1. How big is Kairos New Zealand?
Kairos NZ is composed of young people in New Zealand where there is a branch of The Lamb of God Christian covenant community. The major areas where there are a significant number of young people, are in Auckland, Wellington and Central - Blenheim, Nelson and Christchurch. We are about 150 young people all over NZ, counting EJ (Encounter Jesus youth in years 11-13 at school), EDGE - Everyday God Experience (young people who have left school) and Pre-J ( Junior youth group in years 8, 9 & 10).
2. Isn't belonging to a Christian youth group like EJ or EDGE boring?
On the contrary, we have lots and lots of fun together. We believe that Jesus came to give us life and for us to have it to the full (John 10:10), so we always have time for games, socials, overnights, etc. And we just don't have any fun; we have good, clean and upbuilding fun.
3. Why can't we just have parties and have fun all the time?
Because life itself is not just meant for having fun all the time, even for young people. Kairos NZ is a response to Jesus' call to discipleship so there will be time for prayer, praise and worship, teaching, formation, sharing groups and many other dynamics that will help us to grow into being like Jesus.
4. Aren't you a weird bunch of people?
Being "weird" is a relative term. Yes, we are different if that is you are referring to. We do not easily compromise what we believe in. We want to lead and influence others to do the right things. We do things differently at times, but isn't everyone that way anyway? We have values, morals and ideals because we have a purpose for living. This means there will be times that we will be misunderstood and rejected, but isn't that what Jesus said about being His disciples?
5. What benefits will I get if I belong to EJ or to the Singles' Group?
Many! You will have lots of friends, you will receive teaching and formation, and you will be given the chance to serve and participate in our service groups - example, in the music team, etc.
6. What will I do with my friends who do not participate in EJ or singles?
Bring them along! For all you know, they might like it!
7. Does Kairos NZ have adult supervision? How is Kairos NZ led?
Yes, we have adult supervision all the time. We have youth leaders who are serving under the leadership of adult leaders of Kairos, who in turn are guided by the leaders of the Lamb of God community.
8. Does Kairos NZ report to Kairos International?
No, each Kairos group works under the community they are receiving guidance and leadership from - In Kairos NZ case, it is the Lamb of God community.
9. Why have this Kairos South Pacific/Kairos New Zealand website?
The Sword of the Spirit is an International community of Christian Covenant communities. We hope that through this website, youth from other part of the world will be informed with this side of the world. They may come and visit the land down under and we hope to "connect" with them through the website.
Each Lamb of God community throughout NZ is different and their numbers vary. Through this website, we hope that each EJ member in a branch would keep in touch with other EJ members in other branches and therefore form a network of young people with a common purpose and vision for their lives.
10 What is Kairos NZ's view on courtship and dating?
There is not a lot of time and space to discuss this issue here but to put it simply, we believe that being young is a time for character formation and doing well in our studies and career. Once we get established in career and we are formed and mature, we will seek God's will for our lives and make a state of life decision - whether God is calling us to live as a single or married person. If God calls us to married life, this is the time to go into purposeful dating and seek a marriage partner. Ideally, we want to avoid getting into and seeking relationships until we are ready to move into getting married soon. Again, this is just a short discussion. We have a series of teaching available regarding courtship and dating. This is the ideal pattern we envisage our young people following because we know this works! We want to protect our young people from hurts, disappointments and broken relationships through a Godly way of finding a marriage partner in the future.