Terry Pouono

I am a New Zealand-born Samoan, a husband and father to my four children. My family live in Manurewa, Auckland. My family are Christians, and we attend the Presbyterian church. I am a full-time Lecturer at Laidlaw College in Auckland, New Zealand. In previous years, I was an adjunct tutor in 2014 and a Professional Teaching Fellow in 2015. I am a licensed Security guard currently working on a casual basis for Platform 4 Group Security Company. From 2014 to 2016, I was employed as a Tuakana mentor at the University of Auckland. This role required me to offer extra academic support to Maori and Pacific Island students taking theology courses at Stage II and III levels. I was formerly a lecturer in theology at Malua Theological College in Samoa from 2006 to 2011. I serve on two school boards (Board of Trustees): Roscommon School and South Auckland Middle School. Committed Lecturer with 10 years in mentoring and educating upper-level undergraduate students. Worked with full-time faculty to supplement programs to prepare students for success in career or graduate school. Created fascinating lectures and activities to explain and demonstrate difficult concepts.

• Lecturer in the School of Theology
• Laidlaw Representative on the AUT Doctoral Board
• Member of the Postgraduate Committee
• Guest lecturer for Pasifika education and Beginning Theology
• Teacher for the Laidlaw Bible School program
• Lead Pasifika Academic at Laidlaw College
• Internal moderator for theology courses
• Peer reviewer for professional development

• Emu Theology: In Search of the Emu in Kuruwarri, Masters' thesis, Laidlaw College, 2018
• Missionaries, Chiefs and Gospel in Tongan Development - A study of the Influence of John Thomas in Tonga, 1824-1859, Masters' thesis, Laidlaw College, 2019
• Participation in the Abundant Life of the Triune God as a Model for Communicating the Gospel to the Japanese, Masters' thesis, Laidlaw College, 2019
• KAUMĀTUA AHI KĀ; KAUMĀTUA AHI TERE: Considering a Theology of Adoption and How it Relates to the Māori Practice of Whāngai, Masters' thesis, Laidlaw College, 2020
• Mareng-Fung: A Theological Reframing of Land within the Lae context of Papua New Guinea, Master's thesis, Pacific Theological College, 2021
• Seeking to Create Vā Spaces as Means of Fostering a communal mode of Supervision in a Cross-Cultural Setting, Doctor of Ministry, Charles Sturt University
• The Need for Usoga Theology: A Samoan Contribution to Better Brotherhood in Social and Religious Relationships, Unpublished PhD thesis, Pacific Theological College, In process
• Towards a Theology of Te Raoi: A Kiribati Theological Response to the Ecological Crisis, Master's Thesis, Malua Theological College, 2022
• Toe Matimati le Ūpega: Practical and Theological Reflection on the Significance of Expository Preaching for the Faith and Spiritual Life of Young Samoan Christians, PhD Thesis, University of Otago, 2023
• How might bold new developments in Māori Anglican Worship Promote creative flourishing in the Contemporary Church for Māori?, Master's Thesis, Laidlaw College, 2024

• Tomasi Iopu, The Tuvaluan Diaspora Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand: Re-Orienting Towards a Missional Church, Master's Thesis, Laidlaw College, Currently under examination
• Stephen Mataia, Leaving the village: Stories of diasporic Samoans movement away from traditional churches, Master's Thesis, Laidlaw College, In process
• Mose Liutai, Tautua a le Niu: To Engage the Samoan worldview of service in discourse with Christian practice, informing and forming Pasifika and the church's theology of service, Master's Thesis, Laidlaw College, In process
• Taulu Schuster, O A'U, O A'U LAVA (I AM who I AM): Polynesian Gen-Z Christians of New Zealand leading the next generation, PhD, Auckland University of Technology & Laidlaw College, In process

My interest centres around diaspora Pacific churches in New Zealand, particularly the Congregational Christian Church Samoa (CCCS). Other issues I plan to write about are Pacific education in New Zealand, the reluctance of the CCCS to deal with social issues affecting its people, such as suicide, gambling, and financial hardships, and the increasing movement of New Zealand-born generations to multi-ethnic Churches. I want to publish a book on my PhD thesis in 2025/2026.

• 2003, Academic Merit award, Malua Theological College
• 2004, Recipient of the World Council of Churches Scholarship, Bossey Ecumenical Institute
• 2014, Recipient of the Foveran Scholarship, University of Auckland Theology
• 2014, Recipient of the Pacific Islands Polynesian Education Foundation Scholarship and the Norman Kirk Memorial Trust Scholarship
• 2015, Recipient of the Foveran Scholarship, University of Auckland Theology

Citizenship: New Zealand

• Coconut Juice in a Coca-Cola Bottle, Colloquium: The Australian and New Zealand Theological Review, 45, 2, 170-184, 2013
• Teu le Va': The Samoan Cosmic-community in Aotearoa Preserving harmonious relationships…where is the harmony?, The Pacific Journal of Theology, Series II, 50, 2013, 88-103
• Indigenous Language Loss: The Future of Gagana Sāmoa (Samoan language) in Diaspora., Post-Colonial Voices from Downunder: Indigenous Matters, Confronting Readings, Jione Havea, 170-181, Pickwick Publications, 2017
• Replanting the Transplanted Christian Churches: Missio Dei and the Twenty-First Century Diaspora Samoan Church, Stimulus, April, 2017
• Taulaga in the Samoan Church: Is it Wise Giving?, Theologies from the Pacific, Jione Havea, 169-180, Palgrave Macmillan, 2020
• Ua sopo le vā: moving beyond religious and cultural boundaries of the Samoan diaspora church towards multicultural churches, Australian Journal of Mission Studies, 16, 2, December, 2022, 68-77
• Faith and Works…or Works and Faith? A Performative Faith in Samoan Churches, Religions, 15, 3, 292, 2022, https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030292

• Dr Stephen Garner, Senior Research Fellow, Laidlaw College, +64 211574948, sgarner@laidlaw.ac.nz
• Rev. Featunaí Ben Liuaána, Minister of Religion, Sandringham Congregational Christian Church Samoa, +64 211009414, liuaanaafb@gmail.com