Miss Merrilyn Withers, of Lower Hutt, KSM for services to youth and the Baptist movement
Merrilyn Withers became a community youth worker in the Wellington South Baptist Church in 1979. She joined Baptist Youth Ministries (National), eventually becoming Youth Director for the lower North Island. She was National Youth Director and President of the Baptist Union of New Zealand. She has encouraged pastors and faith group leaders into difficult areas of youth ministry, including where family violence and youth suicide have been prominent. Miss Withers has organised hundreds of camps, including the inaugural Xtend Camp, an annual youth leadership training camp for older teenagers, which she ran for many years.