They were Christian pastors, settled in Panmure and dedicated to helping society’s misfits, the abused, the abusers, the dejected and the abandoned, victims and perpetrators.

Last week Christopher Sonny Kahui was acquitted of murdering his baby boys, Chris and Cru, who died in June 2006, five days after being admitted to Starship hospital with serious brain injuries.

For seven-and-a-half months Chris was living under pastor Tom and Margaret Ngapera’s roof at the Faith Family Baptist Centre.

Sheltered from prying eyes, he formed a strong bond with the people who supported him when no one else would.

"I got involved because Chris’ dad came to me and asked for help," says Mr Ngapera.

"His family, who he loved, were being hurt and destroyed publicly. My heart went out to this dad who was broken and asking how his family got into this position."

The Kahuis had asked for help from other agencies.

But every person and organisation turned them away when they found out who they were.

Whether Chris was innocent or guilty didn’t matter to Tom and Margaret.

It was never even discussed.

"I just came to support a broken family going through hell. That’s what my job is. To show the compassion and love of Christ to someone who desperately needs it," he says.

It was a decision not taken lightly, but one that was supported by Mr Ngapera’s friends and family, and other congregations.

"I talked to my son and said to him I was going to work with the Kahui family. He said: ‘Well dad, you call yourself a Christian, so put your money where your mouth is’."

Chris Kahui was bailed to their’ home, and for seven months they saw a side to Chris that nobody else knew.

Humble, softly-spoken, quiet, shy, a lovely young man, they say.

A man who is growing more confident but a man who is the same as when they first met.

"Exactly what the 12 jurors saw is what I saw," says Mr Ngapera.

"I can vouch for that. He’s not forceful, he wasn’t confrontational."

But the seven-month stay, which only close pastors, the church, family and friends knew about, and the six-week court case, weren’t easy.

The Ngaperas have endured bail checks at 3am, reporters camped outside their church, and the harsh eye of critics who didn’t understand why they were helping a man facing a double murder charge.

He says media reports were inaccurate, making the Kahui family look highly suspicious and dysfunctional.

In fact, Mr Ngapera says, they were co-operative right from the start, despite reports of the "tight 12" stonewalling the police investigation.

"I didn’t know the family the way they had been portrayed in the newspapers.

"Over the two-and-a-half years that I’ve gotten to know them, they’re just a normal family," he says.

"They are a loving family. This tragedy, how they’ve been portrayed is not what we’ve seen.

"We’ve been involved with the family very closely."

Despite everything, they maintained a normal routine.

"Chris was not the only thing to go on in the church.

"I have 140 families in this church who are all important. This issue was just another issue we were dealing with."

Now the trial has ended, Kahui is adjusting to life as a free man.

He has been eliminated as a suspect, but the Ngaperas say they are not happy with the decision to close the case.

"The whole of New Zealand surely is not happy. I’m not happy," he says.

"My encouragement to the family is to let the people know so the country can have some relief."

Two babies are dead, Mrs Ngapera says, and somebody did it. Somebody needs to be held accountable.

"There’s still a case to answer, and that’s of the babies," she says.

"It’s not the end of it, but the family will come out and talk about it.

"The whole country has their suspicions. But if we’re honest, we don’t know who did it."

Both say Chris is now part of the church family.

Although they say Chris was not religious when they first met, he has seen people change, witnessed what God has done, and has formed his own ideas about faith.

"The Kahui case is just part of the parcel and you don’t need to be religious to be part of it," says Mr Ngapera. "The church is known as the Faith Family. We’re about raising and strengthening families. God has given me one man to work with so He could work with the whole nation."

And that’s exactly what they are doing.

Their holistic approach to parenting, arming mothers and fathers with the skills to understand their role as parents, is helping Chris’ sister Mona Kahui to regain custody of her daughter Cyene who was taken away after Chris and Cru died.

"I will give to them now the same support as I give to the rest of my congregation and my own family. Whoever comes through that door has that support. Margaret and I are known for what we do. The work that we do comes at a price. It’s all or nothing."

It’s been this way for almost 30 years.

People like Kahui have walked through their doors and asked for help, men charged with murder, women who have been gang raped, mothers whose children have been taken away from them.

High profile people who many dismissed as no-hopers, were given a chance through the church.

"But there’s also the good stuff," says Mr Ngapera.

Good stuff, he says, like the four national jujitsu champions who train at the church, the kapa haka group travelling to Israel in September for the Christian World Indigenous Conference and the breakfast clubs at schools that feed hungry children. There’s the homework classes, computer courses, discos, bible studies and pastoral care that make up the day to day running of the church.

The church and its volunteers, receive no government help and fund every programme themselves.

Mr Ngapera says he is dedicated to helping those who need it the most, regardless of what they’ve done or who they are.

That means if the Kahui twins’ killer wanted help, he would give it to them, he says.

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