BRONSON
“I’d always known there was a God but never had a relationship with Him. There came a certain point in my life, where everything changed. Then in different sections I grew closer to Him.
“Born in Whanganui, the youngest of 4 with 3 older sisters, I always felt the need of having to grow up quickly. We didn’t have much, but I knew my parents were doing the best they could with what they had.
“I grew up hearing stories about my great-great grandfather who was T.W Ratana the founder of Ratana church, one of New Zealand’s largest and most historically known churches. He believed in the word of God and known for his healing ministry. A museum in Ratana still holds crutches and wheelchairs and all things people left behind after being healed. I heard a lot of these stories and felt super blessed. Believing in God was something my great-great-grandfather lived by, but our family never had that same relationship with God.
The Rātana Church (Te Haahi Rātana) is a major Māori Christian movement and denomination founded in 1918 by the visionary Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana. Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana began his mission in 1918 as a faith healer and spiritual leader, bringing hope to dispossessed Māori tribes. (Ref Encyclopedia of New Zealand)
“A few years later, seeking answers I read about my great-great-grandfathers’ doctrine and what Jesus had done through him. Over the years and after his death, people flipped that doctrine and started to worship him as a prophet. They knew of the miracles and believed he was a messenger from God, but gradually this became a man-made version where the name of Jesus is seldom heard.
“Some of my earliest memories started around 4 with dad having a scary temper. I remember seeing holes punched in walls as he lived out his rage. Mum struggled a lot too and one day went into her room, got down on her knees and prayed. ‘Lord if you’re real, reveal yourself to me’.
“Within 2 weeks it was decided they would go to a church and during that service the Pastor pointed them out and told them the time to move was now. They had no idea what that meant but over the next few months they decided to pack everything up and physically move. With all our belongings in a van we drove to a new life in Tauranga.
“School was never a good fit for me although I tried to impress my peers with athletics and running. I wanted to be accepted and found I was small for my age group, especially in intermediate and high schools. I was just 9 when I got in with the wrong crowd where weed and cigarettes were freely available.
“At Intermediate, I went to some local youth groups, made new friends and enjoyed it a lot. I was 12 when I went to a youth encounter night in Auckland and gave my life to the Lord and was Baptised a couple of weeks later. I was excited about what had happened and wanted to tell all my friends about my experience. I walked home one afternoon with a mate who seemed excited by what I shared, but little did I know, this was the last time I would see him as that night he took his life.
“Intermediate was overwhelming and high school, the largest in New Zealand, was even more so. I became the quiet kid and tried to fit into different friend groups but never had a sense of belonging, nor was I good at sports like I had been in intermediate. I felt I had to prove myself to be accepted by a friend group and being the smallest in my class was often bullied.
“At 13 I was sent to another classroom with much older students as punishment for talking in class. The older boys laughed and mocked me while one specific student led the taunts. I remember thinking “I’ll never forget what you look like”.
I knew what time and day that class would be in that classroom and exactly where he would sit.
I decided to get my revenge. And that was to draw a picture of him on the desk and to leave a belittling statement with it.
I left that day thinking I had the last laugh. Within that same month I found out that student had taken his life.
I was told by peers he was struggling with mental health for the last few months but to think I had contributed to that was very difficult.
“I walked home one afternoon with a friend discussing what happened and how tough that was. Later that same year, after a breakup with his girlfriend, he took his life as well.
“I started to not care about my education and wasn’t paying attention anymore. I really gave up in high school the longer I stayed. I had so many detentions for late arrival it was decided I should leave and do a course away from the college.
“I was 16 and my parents had started attending a local church. I was challenged to go to Bible College for a year. In that time God completely changed my life. I felt I had a sense of belonging, found value in myself and confidence in the Lord.
“As a living, my dad carved Māori meeting houses (marae). He also had a carving of this man he would take to every house we lived in. It was special to him, and he believed it served as protection over our house and our lives. After the teaching in Bible College about idols in our lives, something changed. I remember that night under a starry cloudless sky, he took an axe out of the shed and smashed that thing. As soon as he raised the axe and struck the idol, it instantly started pouring with heavy rain. My mum and I looked at each other and knew in that moment; generational curses were broken off our lives.
“I moved to Australia for further Bible College training when I was 18 and life was going well. I was working, making great money, surrounded with a loving community and even in a relationship. I felt that Christian culture always had a push to marry young, buy a house and start a family. I was still so young and knew I wanted to do more before settling down. I also saw a lot of divorce within the church, so it made me cautious yet hesitant of lifetime commitments. I had searched for validation my whole life and so when we split after 4 years it shook my world, and I knew I had to find my value again in the Lord and in Him alone.
“A couple years later through a mutual friend living in the States I eventually went there, and he introduced me to a girl I had been corresponding with. I loved the opportunities the States offered and moved to Arizona to be with her in 2020. It was an exciting time, but we could see that a long-term relationship was not going to work. It was also the start of covid lockdown in New Zealand. I was on a 3-month visa in the States and couldn’t work, and I couldn’t return to NZ either. After splitting up I sat outside that night wondering what I could do and asked God what it was He was trying to teach me. I had peace with the situation even though I didn’t even know where I would sleep the following night.
“The next morning, I got a message from a guy I had met briefly at a Hillsong service. He asked if I wanted to catch up for a coffee sometime. When I told him what had happened, he invited me to stay at his place. immigration would not extent my visa and I ended up overstaying in the US for an additional 9 months until I could fly home. It was a Iife changing moment when I put my trust completely in God and let Him take control.
“ I arrived back in New Zealand 2021, but felt physically, mentally and spiritually drained. Life had been a rollercoaster. I had tried to find out who I was and what my purpose was in the Lord.
“My full name is Kanui Bronson Docherty Teiwimate; Docherty comes from my Scottish heritage while Te Iwi Mate is from my father’s Māori side. Te means ‘the’, Iwi means ‘tribe’ and Mate means ‘dead’, making the name ‘the dead tribe’ or ‘the dead people’. I couldn’t help but wonder whether the name had any bearing on the many sicknesses, suicides and deaths I had seen in my life - a recurring theme within our whanau. As a family we chose to break any hold this had over our lives and instead allow God to speak His truth and life over us.
“Wanting a fresh start back in New Zealand, I decided to change from being known as Kanui Teiwimate to Bronson Docherty. Part of that change was my journey to grow more dependent on God than those I was in relationship with.
“Now, I’m at a point in my life where I look to the Lord in all I do. I have learned to depend on Him and choose to put Him first in every area of my life. Keeping my focus on God has brought so many blessings. He has developed the creative gifts He placed within me. I enjoy working on my art, photography and videography, plus I have launched my own clothing brand.
“I have met someone I believe will be my life partner. Being in a relationship with someone who loves the Lord feels weightless, and I can see the fruits of the Holy Spirit in her life, To see her pray, read God’s word and spend time in conversations with Him encourages me and fires me up my own faith.
“The Lord has been so good to me. I never imagined how He would use my natural gifts to create something I so enjoy. He has given me a vision that brings together all of those gifts in a way that fills me with purpose and joy.
“I love God, and I love that He doesn’t show me the entire picture at once. As I remain faithful to Him in what He has placed before me, then He shows me the next bit and then the next bit. It comes down to trusting and following Him”.
‘Now is the only time in eternity where we will ever have the opportunity to worship God in the midst of pain and suffering. In glory there will be no more weeping or mourning – only praise’.