WHO WE ARE
Whether you find yourself new here because you are interested in Jesus, have just started following him or have moved from another place or space, welcome! We count it a privilege to be able to journey with you, and we pray that your life will be filled with the type of love, joy, peace, and purpose that can only come from Jesus.
If you are wondering what Curate Church is like, the best way to check out Curate Church is to come along to one of our gatherings (a church service where we gather together). If you’re not sure what to expect, you can find out what Sundays look like here.
Our Vision
& Values
Our vision is to be a people pursuing the way of Jesus and playing our part in His story.
-
We love because God first loved us. His love is what the original biblical text refers to as “agape”, the unconditional and highest form of love. We want to be people of this type of love, who do everything out of agape, because without love it all counts for nothing. We love our Heavenly Father, we love our Lord and Saviour Jesus, and we love His Holy Spirit with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. We love others, as we love ourselves.
Watch More -
We believe that God is making all things new through the power of His Kingdom. We are called and committed to a life of mission here and now. Playing our part in God’s redemptive story, we offer up our whole lives and vocations as a crucial part of the outworking of His mission. We want everyone to have a chance to hear the good news of Jesus and His Kingdom in a way they can understand, from someone they can trust and with a power that's transformational.
-
We are committed to growing in spiritual practices, both communal and personal. Spiritual practices are our way of making ourselves available to and open to God's grace, to the Spirit of God working in us to transform us. They are ways of setting our minds upon the things above. Spiritual practices are ways of intentionally learning to be with Jesus, becoming like Jesus, and doing the things Jesus would do if He was us in this world.
-
We describe ourselves as family and whānau, because church is more than a community. The common metaphor used to talk about the people of God in the New Testament is that of brothers and sisters: God is forming us into a loving family. We believe it is in the context of this family of faith and grace that we learn how to follow Jesus more fully. We thrive when we celebrate God’s goodness together, learning how to be like Jesus through the sharing of our journeys.
-
We bring our true and whole selves to the whānau. Our Heavenly Father accepts us on the basis of His mercy and grace made available to us through the sacrifice of His son Jesus, not on the basis of our performance. Therefore, we are free to live honestly before God and others. Living a life of openness and vulnerability reminds us we are all on a journey. We are a community that talks about things as they really are and does our best to keep it real. We aspire to truly live out what we talk about.
Our Beliefs
What we believe has been handed down to us from Christians who lived long ago. We believe what the Church has believed from the beginning. The summation of these beliefs can be found in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed. Its articulation has guided the orthodoxy of the Church since the beginning, and the Nicene Creed was formally adopted in 325AD.
-
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again; He ascended into heaven, He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
* ‘Catholic’ in this context refers to the universal church, that is the whole and entire body of Jesus Christ.
-
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit He became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Our Story
When the breath of God is in a dream, a people, and a place, and when hearts are open and willing to obey, incredible stories are set in motion. The ‘strong right hand’ of God has been evident in every chapter of Curate’s narrative so far: The Prologue, a taste of God’s goodness, and the Spirit’s miraculous power among us. Chapter One, a rendering of God’s faithfulness through every season, His deep love for people, and His readiness to build and equip His church.
-
Our story began in March 1999 with four people gathered in a living room in Mount Maunganui. Their desire was to create a safe place where people could come and be loved, known and restored, without judgement. They dreamed of a church that was authentic and responsive, that served the community in tangible ways. The church that was established, initially as part of the Vineyard movement, was a future focused church, willing to take risks in order to reach the lost.
Our church grew beyond the living room, and had many physical homes, while also planting other campuses locally. In 2006 we left the Vineyard movement of churches and renamed to be Mount Mosaic, drawing close to the like-minded creative culture and vision of Mosaic LA.
In September 2011, Joel and Katie took over the leadership of Curate, having served on staff in various capacities for the previous five years. God moved in power way beyond what could ever have been imagined in those early days, and we have been so blessed as a community. Flowing counter to contemporary experience, by the extravagant grace of God many people have found Jesus inside our doors and our homes. Hundreds have been baptised. We have seen healings and miraculous restoration of lives and families.
In 2017, we embraced our new name, Curate. ‘Curate’ means ‘to care for the soul.’ Over our lintel is the phrase ‘Welcome Home’ and thousands of souls have indeed found whānau, belonging, and home in our church. Every soul is important.In 2024 Joel and Katie stepped down and Nick and Sarah Khiroya were appointed as the new Senior Pastors. Nick and Sarah bring a new style of leadership with a strong desire to continue moving into all that God has in store for us as a church. They deeply love people and this community.
As our story moves into the future, we are expectant that what was sown in the beginning, will reap a beautiful, redeemed and restored, harvest. We believe in faith that the words that have been spoken over us will come to pass and that many will find Jesus because of us ‘pursuing His ways and playing our part in His story.’ Whatever has caused our paths to cross, know that there’s room for you in the story yet to be written.