What we do

We'd love you to join us on Sunday mornings at 10:30am at the Darfield Church. You will discover a family atmosphere where there is contemporary worship and Bible based preaching. We are informal in style and each Sunday gathering usually has time for friendly discussion around tables after the sermon. A children’s programme runs during the sermon, though your young ones are more than welcome to remain with you for all of the service if you wish. Stay after the service for the opportunity to chat over a cuppa. 

On the 1st Sunday of each month we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. On the third Sunday of each month we share a lunch together after the service. We also have a more traditional service at our Glenroy branch on the second and fourth Sundays of the month from 9:00am.

Believing that life transformation best takes place in small groups, these small communities (around 8-12 people) are where we learn to love God, love each other and love those who don't know Jesus yet.   You can expect to receive a warm welcome in any of our House Groups aroud the community. They are holistic in nature and intergenerational. We meet at various times and on various days or evenings.  Our House Groups are a great place to give and receive friendship and pastoral care.

In general, our groups have a format of warm welcome over a cuppa, a time of worship, ministry to each other around the sermon preached on Sunday and prayer with planning how we might share our faith and introduce others to Jesus.

If you would like to enquire about joining one of our House Groups contact Pastor James or simply ask anyone at one of our Sunday services to connect you with one of our Geoup Leaders.

Please Contact the Chruch secretary or pastor for any queries about baptisms, weddings or funerals

Alpha is an 11-week course that creates a space, online or in person, where people are excited to bring their friends for a conversation about life, faith and Jesus. The same Alpha content is run all over the world, by Christians of all traditions, sharing the good news of Jesus. 

The Marriage Course is made up of seven sessions, designed to help couples invest in their relationship and build a strong marriage. This is a media presentation served with a candle lit dinner for couples with discret distancing between tables for private discussion.

CAP Money course.  Learn to budget, spend and save so you reach your goals faster.

Other courses and training are run from time to time on topics like prayer, discipleship, baptism, church membership, etc.  

A time to relax with friends and make something new.  Meet at DBC on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, 10am - 12pm.

The Two Rivers Community Trust is a Christian-based charitable trust, established in 2013 as an initiative of Darfield Baptist Church.

At the Two Rivers Community Trust we have a strong emphasis on looking at what resources we have locally, and how we can serve the community. We have four main areas of focus: FAMILY: Parenting - Marriages - Seniors - Youth, etc.  FINANCE: Budgeting - job creation - legal aid, etc. FOOD: Healthy eating - instruction/education - (Food-bank) - sustainability, etc. FITNESS: Physical - Mental - Spiritual - Educational - Social - Medical healthcare, etc.

Our focus is within the Malvern District and our ‘two rivers’ are the Waimakariri and Rakaia. We are funded by donations, grants and contracts through a range of community organizations, charitable trusts, local businesses and individuals and partnerships with Selwyn District Council and Government Agencies. 

Darfield Baptist Church has always had a strong commitment to supporting global and local mission. This heritage is seen in this story about Dr Lawrence and Heather Sanson, who left from Greendale Baptist in 1956.

Our aims in this area are: to nurture a heart for mission through equipping, to be informed about mission work, to support those involved in mission work, and to see ourselves as missionaries everyday in the spheres God has placed us in.

Through Faith Promise, people pledge to support our mission aims. You can make a weekly, monthly or annual pledge. This is over and above our regular church giving and is accounted for separately to our church offering.

This giving is used in the following ways:

• We provide monthly support to 10 different people/families who are working overseas in a variety of mission contexts.

• We also have a fund to support people from our church family who go on a short term mission.

• We have an intentional focus to nurture young people into short term mission trips to assist them in understanding God’s heart for the world.

• We have made a commitment to support the “Kingdom Builders” courses for people to immerse themselves in gaining knowledge and experiences in NZ and the wider world focussing on mission.

• We give towards specific needs that become known to us.

• We support Alpha and Bible-In-Schools in our local community.

The children of our church currently support a student in a boy’s hostel in SE Asia. The mission team of the church meet regularly and keep the church family informed about missionaries. Below are listed our global partners. The organizations represent individuals, couples or families who are serving elsewhere. Some are people from our local community and there are also some who are working independently.