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Jason Dorday / Stuff
The Church of the Evangelical Community of Mt Roskill. An automatic door to the building was opened Wednesday morning, revealing a large room with various QR codes for the Covid-19 tracking app.
The church at the center of a coronavirus subgroup in Auckland now embroiled in controversy is united, reserved and highly devoted, says a former member.
He left Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship with his family several years ago and said the church met most nights to study the Bible, did most of the activities together, and did not associate much with outsiders.
The former member said that after leaving the church some members refused to recognize him when they passed by on the street.
Meanwhile, a religion expert in New Zealand said the wealthy island church was at the fundamentalist end of the spectrum of evangelical Protestant Christianity.
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Health Minister Chris Hipkins said RNZ Wednesday morning it became clear that some close contacts from the church subgroup had not previously been disclosed, including a student who recently tested positive.
The student was last at St. Dominic’s Catholic College in Auckland on Friday, but left early after starting to feel unwell.
Hipkins said that in this case it appeared that it was the close contact of the subgroup student that had not previously been disclosed.
Health authorities are investigating whether the non-disclosure was deliberate.
Jason Dorday / Stuff
Covid-19 App QR Codes inside Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship on Wednesday.
“That’s one of the things that the investigation is looking at right now and it will include seeing if there was a deliberate decision not to disclose or if it was simply an oversight,” Hipkins said.
Former member said Stuff that when he was in church, his members met most nights of the week to study the Bible or sermons, tending not to associate with strangers.
“They stand firm.
“It’s pretty crowded.”
In late August, Hipkins said an investigation was underway into claims the church held meetings during Auckland’s Alert Level 3 restrictions.
RNZ
Health Minister Chris Hipkins says it has become clear that some close contacts from the church subgroup Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship were not previously disclosed, including a student who recently tested positive.
At the press conference on Wednesday at 1pm, where six new community cases were announced, all linked to the Auckland group, Heath CEO Dr. Ashley Bloomfield said that all members of the fellowship were asked evangelical to be tested again.
The church is run as a charity, registered as the Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship Trust.
Their pastor is understood to be Errol Montgomery “Monty” Ngatai, who according to property and electoral records lives in the same Hillsborough unit block as other long-time and veteran church members.
A 1995 document, when the church charity was incorporated, said it was established to “foster Christian growth and spirituality in accordance with the scriptures” and to “enhance and strengthen family and community relationships by sharing worship and fellowship. through the teaching of missions. “
Their charitable purpose is “to preach expository sermons that explain what the Bible says and what the Bible means in ways that connect practically with life so that each can reach the other with the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Peter Lineham, emeritus professor of religious history at Massey University, said the emphasis on sermons was unusual.
“The focus on the exhibit suggests that they spend a lot of time studying the Bible.”
JASON DORDAY / Things
Several people were at the Stoddard Rd church during level three, cleaning the buildings and doing renovation work.
He said the church seemed to embrace an evangelical brand of fundamentalist Christianity.
Fundamentalists believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible, which they consider infallible.
It existed as more than just a church in the normal sense of the word, and its activities would span much of the lives of its members, Lineham said.
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The Fellowship headquarters on Stoddard Rd is in the heart of Mt Roskill, a suburb considered for decades to be the “Bible Belt” of New Zealand.
Lineham said a nearby church still has women and men sit on opposite sides of its building.
Financial records show that Mt Roskill Evangelical Fellowship is wealthy.
The extent of his wealth surprised Lineham.
It has over $ 14 million in assets and its March 2019 annual performance shows that it made about $ 2.5 million in revenue the previous year.
“This is an extremely large sum of money … huge amounts of money are being invested,” Lineham said.
Financial records indicate that a significant sum of money was extracted from members of the congregation, he said.
Stuff has sent letters to church leaders offering an opportunity to comment. They have not responded to letters or various attempts to reach them by phone.
