rather than despair. The same God is at work today. He’s the one who stirred past generations to end slavery, reform prisons, and lift millions from poverty. Change may seem slow, but when measured against the sweep of history, progress can be astonishingly swift.
Your calling is not to carry the whole burden of the world, but to be faithful in the place you stand and confident that even small, persistent efforts can, in God’s timing, reshape society. Let the story of the past 250 years remind you: despair paralyses, but hope mobilises. The Church’s long record of reform is evidence that with vision, courage, and prayer today’s challenges, including environmental stewardship, can also be met.
Signs of Hope:
Progress in Human Well-being & Women’s Rights: 1800 vs 2025 📈
Here's a table summarising key indicators of human well-being and women's rights, comparing the approximate state of the world in 1800 with 2025. This table is based on indicative data and highlights significant historical progress;
(Sources: Our World in Data, World Bank, WHO, IPU, Marian Tupy’s Cato/“HumanProgress” data, historical demography.)
Ian Kuperus
Founder, Wilberforce Foundation
Lunch and Learn:
Jay Ruka in discussion with Chris Clarke
Chris and Jay will explore the latter's experience as the pioneering director of Te Manu Hononga: Sir Paul Reeves Centre, an education initiative inspired by the life and work of Sir Paul Reeves.
Jay will share with us the journey of creating the Sir Paul Reeves Centre, the opportunities it offers, and how peace and reconciliation are key focus points for us all moving forward as a nation, as a for-purpose sector and as people who love Jesus.
Join us at the Auckland Prayer Breakfast
We still have room at our table!
Wilberforce will have a table at the annual Auckland Prayer Breakfast on October 30th.
This is a wonderful opportunity to join with Christian leaders from across the city to pray for our community and to connect with others who are passionate about seeing Auckland thrive.
We have ten places available at our table for members of our network. If you would like to secure a spot, please contact Melanie directly as soon as possible.
Learn more about the event on our website here
H.O.ME.
Helping Couples Get on the Same Page
Home is a 6-month leadership development programme for couples to explore their vocation, calling, wiring, and gifting. It is aimed at helping couples who have faith-based roles, or where one is a church/for-purpose leader and the other works in a different field, get on the same page about their missional call together.
Weekend One: Auckland 31 October 11am - 1 November 3pm
Weekend Two: Christchurch 13 March 11am - 14 March 3pm
We have some 1/2 price scholarships available for the Wilberforce community, so get in touch today to secure your spot.
Learn more about the event by visiting our website here
Join us at 'Good News for Aotearoa'
Encouraging Evangelism across New Zealand
We’re gathering evangelists, gospel workers, and ministry leaders from across Aotearoa for two catalytic days — and we’d love you to be there.
It will be a time to be encouraged and inspired in your work for the Lord, as well as an opportunity to meet others from across the motu who feel called to share the Lord’s heart with those around them.
Speaker: Jon Hori from seeJesus - A Global Discipling Ministry
Date: 10–11 October 2025
Location: The Journey, Greenlane, Auckland (1 Marewa Road, Greenlane)
Cost: $80 per person (waged) $50 (unwaged)
Purchase your tickets below or read more in our information pack.
Celebrating our own:
The Wilberforce Scholarship Alumni Dinner
A night of celebration and inspiration for scholarship alumni.
The Wilberforce Scholarship Committee recently hosted a dinner for our alumni, a wonderful evening celebrating the newest scholarship recipients. The night was a perfect mix of celebration, connection, delicious food, and inspirational kōrero.
This event honoured the "dream chasers," the next generation of leaders who understand their purpose and are committed to making a difference. The evening was a powerful tribute to their hard work and a look ahead to the incredible things they will achieve.
Mauri ora! Here’s to the future leaders and their incredible journeys.
Lunch and Learn
Watch now: Legal "Ask me Anything"
Steven Moe, Partner at Parry Field Lawyers, shares his legal expertise on questions posed by those working in the for-purpose sector.
The recording is now available. Please click below to see the full video.
Free trust deed legal advice
There are still a few spots available!
Steven Moe, partner at Parry Field Lawyers and friend of the Wilberforce community, has offered to review the trust deeds of ten Wilberforce community members for free.
Recent legislative and regulatory changes mean your trust deed may be out of date. If yours was written by typewriter or has not been reviewed in a while, please contact Melanie (melanie@wilberforce.org.nz) to take up Steven’s offer.
The first ten responses will receive the deal.
Also, the Parry Field Lawyers website has many free guides and resources for faith-based groups and not-for-profits, including:
• The 7 Principles of Governance for Faith-Based Groups
• Charities and Tax
• Historical Abuse in Care – Best Practice Guide
• Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand – A Legal Handbook
• Nature as Shareholder
• The Circle - Careers with Impact
• Monthly emails on happenings in the Impact Sector
All these resources are available free of charge. For further guidance, you can contact Steven and the team at Parry Field Lawyers
This month, Rev Dr Kaite Marcar from Senior Teaching Fellow and Research Fellow in Biblical Studies at the University of Otago offers a glimpse into her current reading list; books that have, in a sense, found her. We hope you enjoy her reflections and are inspired to discover a new book of your own
About Rev Dr Kaite Marcar
Rev Dr Katie Marcar is a Senior Teaching Fellow and Research Fellow in Biblical Studies at the University of Otago. She is fascinated by the complexity of ancient literature and seeks to share this passion with her students. For Katie, academic pursuits and priestly vocation complement one another, because both are ultimately about pursuing that which is true, good, and beautiful.
What I've been reading...
One of the wonderful things about the reading life is the serendipity (or perhaps, providence) of books; encountering the right book at the right time. Sometimes we choose a book, but sometimes books choose us. The list of books below is a list of those which have found me, one way or another. Most of them I probably wouldn’t have picked up if they hadn’t been recommended or given to me, so I am thankful for refreshment that comes through reading something a bit different. I haven’t finished them, but I’ve been dipping into all of them, and am much better for it.
A Primer in Ecotheology: Theology for a Fragile Earth, by Celia E. Deane-Drummond.
I received this book when I attended the Sacred Ground eco-theology event recently in Dunedin, which was hosted by Wilberforce and the Longview Trust. Being able to name agrarianism has already helped me to think about these issues more clearly.
Being a Human: Adventures in Forty Thousand Years of Consciousness, by Charles Foster.
Thinking about what it means to be human and how humans relate to their environment is also a key theme in this memorable and distinctly peculiar book. The person who gave it to me didn’t want to spoil it for me, so I won’t say anything more about it to you, either.
Resurrecting Easter: How the West Lost and the East Kept the Original Easter Vision, by John Dominic Crossan and Sarah Crossan.
In this book, husband and wife team John Dominic Crossan and Sarah Crossan narrate their extensive travels visiting ancient churches and holy places. Through their travels, they begin to pay close attention to the way in which the resurrection is depicted in Christian iconography. The book is beautifully illustrated with many colour images, which alone are worth the effort of getting a hold of a copy.
The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, by Alan Jacobs.
This delightful, energetic, and quirky volume is a spirited encouragement to those who once loved reading but now find themselves increasingly distracted. If that sounds like you, please pick up this little volume. It may just help you rediscover your love of reading.
Wilberforce Community Newsletter
If you have any announcements, stories, or events you’d like to share with our community, please send them to us.
All articles should be sent to news@wilberforce.org.nz
Deadline for article submissions: the 12th of every month.
The newsletter will be distributed on the third Wednesday of every month.
Thank you for your continued engagement, and we look forward to hearing from you.
