Rotorua Lakes High School principal frustrated after Gideons give Bibles to school students

Gideons Rotorua branch president Melvyn Bowen. Photo / Felix Desmarais

A principal is "frustrated" after a religious organisation gave Bibles to students outside the school without its approval.

Rotorua Lakes High School principal Jon Ward said "upset" parents complained after Gideons gave Bibles to students despite the organisation's request to speak at a school assembly being declined.

However, the Gideons Rotorua branch president said the move outside school grounds was a "last resort" as it believed every student should have a copy of the New Testament.

A statement posted to the Rotorua Lakes High School Facebook page said there were "several" people from Gideons giving religious material to students leaving school grounds on Tuesday afternoon this week.

"The handing out of literature outside the school was not endorsed or organised by RLHS, however being on public grounds, we had limited ability to intervene as long as laws were not being broken," it said.

Ward told the Rotorua Daily Post Weekend the school received four complaints from parents phoning reception and over social media after Bibles were handed out.

"I was more than a bit frustrated," he said.

"I think the way [the Gideons] have gone about it is unfortunate because it upset people - without intention I am sure," he said.

"I am not sure it was the best way of achieving their goal."

Rotorua Lakes High School principal Jon Ward. Photo / Andrew Warner

Ward said Gideons had approached the school earlier this year asking to speak to Year 9 students at an assembly but the request was declined.

"We said thank you very much, but no thank you. At which point, they said if you are not going to let us in, we are going to stand outside and hand out Bibles."

The school held the belief that it was not its place to promote one religion above another, he said.

"I don't think under secular education it's part of what the school should be promoting," he said.

"We fully value Christian morals - we are not being atheists or antagonistic towards Christians. It's just a case of wanting to leave it with families to make that decision."

Gideons Rotorua branch president Melvyn Bowen said the organisation's main function was to provide hotels and motels with Bibles and high school students with New Testaments.

Bowen said historically the organisation had been giving yearly presentations to Year 9 students from Rotorua secondary schools, gifting students free Bibles at the end.

"We don't push the product. We are Christians and believers - and keen that this is available for all young people."

This year, Gideon members had spoken in assemblies at John Paul College, Western Heights High School and Rotorua Girls' High School.

"We have a good, ongoing rapport with the schools in Rotorua. This is the most unreceptive school," he said.

He said he last spoke at Rotorua Lakes High School about seven years ago and had since not been welcomed into the school.

Members made the "last-resort" decision to carry out a "footpath presentation" on Tuesday after their most recent request was declined, he said.

"The last six years the children have not had access to our free gift because the school has not allowed us in," he said.

It was the first time they had ever handed out Bibles outside a Rotorua school, with about 100 students accepting them, he said.

Four representatives from Gideons were giving them away and there was a "very courteous reception" from students, he said.

"I would say 'This a Gideon Bible, would you like a copy?'. They would politely say no thanks or yes, please. Some took them and some didn't."

Bowen said he told the school he planned to hand out Bibles on Porikapa Rd and offered to let the school know exactly when this would take place.

"It was a case of saying - what do we do if our mission is to get the word of God into the hands of people who would be helped by it? That's why we go to this last resort of doing a footpath presentation," he said.

Bowen said, in his view, schools were generally becoming "more secular and less accepting of religious material".

"I have been in Rotorua for about 30 years. So I have seen things change a lot - and what has changed here is the attitude or reception of schools toward the gift."

Asked why the group felt the need to hand out New Testaments to students, he said it believed every student should have a copy.

Rotorua Girls' High School principal Sarah Davis said the organisation had been coming to the school and presenting to Year 9 students for many years.

It was a voluntary assembly that ran for about 15 minutes and there had been concerns raised by whānau in the past, she said.

"Historically, they always come into the school and to be honest we haven't really reviewed why that is something that could be an issue."