Greenpark School is a beloved historic site refurbished, a peaceful place for people to meet, and a home base for our community.
David and Hillie have been involved in missions work for most of their married life.
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David is an electrician by trade but has a gift and passion for preaching and ministry. He has a Fathers Heart and an expectation for God to move in both love and power that draws people into a hunger for a more intimate relationship with God.
Hillie is a born story teller and a natural evangelist. She is a real people person with a genuine heart to love anyone and anything regardless of circumstance or situation. When she is not involved in ministry she lives to rehabilitate sick and orphaned wildlife.
They work together or complement each other very well in ministry and are a force to be reckoned with. Their focus countries have mainly been India and Israel, where they have pioneered new ministries, initiated church planting, evangelism, and supported long-term missionaries overseas. They are also very active in the local community.
Stepping out in faith and solely on a simple quiet encouragement from the Lord they bought the ACTS school and are relying entirely on God to see His provision and plans for it come to pass. They have a heart to see the church, community and culture operating as one unit and see the school as being a perfect platform for that to start.
David and Hillie are the true elders or mentors of Greenpark School.
Joshua grew up in a mission orientated family and has been involved in fundraising for missions from a very young age.
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Joshua first found the school for sale, and was part of the original team that formed and organised a way for the base to be purchased. He is very involved in the foundational work, with council, and the trust and has an eye for detail when it comes to the planning and construction work that is creating what ACTS is today. He has always been fascinated by culture and artefacts, and has a passion in both collecting and restoring Maori and Antarctic relics.
His knowledge of cultural history goes well beyond his years, and he is always willing to share a story or two with anyone who is interested. He also loves a good hike in the outdoors, and is a wealth of information on some of the roads less travelled on the Peninsula. He is excited to be part of the team, and see what God is going to do both in and through the school.
These two God-loving individuals met staffing in YWAM in 2016, staffed numerous schools together and then became school leaders of the YWAM Zion base.
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They married in December 2017 and are expecting their first baby in December 2018.
Rachel’s first mission trip was at fourteen years old for ten weeks to India, and she has been involved in missions ever since.
Rachel completed a certificate in missions at EastWest college of Intercultural studies 2012, then undertook her DTS with Marine Reach in Tauranga as a nurse in July 2014. She went straight into staffing the following school.
Rachel’s had the privilege to witness numerous salvations, healings, countless miracles and walks in faith to see the supernatural become natural in our everyday life.
Tim did his DTS with YWAM Zion in Northland in January 2015. Currently working as a diesel mechanic, Tim has a huge heart for people and missions, and for seeing missions in the market place become a reality. Tim has lead teams on frontier missions to China and Tibet and thrives on seeing God work both in and through his daily life in miraculous ways.
Together, Rachel and Tim have visited or served in 18 nations across the globe. Their hearts lie in missions, both overseas and in our home country and they’ve been involved in pioneering, reaching unreached people groups, medical missions, serving in communities and training ever since.
They are super excited for this next venture of pioneering ACTS and seeing what God is going to do in this community and abroad.
The original Greenpark school was established in 1871 and served the families in the area for 142 years. Sadly, the school was marked for closure in 2012 as a part of the Ministry of Education’s plan to massively consolidate the number of schools in Christchurch and its surrounding areas.
After a valiant fight to try to save the school led by staff and the local community, Greenpark officially closed its doors in 2013.
Our extended family has lived next door to Greenpark School for 35 years. After watching it fall into disuse and disrepair, we decided the historic grounds provided an opportunity to create something new.
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