For the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Pentecostal denomination, see Elim Fellowship

Elim Fellowship

The Elim Fellowship is a North American based Pentecostal/charismatic Christian denomination that emphasizes the spread of revival and renewal.- History :...

.

The Elim Pentecostal Church (EPC) is a UK-based Pentecostal

Pentecostalism

Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...

 Christian denomination

Christian denomination

A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...

.

History

George Jeffreys (1889–1962), a Welshman, founded the Elim Pentecostal Church in Monaghan

Monaghan

Monaghan is the county town of County Monaghan in Ireland. Its population at the 2006 census stood at 7,811 . The town is located on the main road, the N2 road, from Dublin north to both Derry and Letterkenny.-Toponym:...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 in 1915. Jeffreys was an evangelist

Evangelism

Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....

 with a Welsh Congregational church

Congregational church

Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....

 background. He was converted at age 15 during the Welsh Revival

1904-1905 Welsh Revival

The Welsh Revival was the largest Christian revival in Wales during the 20th century. While by no means the best known of revivals, it was one of the most dramatic in terms of its effect on the population, and it had repercussions that reached far beyond the Welsh border, triggering a series of...

 of 1904. Alexander A. Boddy

Alexander Boddy

Alexander Alfred Boddy was an Anglican vicar and one of the founders of Pentecostalism in Britain.-Early life:...

, Vicar of All Saints

All Saints' Church, Monkwearmouth

All Saints’ Church is a church in Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, England. A parish of All Saints was formed in 1844 when it became clear that there was no longer enough room in the only parish church for Monkwearmouth , and a church for the new parish was completed and consecrated in 1849...

, Monkwearmouth

Monkwearmouth

Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bishopwearmouth and Sunderland, the area now known as the East End. It includes the area around St. Peter's Church...

, Sunderland invited him to preach at his International Pentecostal Convention in Sunderland in May 1913. Between 1915 and 1934, Jeffreys was extremely active as a revivalist, and preached to large crowds throughout the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. The church was brought together, first as the Elim Evangelistic Band, but this was changed to Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance when the Deed Poll was registered in April 1934. The name 'Elim' was taken from the account in the Book of Exodus, chapter 15, verse 27, where the Israelites, leaving the bondage of Egypt under the leadership of Moses

Moses

Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

, found an oasis called Elim

Elim (Bible)

Elim was one of the places where the Israelites camped following their Exodus from Egypt. It is referenced in Exodus 15.27 and Numbers 33.9 as a place where "there were twelve wells of water, and seventy date palms," and that the Israelites "camped there near the water".From the information that...

: "Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters." This represented a place of refreshing and it was thought appropriate for a revival movement at that time.

Differences of opinion over Jeffrey's open aspousal of British Israelism

British Israelism

British Israelism is the belief that people of Western European descent, particularly those in Great Britain, are the direct lineal descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The concept often includes the belief that the British Royal Family is directly descended from the line of King David...

 and disputes on church governance led Jeffreys to withdraw from the Elim Pentecostal Church in 1939 and to form the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

-Pattern Church Fellowship

Fellowship

Fellowship may refer to:* An academic position: see fellow* A merit-based scholarship, or form of academic financial aid* Fellowship , a period of medical training after a residency...

 in Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

, which founded other churches throughout England until the 1960s, but that now only continues as a small fellowship. The presidency of Elim then passed to George Kingston, a wealthy businessman who had founded many of the Elim congregations in Essex.

On the night of June 23, 1978, eight British missionaries and four young children – including a three week old baby – connected with the Elim Mission in Rhodesia

Rhodesia

Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...

 (now Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

) were bayoneted to death by guerilla fighters. Most of the women were raped.

Doctrine

Elim Pentecostal beliefs include: the Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 as divinely inspired

Biblical inspiration

Biblical inspiration is the doctrine in Christian theology that the authors and editors of the Bible were led or influenced by God with the result that their writings many be designated in some sense the word of God.- Etymology :...

; the triune nature of the Godhead

Trinity

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...

; the divinity, virgin birth, humanity, sinless life, substitutionary atonement

Substitutionary atonement

Technically speaking, substitutionary atonement is the name given to a number of Christian models of the atonement that all regard Jesus as dying as a substitute for others, "instead of" them...

; bodily resurrection, present intercession, and second coming of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

; the universal sinfulness of mankind; the work of the Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...

 in conviction, repentance, regeneration and sanctification; the baptism of the Holy Spirit "with signs following"; that salvation is received by faith alone and evidenced by the fruits of the Spirit. The baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

 of believers by immersion and Communion are held to be ordinances.

Organisation

Elim has experienced steady growth and now numbers over 500 churches in the UK and almost 9000 worldwide. Kensington Temple

Kensington Temple

Kensington Temple is a large Pentecostal Church in the Notting Hill area of London. It is pastored by Reverend Colin Dye, and is the largest church in its denomination, the Elim Pentecostal Church.-History:...

 of London is the largest church in the denomination and claims to reach over 15,000 people weekly. In addition to its work with churches, the International Mission Board operates hospitals, orphanages, and schools in 35 countries. The church operates Regents Theological College

Regents Theological College

Regents Theological College is a theological college in Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is the training centre of the Elim Pentecostal Church....

 in Malvern, Worcestershire

Malvern, Worcestershire

Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...

.

The authority of governance of the church is rested in the annual Conference. Guidance of the denomination is placed in the National Leadership Team and the General Superintendent between sessions. John Glass has served as General Superintendent since 2000. Elim headquarters is in Malvern, alongside its Bible College. Elim became a founding member of the Pentecostal Churches of the United Kingdom in 1998. It has been a member of the Evangelical Alliance

Evangelical Alliance

The Evangelical Alliance is a London-based charitable organization founded in 1846. It has a claimed representation of over 1,000,000 evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom and is the oldest alliance of evangelical Christians in the world....

for many years.

Though the local congregations are commonly and popularly known as Elim Pentecostal Churches, the legal name of the denomination is still Elim Foursquare Gospel Alliance, which is based on the church's stand for four fundamental truths - "Jesus Christ as the Saviour, Healer, Baptiser in the Holy Spirit, and Coming King."

External links

• Official website of the Elim Pentecostal Church
• Regents Theological College - official Web Site
• Serious4God - Elim's youth department, official Web Site
• Kingdom Living Pentecostal Church, Staines
• Pentecostal Pioneers - Biographical material about Jeffreys brothers etc.
• Elim Connect Centre - Elim Connect Centre in Wells, official Web Site