New Here?

Welcome home!
We are family.  Welcome home.  Elim is a Christ-centered, friendly, vibrant and relevant church.   We love God. We love people. We believe that every person has purpose and makes a difference.  And we're here to encourage you and support you take your next steps in your faith journey.

When are your services?

Our in-church service times are 9 am, 10 am and 11 am.

Our online service is on Sunday morning at 10am.

Join us via our website, YouTube or Facebook.

Where are you? How do I get there?

The church is located at 11 Heriot Drive, Elsdon, Porirua. On the corner of Lyttelton Avenue and Heriot Drive. Just down the road from Bunnings, just up from the lights, over the road from the Arena, next to Little Adventurer's Early Learning Centre. Here's a map.

What do I wear?

You can come as you are. No need for a suit or a tie (but you are welcome to wear them if you like). We're interested in you, not your clothes.

We dress smart-casual. Check out some pics on our facebook page and you'll get the idea.

If you attend an online service - you can wear what you like!

What are the services like?

Our services are contemporary, up beat, positive, relevant, non-threatening, helpful. We spend some time singing worship songs, we might have an item, someone will let us know what's coming up or we'll watch what we call 'ETV' (our own Elim TV news), we listen to a talk based on the Bible that helps us live great lives, we take an offering toward the things we're working toward (no obligation or pressure), and we catch up with each other before, during and after the service. We have a real coffee machine and a great barristas. So come early, hang around after the service, grab a coffee, and enjoy the atmosphere. 

You can watch one of our services on our facebook page.

What if I can't sing?

Who cares? Some of us can, some of us can't, but we still love being involved.

Will I have to do anything?

No. You can come and 'check us out' with no obligations and no expectations. We make a general welcome to our new friends during the service, because you are important to us, but you don't have to say or do anything. We are friendly though - so there may be a few people that say hello to you.  

Will I have to give money?

No, there is no obligation on you at all. We don't expect our guests and visitors to 'pay.' 

We do believe that being generous (to God and others) is a path to prospering and a way to worship God.

We do encourage our church family to worship through giving, to invest in projects and people, and to share the financial load together. It's easy when we all help out. 

But we won't pressure you - the decision will always be with you.

If you do want to give via the church head over the Give page.

What about the kids?

We are a family friendly church. We love kids. We have lots of young families. We have a creche and Kids' Church that operate during our Sunday morning service. Come early and meet our awesome Kids' leaders and Youth leaders - they'll help your young people settle in so that you can enjoy the service and make some new friends.

We have a children's program operating during our 10 am and 11 am services.  During school holidays we give our teams a break, and may run a family friendly movie or games with the kids.

We check our children in and out of Kids Church.  This is a part of our safety plan for children.

Do I have to know anyone to come?

No, not at all. But we know you'll make some new friends when you're here and you'll find someone like you pretty quickly. Then, when you come again, you will know someone.

Can I come by myself?

Yes, absolutely. Just rock up. Our services start on time, so come early and find a seat in the auditorium.

Do I need to pre register? 

We don't force anyone to do anything, or to believe anything. We will, however, present to you, with all of our conviction, what we believe God wants for you. Sometimes this might get in your face and be challenging. But we think that's a good thing. Some of the most important decisions you can make in life are not necessarily the decisions you want to make. (Ask someone whose house burnt down who didn't want to buy insurance.) But when you understand why the decision is so important, then you can make up your own mind. So: we'll encourage you and challenge you and give you lots of opportunities to make great decisions that will help you in life, but at the end of the day, you are always in control of what you do or don't do.  We are firm believers in personal responsibility: so if you know you need to get right with God, or change an area in your life - then ultimately that is your call - a decision you have to make.  Jesus told people to 'follow him' then it was up to them.  Our role as a church family is to give direction, explanation, truth, encouragement, and support.

What do you believe?

The most important thing we believe is that God loves us. That changes everything.

The second most important thing we believe is that we are made for relationship with God - and that relationship is made possible by Jesus Christ - his life, death and resurrection.  Jesus said that anyone who believes in him becomes a member of the family of God.

The third most important thing we believe is that you are important - to God and to us. 

There are a lot of other things we believe. Some of the distinctive things we believe (our Statement of Faith) can be found at http://www.elim.nz/statement-of-faith.

What is your vision?

Our vision is to see every person saved, healed, set free, discipled, equipped, empowered, and serving. 

You'll hear us use these words: BELIEVE, BELONG, BECOME and BUILD.

And these words: God first, People matter, I make a difference, We build together.

How are you structured and organised?

We have a group of pastors, who lead the church and preach and teach, and shepherd the church.

The Senior Pastor is accountable to the leadership team - a group of Elders and Trustees, and to the Elim National Leadership Team of the Elim Churches of New Zealand.  The NLT is made up of five nominated pastors from the other Elim churches in New Zealand.

We have ministry leaders who run our ministries and lead our teams to deliver the ministries of the church.

We believe that the church is a body, that everyone is gifted in some way and are important in making the church work the way it should. We're organised to get things done, but no one is 'more important than the other'; we are all important and we all depend on each other.  

Do you have church membership?

The first thing we invite new people to is Growth Track - a four week intro to the church.  We explain who we are, you get to find out who you are and what excites you - and then you can decide if this is the church for you.  If it is - you let us know, and we start a journey together.  Simple.

Not as strictly as some other churches do. We tend to find that if people decide to commit themselves to the church as their church, then they begin to contribute financially. You can do this by requesting a giving number. If you hang around for a little while, you'll find out how we define membership.

To be a good church member (or a member of any group, for that matter) means that you are committed to attending, you are in relationship with some people in the church, you encourage others to come, you help out practically and financially, and you honour others in the church.  

What if I don't agree with what you teach?

We are all open to learning. We will listen and learn.  If it is a matter of belief you might be better to find a church that does align with what you believe. We have some Biblical convictions that we believe are non-negotiables.

Can I talk to a Pastor?  Can someone pray with me?

Yes, absolutely. You can request an appointment by ringing the office on 237 0451, of by going to our Contact Us page and leaving a message, or by asking one of the team at church. We'd love to meet you and talk with you.

If you have any other questions we'd love to hear them.  Head over to our Contact Us page and drop us a note.

Look forward to meeting you soon.