Elim New Zealand

Of the four million people who live in New Zealand almost half of them live in Auckland and, in this great city, Elim's multicampus church has a congregation of over 2,000.  In addition to this it has a state-of-the art Christian School that educates over one thousand children and has a waiting list of over 700 who wish to attend.  The school has recently received the coveted 'Apple' award for excellence.  A remarkable feature are the huge four-coloured letters on the roof of the school campus that spell the word ELIM and can be seen on the international flight path as planes approach Auckland airport.

Recently the Jehovah's Witnesses moved their headquarters to Australia and the huge £7 million pound complex is now owned by the Aukland Elim Church and used as a leadership training centre.  The purchase of a golf course also means that the church has its own gold academy.

The brains behind this entrepreneurial expansion is senior pastor, Luke Brough, pictured here (right) with New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key.

I was there at the invitation of good friend Mike Griffiths (pictured with his wife Liz) who was the leader of Elim New Zealand prior to, at the conference, passing the baton on to Luke.  Mike is an exceptional leader who has decided to concentrate on the growth of the church of which he is the senior pastor.

My preaching schedule for the conference was hectic however as I was ministering twelve times within a six day period.  However, I love everything about New Zealand, its national culture, its church culture and its vision for the future.