Terrible weather didn't stop hundreds of people turning up to Good Friday church services around Rotorua today.
The weather might have forced a venue change for the annual combined service, run by
the Rotorua Christian Ministries Association, but about 500 people managed to squeeze into Elim Church after it was deemed too wet to hold the service at the City Focus.
With no seats left they packed the auditorium and flowed out into the adjourning art gallery, signing, praying and remembering the reason behind Easter.
Harvest Apostolic Church Pastor Dave Moore, who delivered this year's message, spoke on the theme of the crowd's choice to release the criminal Barabbas and call for Jesus to be crucified.
He challenged the crowd to ask themselves what side they would have been on - and
whether there had been times in their lives when they had been swept along with the crowd even though they knew it wasn't the right thing to do.