The desire in Elim is to have churches that are all God wants them to be. The vision is for ministries and churches to be free to diversify and be as creative as possible to share the message of Jesus Christ.
OUR NATIONAL LEADER
Boyd Ratnaraja
National Leader
Elim International Church
Tel: +64 4 385 9634
boyd@elim.nz
NATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Featured
The Bible teaches that the church is a family. Therefore we should operate on the basis of relationship, not rules.
Statement of Faith
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The Bible
We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that none may add to or take away from, except at their peril.
The Trinity
We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and these three are one God.
The Church
We believe that the church consists of all persons who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and made new creatures in Christ Jesus.
The Saviour
We believe that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and that through the death and risen power of Christ all who believe and confess Jesus as Lord can be saved from the penalty and power of sin.
The Healer
We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Healer, and that healing is provided for in the atonement.
The Baptiser
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Baptiser in the Holy Spirit, and that this Baptism with signs following is promised to every believer.
The Coming King
We believe in the personal return of our Lord Jesus Christ to receive unto Himself all born again believers.
The Fruit
We believe that every believer on the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour should produce the ninefold fruit of His Spirit, as in Galatians 5:22‑23.
The Gifts
We believe that the church should claim and manifest the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, as in 1 Corinthians 12:8‑10.
The Ministry
We believe that God has given some Apostles, and some Prophets and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers, for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:11‑12.
Marriage and The Family
We believe in the beginning God created the first human beings in his own image, equal before God as persons, and distinct as male and female. Genesis 1:27
We believe these differences reflect God’s original design and are intended for human self-conception and human flourishing. We believe that every person is loved by God as they are and redeemable by grace through faith alone. We believe God’s purpose is for every person to know Him, love Him and to be conformed to the image of Jesus His Son.
We believe that marriage is the biblical, moral and spiritual union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life. We believe God intended marriage to be a partnership of mutual love, respect and honour, and that it is the biblical context for God’s gift of sexual intimacy. We believe that marriage between one man and one woman is the ideal and God-intended context in which to conceive and raise children. Genesis 2:24
The Minister
We believe that the Minister must live a life which displays adherence to the teachings of the Bible and Elim’s statement of faith. We believe that the minister must live a life worthy of our Lord Jesus Christ by living in accordance with standards of biblical morality and Christ-like character, and by seeking to grow in the knowledge of God. We believe that the standards of Biblical morality dictate that a minister must not engage in sexual immorality, including sexual relationships outside of the marriage relationship, or homosexuality, a minister must not be a thief, a coveter, a drunkard, a person who secures money or favours by intimidation or the misuse of authority, or a worshipper of idols. A minister must not marry any persons or other than a heterosexual couple. Colossians 1:10, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
The Future State
We believe in the resurrection of the dead, the eternal happiness of all true believers in Christ, and the eternal punishment of all Christ rejecters.
The Ordinances
We believe in the following Ordinances:
Partaking of the Lord's Supper in memory of our Lord's death and anticipating His imminent return; Baptism by immersion for believers; The Laying on of hands; The Anointing of the Sick with oil.
OUR HISTORY
The Elim churches were birthed out of the Welsh revival of 1904, a powerful spiritual awakening that brought 100,000 people to Christ.
The revival storm that hit the hills and valleys of Wales in 1904 soon became a hurricane that affected the world. Visitors caught the flame then passed it on to new countries. In 1915, the Elim Pentecostal Church was founded by a Welshman named George Jeffreys, an outstanding evangelist and church planter.
The beginning of the Pentecostal Church of New Zealand came after a well known Evangelist, Smith Wigglesworth came to New Zealand for crusades in 1922. In August 1949, negotiations were set in motion by the Conference of the Pentecostal Church of New Zealand to link up with the Elim Church of Great Britain.
Today, the Elim Church of New Zealand has over 40 churches throughout the nation with significant churches in the main centres. The Elim Pentecostal church in the United Kingdom has over 500 churches with over 9000 churches in many countries around the world. It is our belief that Elim has a significant part to play in the world today, and we are looking forward to what God will do in the future.
We live in exciting days to see the church expand rapidly across the world. There are over Elim 69 national leaders in 56 nations who lead anything from one church to several hundred churches. The Elim church family outside of Elim New Zealand is almost 320,000 people, who gather every weekend under trees or in large buildings to worship the God of the nations. There is a great opportunity in front of us to influence nations and generations for the kingdom of God.