Our Heritage
Robert Laidlaw
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1922 – 1942 / NZBTI Board Member
1943 – 1965 / President, NZBTI
Robert Laidlaw was part of a small group of evangelical leaders who met with evangelist and pastor Rev. Joseph Kemp over a number of weeks in 1921 to pray and discern whether a Bible Training Institute should be established in New Zealand. In July that year the decision was made to form the New Zealand Bible Training Institute (NZBTI) – a place where lay people could be offered biblical teaching and be equipped for Christian service. Laidlaw became a founding member of the Board, and was actively involved in the planning and donated money towards the Institute’s start-up costs. Later, he was to play a key role in negotiating the sale of land for the Institute’s campuses in Queen Street and Lincoln Road. His wife, Lillian, was the first President of the Ladies’ Committee, and the couple hosted many students in their home.
He had experienced a personal conversion when he was 17 at the 1902 mission of American evangelist, Dr Reuben A. Torrey. At 18, he wrote a pledge to start giving one-tenth of his earnings to the Lord. Two years later he pledged a graduated scale of tithing, committed to not allowing “money to get a grip of my heart”. As a young man he established a mail-order company, Laidlaw Leeds. When that was sold to the Farmers Union Trading Company in 1918, Laidlaw became the General Manager of Farmers and oversaw the rebuilding of a struggling company into a thriving department store with multiple branches.
Robert Laidlaw - Auckland Museum
At the request of his staff, Laidlaw wrote down his reasons for believing in Christ and produced a 64-page booklet, The Reason Why, in 1913. That little book went on to be translated into 33 languages, with an estimated 30 million copies printed. During World War 2, Laidlaw served as Director of the Army Scripture Readers Association. He toured all 150 military camps throughout the British Isles and followed the Allied troops into France a few months after D-Day.
While in England, he was appointed President of NZBTI upon the death of Board Chair, Mr R. Stewart. In his 60th year when he returned to NZ in early 1945, Laidlaw stepped back from his role as General Manager of Farmers to devote more time to Christian work. He spoke at meetings, conferences and campaigns and set up a trust to support Christian and charitable work in NZ. By now he was giving away 90% of his income. He paid some NZBTI students’ fees anonymously and in the late 1950s started the Institute’s new Henderson campus building project with a large donation.
In 1965, aged 80, Robert Laidlaw stepped down as President of NZBTI, though still attended Board meetings until December 1970. He passed away on 12 March 1971, aged 85.
In August 2008, Bible College of New Zealand was renamed Laidlaw College in honour of Robert Laidlaw.
More on Robert Laidlaw can be found in his book The Story of “The Reason Why” (G.W. Moore Ltd, Auckland, 1969), and in the biography written by Ian Hunter, Man for our Time: Triumph against all Odds (Castle Publishing, Auckland, 1999).
