Missions Interlink
I love the way Interserve’s vision, values and ethos combine to provide a supportive fellowship that sustains and develops cross-cultural workers as they pursue God’s call on their lives. Therefore, I wholeheartedly commend Interserve as a quality missions service provider, helping Kiwis serve Christ among the neediest people of Asia and the Arab world, wherever those people are located. Interserve’s vision, values and ethos combine to provide a supportive fellowship that sustains and develops cross-cultural workers as they pursue God’s call on their lives. I particularly admire the way Interserve glorifies God through their commitment to unity, open partnerships, and humble wholistic witness to Jesus as they freely give of their talents and time in the hard places.
Whakatane Baptist Church
Interserve has done the core business of overseas mission in the hard places with excellence for over one and a half centuries. Today it continues to be visionary, transformational, contemporary, passionate, Christ like, inclusive, credible, fiscally accountable, relevant and incarnational. Interserve remains deeply committed to sharing the Good News in word and deed.
After a 20 year association with Interserve which has included being a partner in one of the hard places, a New Zealand staff member, a prayer and financial supporter, I believe Interserve to be among the very best of Overseas Mission Agencies.
Interserve Council
Interserve is like a wise elder when it comes to mission. As a young family, we always had calling for mission but did not know where to start. Since we have joined the whanau of Interserve, as founders of the Korean-Kiwi Friends group and as a member of the Next Generation group and the Council, Interserve has completely changed our perspective for mission and is closely shaping our life-long journey in mission with God. With its profound history that focuses on real people, their lives and holistic mission, there is no better agency to be partnering with if your heartbeat lies with mission.
EastWest College of International Studies
As the only college in New Zealand dedicated to the training of men and women for cross-cultural Christian work, we at Eastwest can very happily recommend and encourage our graduates to serve God with Interserve. Interserve has maintained a fruitful relationship with Eastwest since the college’s foundation in 1995 not only in receiving our graduates but also through staffing at the college. Interserve has a heart for the neediest people in Asia and in the Arab world, and many of our students are drawn into cross-cultural ministry for Christ because they share a similar desire to show God’s love to these peoples. The huge variety of possible work opportunities makes Interserve a really good ‘fit’ for many of them.
Business as Missions
As a business consultant and a Christian I appreciate Interserve’s desire to embrace Business as Mission as 100% business and 100% mission. I have found Interserve to be proactive and innovative in their approach to BAM. They know about business and its difficulty in a foreign culture, and they know about missions. I see Interserve as a conduit for making BAM happen… to enable, to facilitate people with God-given skills to make their BAM calling effectual (and so they are used by God to fufill Philippians 2:13).”
Vision West Community Trust
Engaging with Interserve New Zealand has given me such a greater appreciation for their desire to identify with local Maori, how this indigenous identity is woven into the landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand and how God intimately works within this unique landscape as Interserve New Zealand’s distinctive point of difference as they effectively weave the god given beauty of this landscape across all cultures internationally in the manner God intended.
I very much appreciate how Interserve New Zealand’s vision, values and purpose is effectively executed through their compassionate, experienced and talented supportive team and weaving many external local support into the wider Interserve New Zealand’s unique missional story which I am now a part of. As a local Māori leader, it is an honour to be woven into the Interserve New Zealand’s missional mandate of bringing the whole message of the gospel of Jesus to the most vulnerable of places in the earth.
Grace International
To the body of Christ:
I want to write a word of endorsement and appreciation for the tremendous work of Interserve on behalf of myself and our Church – Grace International in Glen Innes, Auckland. Interserve is a very dedicated, innovative, compassionate, godly and fruitful mission ministry that works in the hard places around the world. Some people and churches are more willing to partner with places that are already fruitful but don’t realize to become fruitful that missionaries and national workers have had to lay a foundation often at great cost before breakthroughs came.
Having had the privilege to have ministered in 45 plus nations I can say with assurance that where Interserve is involved there is a great need for labourers, inovative methods, much prayer and resources to do it well.
I really encourage churches and individuals to consider supporting this vital mission work knowing that according to Phillipians 4: 15 – 20 you can be assured of the Lord’s promise to "meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus" as you help resource missionaries serving in some very difficult locations in the world that Christ died for.
Interserve Partners, Former Partners & On Trackers
We were late starters to the world of missions, responding to Gods invitation to engage in His work (in our late 40’s) using our lifetime of experience in a totally different context in one of Interserve NZ hardplace placements. Our church was also new to missions and so we knew we needed to connect with an agency that specialised in preparing, sending and supporting people in the field. Thankfully our search led us to Interserve. They developed a wonderful partnership with our church and their professionalism, vast experience and thoroughness set us all for a great experience. Not everything went as planned or hoped for in our placements (as is so often the case in missions) but having their wisdom, support and mentoring through all the ups and downs, meant we were able to navigate the challenges well. They cared for us every step of the way and we are passionate supporters of their work and amazing commitment to their partners.
I think God wanted me to be aware about what medical service looks like in other parts of the world. For me to be aware of different needs and to experience what it is like to be put into a completely different culture and society. I learned a great deal about (both) paediatric conditions….and general medicine and was exposed to conditions we do not see as severely at home but that are very important to understand and know how to manage; things such as Cor Pulmonale, Alcoholic Liver Disease, Tuberculosis, HIV.
I was surprised how easy it was to build warm relationships, and quickly. A lot of it was based on laughter at my attempts at language. People were enormously appreciative of my attempts to speak their language, however rudimentary, which displayed to them, my willingness to connect.
At the end of our placement, we were fare welling our 3 local colleagues – one Christian, one Hindu, one Muslim – and I was astonished to hear the Hindu colleague insist emphatically that we sit down ‘right now’ so we could be prayed for by the Christian colleague!
