Celebrating 45 Years of CS

CS NZ Conference Raglan

I clearly recall a scrawled letter from New Zealand in 1983 from a guy called Marc. Marc Dyer had a heart condition, and a recent near-death incident confirmed that he certainly shouldn’t be surfing. Still, he was God’s choice even after his pastor’s advice was, “Go to Bible College first.” Mark launched CS New Zealand in 1984 with raw evangelism and a total dependency on God.

1986 CSNZ National Conference

They held their first national conference in Ohope in 1986 combining with a Charity Teams Challenge event to raise funds for an orphanage in Bali. Mark was a gifted evangelist and others were drawn in by his passion and his need for help. He took a bold step of faith and went full-time with the support of his wife Tina. Inspired by the Jesus surf contest in Australia, he had a vision for holding New Zealand’s largest surf contest, launching the Jesus Surf Classic in 1987 in Piha. Within a couple years it grew to become the largest event in New Zealand with most of the country’s top surfers competing!!! All the while evangelistic meetings were being held nightly in a big-top tent.

CSNZ 1990 Group

The CS mission spread throughout New Zealand like fire and as they began a tradition of holding their yearly conference in Raglan each October long weekend. Between their Easter camp and yearly conference a strong national identity began to develop - similar to the Australian movement. - As Told by Brett Davis

1991 CSNZ Jesus Easter Surf Classic