The Church (which owns the school)

The Reformed Congregations of New Zealand is a registered church in New Zealand with its own legally recognised Trust. It is affiliated to the Gereformeerde Gemeenten in the Netherlands. There are over 160 congregations in the Netherlands, over 20 congregations in North America and a scattering of congregations and mission posts in South Africa, Nigeria, Indonesia, Bolivia and New Zealand.

The doctrine taught originates from the Lord Jesus Christ, and the denomination has roots in the 16th century Protestant Reformation in Europe. The church essentially teaches the doctrines of grace, which the apostles taught since the Day of Pentecost, and the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches revived in the Reformation.

The church officially adheres to the Three Forms of Unity, which may be found in the back of the Psalter from which the students sing. These Three Forms of Unity are the Canons of Dort (1618-1619), the Belgic Confession of Faith (1561), and the Heidelberg Catechism (1563). By implication of the Three Forms of Unity, the church also upholds the creeds of the ancient church, namely the Apostolic Creed, Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed.

The church also recognises, and holds in high esteem, the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Shorter and Larger Westminster Catechisms (1643-1648).

Public Worship services are held each Lord’s Day at 10am and 7pm in the church on the Howard Street property. Church attendance is not obligatory to parents or students who are not church members, but over the years several parents, and older students by their own choice have attended. All are welcome! Church services can be heard live on www.rcnz.org.nz and downloadable audio sermons can also be found on this site.

The church strongly emphasises the need for the application of the doctrines of God’s word to the heart and hence to the entire soul and life. This can clearly be seen in the opening two questions of the Heidelberg Catechism which are printed here: