We gather to worship God, to build and encourage one another, we gather with a sense of belonging to Him. St Andrews, In the heart of the city, with a heart for the city. As a Whakapono Whanau we gather, building relationships with each other and our Community, under the leadership of Jesus Christ our Lord, celebrating and worshipping Him as the Holy Spirit leads and directs. In our journey we
are always seeking to understand and live out more fully what it means to be the people of God. We do not confess to knowing all truth but know that “the Truth” has taken hold of us. This journey is not complete - we continue to seek to grow in union with Jesus Christ and with one another. We continue to reach out in our community with a growing sense of the need to interface with the wider city more always seeking ways of doing this which is meaningful for people who do not yet share our relationship in Christ. Our History
New Plymouth was founded as a settlement in 1841 by the New Zealand Company. John Thom who first arrived in 1858 and on satisfying himself that there were enough Presbyterians in the area set up permanent residence in 1860. The foundations for the first Presbyterian Church centre were laid in 1866 and was on a site in Devon Street about half a kilometre from the present centre. In 1926 an appeal was made for a new church centre by the then minister, Rev McLennan Wilson and shortly after the present section on the corner of Liardet and Courtenay Streets was purchased. The section was chosen because of its prominent position in the area at the time. The present church building was completed and Dedicated by Professor Hewitson on April 16th 1932. Further milestones were the opening of the hall in 1954, the installation of the pipe organ in 1962 and the addition of a foyer and meeting room in 1979. In 1995 the adjoining section was purchased from the New Plymouth District Council and is used as car parking for church activities. In 2013 St Andrews celebrated its sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary. The church building has been maintained to an excellent standard with a new steeple, restored stain glass windows, cleaning of the stonework and painting of the outside of the church and hall. In 2021 an extensive upgrade to Earthquake strengthening requirements was undertaken, at the same time the opportunity was taken to renovate many areas of the building complex. The church buildings and how we “do church” has changed radically over the 160 years we have been in existence, but we still worship the same unchanging faithful God.
