In 1859, the Christchurch Synod constituted the Maori Mission and a missionary was appointed to take pastoral charge of all Maori in the diocese. The headquarters of the Mission was fixed at Kaiapoi and Maori agreed to allow the Rev. James Stack to select twenty acres as a site for the Mission. The area chosen was at Tuahiwi in the middle of the Kaiapoi Reserve and was called St Stephen’s. A cottage was built for the Rev. Stack and his wife in 1860. A boarding school was built next to the cottage in 1863

The subdivision of the Kaiapoi Native Reserve by the Government, and an allotment of 14 acres of land to each adult Maori, led the people to move from Kaiapoi to Tuahiwi. There they built houses that formed a village round St Stephen’s. It was at this time that the need for a church was felt. After raising funds, the church was eventually built by Herbertson and Byres, who were builders of Saltwater Creek.

The laying of the foundation stone by Governor Sir George Grey on 9 February 1867 was a memorable day in the history of the Maori Mission. The church was built from timber from the local forest. It had a shingle roof and was the first church with a spire built in Canterbury. St Stephen’s was completed later in 1867 and in the absence of the Bishop, the Very Reverend Dean Jacobs preached at the first service.

The cottage and boarding school were destroyed by fire in 1870. A new vicarage was built, this being sold in the 1940s. Over the years the roof of the church has been repaired with tiles replacing the original shingles.