About | Pioneers New Zealand

For 40 years, Pioneers missionaries have been using innovative and creative means to bring the gospel to every corner of the globe.

Making disciples
Pioneers partners with local churches to make disciples and initiate church-planting movements among unreached peoples. The unreached are cultural and ethnic groups without a self-sustaining witness to the gospel in their own cultures.

From business and education to healthcare, agriculture, the arts, and more, our 3,000 global members use their diverse gifts and experience to serve in needy communities.

As they do, they see God transform lives across cultures and people groups everywhere.

Reaching the unreached

Whether in sprawling cities or rural villages, our teams make their homes in unreached contexts and learn new languages. They use innovative and creative means to build relationships and make disciples. They introduce people to the Bible and share the gospel in culturally understandable ways.

Working together
We work in partnership with the local church. Each missionary is commissioned by a sending church. The sacrificial gifts of friends, family, and churches provide financial support. This makes it possible for cross-cultural missionaries to work alongside local believers with a heart to see disciples making disciples, worldwide.

Pioneers values integrity and accountability. For this reason, we link arms with other evangelical mission organisations and submit to godly leadership.

Our mission

Pioneers mobilises teams to glorify God among unreached people groups by initiating church planting movements in partnership with local churches

Our values

Passion for God

To glorify God among the nations through obedience to the Scriptures, prayer, reliance on the Holy Spirit, and worship.

Evangelism and discipleship

We foster communities and plant churches that are Christ-centred, worshipping and outreach focused.

Least access people

We focus on peoples with the least access to gospel resources.

Innovation and flexibility

We recognize each person’s unique calling and vision and encourage our teams to work in innovative and flexible ways to fulfill that calling. Our teams use innovative means to gain access and minister effectively to unreached peoples.

Team centred

Our people work in teams with others from around the world, modelling Christian unity and developing work strategies appropriate to the local environment.

Ethos of grace

God’s grace operates uniquely in each person’s life and therefore we value mutual acceptance and respect.

The local church

We partner with sending churches to equip people to work in mission and partner with national church communities.

Participatory servant-leadership

Our decentralised structure involves all members in decision making and promotes servant leadership.

Pioneers NZ team

Chris Ayers

Director

Chris has been the Director of Pioneers NZ since 2018. Prior to this, he and his wife Judy were involved in mission work in Eastern Europe for almost 9 years. Chris oversees all aspects of Pioneers NZ operations particularly focusing on mobilisation, public relations and church liaison. He loves meeting new people and sharing with them his passion for cross-cultural mission. Chris and Judy have 4 children.

S-P Williams

Mobilisation

Cathy Marston

Finance

Cathy joined the team in 2003 to take on the role of Financial Controller, managing our reporting on income, expenditure and workers’ sponsorship. She works part time with Pioneers because she also co-pastors an alternative church community in West Auckland. Cathy is married to Sean Marston, director for International Nepal Fellowship and mobiliser for SIM.