Elim Centenary, Scotland

The result of eighteen months of planning and preparation came to fruition when over 1500 gathered in the iconic Armadillo arena at the SECC for the centenary celebrations.  Regional leader Kevin Peat was quick to mention the work that the organising team had put into the success of the event - notably Alan Scobie, Gordon Alan and James Glass.  It was a night of great worship, video memories and, after I had brought the message the whole congregation stood together in making a verbal declaration of their commitment to move into the next phase of our Movement's life believing that, without doubt, 'The best is yet to come'.

The night was hallmarked by those who came to faith for the first time and many who recommitted their life to the Lord.  Elim in Scotland has never been in a stronger position than it is today and its commitment to church growth and continued church planting make it clear that there is, under God, a great future to be anticipated.

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.

Coventry Elim

Coventry Elim has never been in a more healthy  state.  Already in multiple Sunday morning services, it now meets once a month in a city centre theatre so that all the church family can be together. Over 700 people were present at  service at which I spoke.

Duncan and Helen Clark (pictured) have led the church for several years and have built a great team around them which, together with the Elders and a committed congregation, have created, under God, something that has a full potential yet to be realised.

A recent survey showed that 75% of the congregation are younger than the senior pastor which certainly augers well for the future.

Apart from leading one of our Movements fastest growing churches Duncan is also a member of Elim's National leadership Team.

Hatfield

Fifteen years ago Mike and Heather Dyce, then based in St.Albans, pioneered a church in Hatfield.

Today both of them are ordained Elim ministers and the church which has steadily grown over the years attracts a wide age range and cultural base with many nationalities represented.

After a number of challenges and initial setbacks they were able to secure the town centre building that they are now in which, apart from a worship area has large office areas and facilities from which they operate their several community outreaches.

They are the second largest facility in the town (after Asda)

Mike remains bi-vocational and this church is an  example of what can be achieved by sacrificial and tenacious leadership.  It was great to be with them for the day.

Elim Centenary Birmingham

During the next few months I have the privilege of speaking at venues all over the UK as our Movement celebrates its centenary.

The first of these was in the iconic Birmingham Town Hall which was packed to the rafters with Elim people from the Midlands.  Many people who wanted to purchase tickets were unable to do so such was the demand to be part of this very special day.

Many thanks to Gordon Neale, Stuart Blount and a team of great leaders who put the day together and to Leon Evans and Abby Eaton who led the worship.

Elim, Glasgow

I am often asked what relation James Glass is to me and the precise answer is 'first cousin one removed' and my time at the church coincided with James and Beryl's wedding anniversary - the happy occasion at which I had the pleasure of officiating at 22 year ago.

My visit, part from ministry on the Sunday morning, was to speak at a  lunch for around thirty of the core leaders on the Saturday.

Kevin Peat, the Regional Leader for Scotland, tells me that the Glasgow church is currently the strongest it has been in its long history and this was corroborating by the ;largest Sunday service I have preached at on the many occasions I have visited the Glasgow church over the years.

James is a member of Elim's National Leadership Team.

Elim Chinese Church, London

 Without doubt one of the highlights of my year was attending the double celebration of Elim's Chinese church in London

The meal, followed by a excellent presentation in music, dance and drama marked their 27th year as a church and our Movement's centenary celebration.

 In a future edition of Direction we will feature a story of the this great church with a selection of photo's highlighting its journey.

Aaron and Anna Chan, who are both ordained Elim ministers, have been instrumental in building the church network while remaining for much of the time bi-vocational and the photo below features the core leaders of the church.

One of the most significant thing that one  notices, apart from the vibrant worship and dedication of the people, is the broad spread of ages with a large proportion consisting of those in their Twenties.

An unforgettable day.

Norwich, TLC

 There has been an Elim church in Norwich for many years but now Norwich (TLC) - Today's Lifestyle Church is now Elim's newest church.  An already established church of around eighty people in an excellent facility has applied to join our Movement.

Dominic and Catherine De Souza have moved from the 400 strong Elim church in Letchworth to lead the current congregation and already plans are underway to build a significant church complex in the heart of the city.

I preached at this significant and pivotal service and David Campbell, the Regional Leader for the area, presided over the induction.

Infuse

Infuse began as a Midlands-based family camp but in recent years has become a youth event under the leadership of Tim Alford and the Serious4God team.  Located in the Three Counties Showground at the foot of the Malvern hills there could hardly be better location for the fine event that caters in its various venues for everyone from Children to young adults.

I was the speaker for the latter group which I noticed was three times larger than it was on the last occasion I was there.  The session was ably led by Mike Nicholls who, with his wife Becky are part of the team at Elim in Northampton.

Elim Festival

This family camp has been running for fifty three years and the reason I know that is because I attended the first one when I was just fourteen years of age.  In those days it was situated in Fraisethorpe near Bridlington and, over the years,  has impacted thousands of lives for the good.

Those who have attended may remember the speakers and others the friends that they made.  But there is one group of people - possibly the most important of all and without whom a ministry of this nature would be impossible - the volunteers.

Rising early in the morning and working until late at night these men and women, who are often sacrificing their own annual holiday to be there, work tirelessly so other people ca be blessed.  Regional Leader and NLT member, Gordon Neale, has been a central part of Elim Festival over much of its life and the camp is currently led by Mark Greenwood and a first class team of people who make it possible.  I loved speaking at this great event.

Gateway Church launceston

John and Sally Berriman after running a successful business commenced a church in St. Ives which they then brought in to our Movement.  From there they moved to Launceston where they they planted a church five years ago which met in the local town hall.

It was a joy to be present at the dedication of their new new premises (pictured) named the Gateway Church as this small town of just 8000 population is called the Gateway to Devon and Cornwall.

To secure a facility of this nature after such a short time is phenomenal and the many rooms within it are being utilised for the benefit of the community.  Not content to rest on their laurels, they have now branched out into the town of Bodmin.  What a tremendous example these fine leaders are.

One Church

One Church, has a number of expressions in towns around the immediate area.  Simon Jarvis who was the senior leader of One Church Gloucester has now passed  that responsibility on to his brother Jon and, though his family is still based in Gloucester, he gives oversight to the wider network  of churches.

I was the speaker on the occasion that they brought the core leaders of the various expressions together for the first time.

Newry,

 It was a pleasure to spend the weekend in Northern Ireland with Mike and Roberta Holohan and the Elim church in Newry.  This was  to be the first of two visits to the Province in a week.

Newly suffered greatly in the Troubles but this congregation refuses to label and categorise people and that is perhaps one of the reasons it is achieving such a high level of success.

Looking at the fine building with its worship centre, lounge and offices it is hard to believe that the church is just five years old.

It also has a great heart for the community and, adjacent to the church is a warehouse that houses the food bank that is a resources to everyone who may be in need - irrespective of their church background or even if they have not yet come to faith.  Thank you Newry for all that you are doing to to extend the Kingdom of God in your area and also for your very warm welcome.

Barnsley

The Barnsley Elim building may be small but it was still full for the service at which I preached.  The church has developed well under the ministry of Albert and Florentine Bootha-King (pictured here with their daughter Altine and son Jesse).

One of the highlights of the service was music ministry by a newly formed girl group which makes it clear that the size of church can make little difference to the quality of ministry that can emanate from it.

Woolwich

David Oorloff, pictured here with his wife Marina has ministered in Woolwich, London for an amazing thirty years.  Up until just six years ago David, in order to see the church established and because there was very little finance when he arrived, worked bi-vocationally.

The condition of the church today bears testimony to the high level of commitment that David and Marina have given, and continue to give, to the church.  It is several years since I was last there but it was thrilling to see a church doubled in size since that occasion and full to capacity for the morning service.

Silverdale

From our largest church in our nation's capital I moved on to speak in the small town of Silverdale near Stoke on Trent that has a population of just 7000 people.  

However though the context is small the vision is not and a fine building in the heart of the community attracts around 150 people every Sunday.  As I have no weekends free for the remainder of my tenure, I was invited to speak at the Wednesday evening service. Senior Pastor Edwin Cotter (pictured with his wife Lorna) have faithfully served the church for almost ten years and have created a great sense of 'family' within this longstanding and well-established church that seeks to serve the community in which it is located.

Kensington Temple

KT, as it is more commonly called, is by far Elim's largest church with five major consecutive services on a Sunday and many branches around London that have been birthed from it that make up the network of 'London City Church'

Not only has Colin Dye been the senior minister for the past twenty-four years but, when I retire from my role as General Superintendent in a few months time, will be the longest serving member on Elim's National Leadership Team

I spoke at the 9  and 11 am meetings and would estimate that around 1,800 people were present for the two services

K.T's vision statement "London and the world for Christ" is far more than a simple aspiration for the influence of this church around the world is phenomenal.  With a powerful core team, led by associate minister Bruce Atkinson, and a committed membership Kensington Temple can only, by God's grace,  grow in impact and effectiveness in the years that lie ahead.  Colin and Amanda Dye are two of our closest friends and it was a joy to spend be with them again for the day.

Elim Tamil Church

It was good to be with Daniel Stanley (pictured here with his wife Sunitha and their children Joshua and Rachel) on the occasion of the second anniversary of the church in Manor Park, London.

Daniel initially planted a church in Liverpool, where they currently live, but travels to London in order to establish the congregation in Manor Park.

The building was full for the anniversary at which I had been invited to speak.  The worship was entirely in the Tamil language and one of the highlights of the anniversary was the contribution that the children made to the service.

Daniel was a banker in India before moving with Sunitha to the UK.  The growth of the church is due to their tenacious hard work and sacrificial service.

AoG Conference

During my tenure as General Superintendent my closest friends have included the leaders of our sister fellowship the Assemblies of God.  Some people are unsure as to what the difference is between our two groups.  Doctrinally we believe identically-  it is simply that we are organised differently.  Both John Partington, pictured, and I have always held an ambition that our two Movements could work in an ever closer partnership. It was a great pleasure to be present at their recent leaders conference in Peterborough.

Aberystwyth

Those unfamiliar with North Wales would probably not be aware how far Aberystwyth is from any other major town.  Despite that, the church has had a strong witness in the area for many years though perhaps never to the degree  of blessing it is enjoying currently.

Joel Pridmore (pictured) senior minister and founder member of Elim Sound has made a significant impact during the time that he has been there and, given the situation of his church office overlooking the harbour has one of the best views of any church in the Movement.  If your church is a contender for that pole position, why not let us know.