In the book of Hebrews, the apostle Paul describes his faith as a race with a mission. Disregarding all comfort and limitations before him, he runs this race with only the message in his hands and the approval of Christ to gain.
Nothing else matters.
At the start of her eighth year in itinerant ministry, Cindy Ruakere finds herself in this same relentless pursuit.
Commissioned with a powerful call to provoke the nations in indigenous worship, Ruakere’s race is far from slowing down, with the completion of her fifth studio album Karanga and an international tour in 2007.
Armed with a voice that invokes a power and passion for authentic worship, Cindy’s journey was first landmarked in 1999’s Tara, a vanguard album in it’s fusion of traditional maori instrumentation and modern worship. By 2000, Ruakere was working extensively with churches both internationally and locally, and continued to experiment with powerful indigenous worship with the release of The Treaty , exploring themes of reconciliation. A remixed and updated version of Tara followed in 2001. In 2003, Cindy teamed up with Craig Jones to create Haruru, exploring the themes of reconciliation and bolstering her sound with the help of Nic Manders (Brooke Fraser, Nathan King).
Through her recordings, Ruakere found a powerful voice in the nations and travelled extensively overseas, through Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Britain, Holland, Germany, Hungry, Norway, Sweden, France, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Singapore, Australia, Samoa, USA, Russia, England, Ireland and Mozambique.
In 2005 Cindy was inspired by the story of the Moravians, pioneers in the modern missions and prayer movement in the 1700s. Feeling the same call resound in this generation, Ruakere recorded the single Receive and embarked on an extensive three month tour of New Zealand, UK and Ireland. Considered an ambassador of her nation, Ruakere was clear about New Zealand’s call to go; “I have a great love for this nation – God has called me to other nations but my hearts remains knitted to Aotearoa/New Zealand. I believe part of the destiny of our nation is to represent true reconciliation to the world, but to achieve this we must go! One of New Zealand’s major callings is to missions – its almost as if we have been created to be exported!”.
Releasing the new album Karanga in January 2007, the momentum of Ruakere’s mission continues to increase, and her mandate stands ever firm: “I believe in a higher calling, and I am committed to seeing this generation believe in it for themselves – to surpass the mediocre and inherit the full weight of the potential their creator has installed within them”
Poised to spend 2007 touring internationally with her new band, Ruakere will visit South America, USA, Canada, Europe, UK and Africa spreading the news of the race, and the endurance of the mission, activating a generation in their indigenous worship and passionate pursuit of the prize of their Creator
– with only the message in her hands, and the approval of Christ to gain.
www.cindyruakere.com
