Te Aka Puaho is the equivalent of a Maori Synod within the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. It offers an Amorangi Ministry Training Programme. Amorangi are the equivalent of Local Ordained Ministers. It also offers an Eldership training programme.
Over the years there has been a healthy relationship between the former School of Ministry and Te Aka Puaho’s training institution, Te Wananga a Rangi. When Te Wananga a Rangi was first established it was as a field training centre of the School of Ministry. When Te Wananga a Rangi closed it shifted to the School of Ministry in Dunedin and was re-established in conjunction with the position of Dean of Maori and Pacific Island Studies.
In recent years, following the relocation of Te Wananga a Rangi to Ohope, near Whakatane, lecturers from Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership selected parts of the Amorangi Ministry Training Programme, and members of Te Aka Puaho came down to Dunedin to deliver intensives on Maori Church history, ministry in a Maori context and Treaty of Waitangi issues.
In 2007 Te Wananga a Rangi signaled its intention to expand its range of programmes. In addition to Amorangi Ministry Training it now offers a Certificate in Te Aka Puaho Studies, an Advance Certificate and a Diploma. These programmes are open to all people, not just Amorangi candidates.
Te Aka Puaho plays an important part in the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership’s understanding of its mission. All NOM students are required to have exposure to Te Ao M?ori and time is spent on guided reflection on aspects of theology and ministry important for Maori people and communities.
See also Book of Order (2012), par. 9.33-39, on Amorangi Ministry.