Fran Hokianga Concludes Her Role as a Māori Evangelist

Jun 12, 2025 | News

By NZCMS Staff

For everything there is a season – Eccle­si­astes 3

A time to rejoice – It is with joy that we cel­eb­rate with our Māori Evan­gel­ist, Ven Rev Fran Hoki­anga, on her receiv­ing her Bach­elor of Human­it­ies after years of hard work. Fran has com­pleted a Bach­elor of Human­it­ies (major­ing in Mih­in­are Studies) from Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi.

A time to mourn – Rev Fran has informed us that she is con­clud­ing her role as a Māori Evan­gel­ist. As she shared how God is moving her on, we recog­nise that her time in part­ner­ship with NZCMS has pre­pared her for what is coming next. While we may feel saddened by the news, we trust that God has pre­pared the way for the next chapter in her life. She will con­tinue to be part of the whānau at NZCMS, and she will con­tinue in the min­istry of evan­gel­ism even if she doesn’t have the job title!

A time to rejoice – Ven Fran is start­ing a full-time teach­ing role with Ōron­gonui – Te Tohu Mihingare, the edu­ca­tional divi­sion of Te Piho­patanga o Te Tai Tokerau. In this pos­i­tion, she will support stu­dents in the North and co-facil­it­ate the Minita-a-Whanau pro­gramme, launched by the Tikanga Māori Mis­sions Council in 2015 under the theme of ‘A decade of mission’. She is com­mit­ted to fos­ter­ing the next gen­er­a­tion of Māori leaders who will share the gospel of Jesus Christ within the Māori com­munity, by the Māori community.

To all who support the Māori Evan­gel­ist ini­ti­at­ive, we see God’s hand in this change. Rev Fran’s skills and prac­tical exper­i­ence as a Māori Evan­gel­ist make her per­fectly suited to the task of raising up many more evan­gel­ists. Please con­tinue to pray for both Fran and Rapiata as God con­tin­ues to lead and guide them, that they may be used to strengthen the work that has already begun.

For everything there is a season under God.

Learn more about Māori Evangelism 

9 Comments

  1. Liz Hay

    Thank you, Tessa. I remem­ber Ray (and Jean) very warmly from our time at St Tim’s before we left for St John’s College at the begin­ning of 1987, and was excited many years later to learn of their visit to the Elli­otts in Uganda. (We visited them in 1997 on study leave.) That visit, and a later one, showed their quiet growth in faith and mission during the years. I praise God for Ray’s life and service, and pray for the Com­fort­er’s pres­ence to be so close to Jean.

    Reply
  2. Caleb Croker

    Hey there,

    A friend of mine told me about you guys and I’d love to come along on Monday!

    Cheers,
    Caleb Croker

    Reply
    • Rosie

      Hi Caleb, I’ve just seen your message. I apo­lo­gise that this was missed. I assume you’re talking about the Ser­i­ously Inter­ested in Mission group? The next one is August 11 and we’d love you to join. Can you email us at office@​nzcms.​org.​nz (Rosie writing here)

      Reply
  3. Pamelq

    Thank you Tessa

    Reply
  4. Katherine

    Thank you Arch­deacon Fran. Mothers Union appre­ci­ated your input when we visited the Far North recently. Your wisdom and wise counsel made it a mem­or­able weekend. God bless you in your new role.

    Reply
  5. Rosie Fyfe

    Rev Fran, you and Rapiata are a gift to the Church. May the Lord bless you as you serve in this next season

    Reply
  6. Pauline Elliott

    With ref­er­ence to the article ‘By invit­a­tion not inva­sion’. My husband and I were involved with CMS from the 1960s onward and this was always the atti­tude of CMS lead­er­ship. They deferred to the church lead­er­ship opin­ions whenever pos­sible, wherever there was a local church. I’m not aware if this has change. It isn’t some­thing new.

    Reply
    • Rosie Fyfe

      Hi Pauline,
      I agree with you!! I don’t think this has changed, just good to re-iterate why and we send mission part­ners. This is Rosie writing — hope you’re doing well!

      Reply
  7. Pamela McKenzie

    Yes Pauline it was the same for Alan and me. When we went to Singa­pore 1966–69 it was in response to a request from the Bishop oof Singa­pore and Malaya.

    Reply

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