24 January 2006 

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

     I am delighted to endorse Rev Drew and Amy Donovan as missionaries to serve at East City Wesleyan in Auckland, New Zealand.

     We began as a new Church plant in late 2000 and have continued to grow in our understanding and practice as a Wesleyan congregation that is proactively encouraging all its members to be growing in Christian discipleship, learning to be more effective in evangelism and more deliberate about community service.

     A key part of our strategy is to put energy and resource into growing a significant youth ministry concentrating on high school age (i.e. 13 to 18 years of age).  Our leaders believe that the Holy Spirit has guided us toward Drew and Amy Donovan.  We are planning to have Drew as Associate Pastor with responsibilities for Youth and Worship Ministries in our growing congregation of 120 people.  Outreach youth events will be particularly key as we minister to many secular families and encourage young people to be excited about God and the Christian faith.  Amy’s counselling training and wise mentoring with young people, especially women, will be invaluable and we are looking forward to her developing her Christian counselling ministry.

    The Donovans are a very talented couple whom we have been pleased to welcome when they recently visited New Zealand.  We had many meetings with them and consider they can give leadership to grow a significant youth ministry that will have a lasting impact in our area and also a key influence on the growing network of Wesleyan Methodist Churches in Auckland. 

    New Zealand is a first-world country, but is spiritually very poor, being amongst the most secular of western countries.  I am absolutely committed to the resourcing of youth ministry and feel a special rapport to work with Drew.

     Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  Amy and Drew are workers ready to work in the harvest field.

     I pray that people reading this will feel a tug from the Holy Spirit to support Drew and Amy in this missionary work and that together we can expand the harvest and bring many new young people into a life-saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

 To Him be all honour and glory.

 Rev Richard Waugh