Wherever the Engage chaplains or hosting programme guests have gone they have been thrilled by the positive welcomes and support offered by church people on behalf of Engage - even to last-minute requests where people have rolled their sleeves up to make something happen in the Kiwi way.

Here's an update as an encouragement from a recent Engag' report:

- The latest analytics indicate the Engage smartphone App has users in 30 countries and 263 cities with a total of 7,242 page views.

- No squad has openly rejected the chaplaincy programme, and relationship with all the RWC Team Liaison Officers has been positive. Chaplains have been actively involved with 60% of the squads, and half of the remainder indicated that they had their own pastoral and spiritual support systems. These figures represent a significant improvement from previous IRB tournaments that have had official chaplaincy and are a source of encouragement.

- The hosting programme has had more hosts available than guests, which is not out of line with expectations given it is the first RWC where it has been offered, and getting it known amongst the players has not been easy given the protocols involved. As the tournament has progressed so has the interest and uptake.

- The ‘Tagga Tour' has been a hit as Timo Tagaloa has been on the road doing breakfasts, kids games, youth events, etc, across many churches as far south as Dunedin.

From all this activity we know the wider NZ Church is being seen as serving and relevant to their communities, but we also know already of lives impacted and changed amongst these communities and amongst the squads and their families!

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