Minister practises what he preaches

Pastor Murray Smith and his family will swap this $1 million home for rental accommodation.

Pastor Murray Smith preaches a message of generosity in his sermons and says people need few material things in order to live happy and fulfilling lives.

So Pastor Smith, his wife, Michelle, and their three young children are giving up their $1 million home near Cambridge to help raise funds for their church and build a new community centre for their town.

A minister at the Bridges Church for the past five years, Pastor Smith admits the decision to raffle off their five-bedroom home with two self-contained units and views over Lake Karapiro is slightly "radical".

But the extreme act of kindness came from the family's desire to live a simple life, and for $25 people can enter a draw to win what will soon be the Smiths' former residence.

"This is something which we are passionate about and we are pretty motivated about doing something significant in our community, so this is our response," said Pastor Smith, who built the home in 2001.

"Rather than hearing it, people want to see a sermon and we think people being generous ... allows you to be healthy and to prosper."

Once they move out of their home next month to the comforts of a rental property somewhere in Cambridge, the Smiths will have few possessions other than their furniture and car - "an old Nissan".

The family have no other homes or investment properties or a financial nest egg to help them out.

Pastor Smith, 55, a former graphic designer, is on a salary which is "quite average by New Zealand standards", and Mrs Smith home-schools the three youngest of their six children and does part-time business administration work from home.

Mrs Smith said their travels overseas had opened their eyes.

"When you live in an orphanage in Mozambique or places where you get a bowl of rice a day you start to realise what is important in life," she said.

"We just realised we had all this stuff that we could help other people out with and we decided to do something about it."

Proceeds from the promotion, which is open to anybody who is eligible to buy property in New Zealand, will go towards building a new church and community centre, which will cost about $3 million.

The Smiths' goal is for a minimum of 50,000 people to enter the contest, which will allow them to cover costs of the campaign and donate the full market value of the home to the construction project.

"It's important to our family that we get to the end of our lives on Earth and know that we've done something significant that made other people's lives better," said Pastor Smith.

The promotion closes on January 31 at 5pm and the winner will be announced shortly after.

* Entrants can view terms and conditions at the promotion website, www.apieceofnz.co.nz

GIFT HOUSE
A $1 million home for a $25 ticket
* Five bedrooms.
* Master with en suite bathroom.
* Cedar conservatory.
* Open plan kitchen-dining.
* Separate lounge.
* Double internal access garage.
* Two self-contained guest accommodation units.