Assemblies of God New Zealand

Ken Harrison

Ken has successfully led and consistently grown his South Auckland church, Harvest Christian Church, for the last twenty nine years. He envisions personal, interpersonal and organisational learning as critical to expanding Church influence. Locally, his commitment is expressed through working with a team of fourteen staff in a range of community-focused ministries. Nationally, he is dedicated to the leadership of his Church Movement and the coordination of knowledge-based networks. Internationally, he is a passionate promoter of foreign missions and leadership principles for growth.

Ken believes in leading by example, and for twenty nine years he has equipped his local church by establishing extensive leadership, ministry development, and missions’ programmes. These programmes support missionaries, facilitate pastors and leaders seminars, produce and distribute key literature, plant churches, release outreach teams, and assist pastors and churches around New Zealand and overseas. He frequently runs and features in leadership conferences, bible colleges, churches, and mission seminars. He has planted and presently oversees numerous churches and has spoken as a recognised consultant in church and business contexts, to provide organisational training and solutions.

With over twenty three years experience on the Executive Presbytery of the Assemblies of God, Ken has proven to be popular and persuasive in his vision for change and enduring relevance for the Movement. Four years ago he was elected to the Executive Council of the World Assemblies of God as one of four Superintendents representing the Asia Pacific Region. Ken is also the Convenor of the National Church Leaders meeting for New Zealand, which is attended by the heads of the various church denominations and movements in New Zealand. Beside these leadership positions he also leads and participates in numerous networks, seeing them as providing a quality of relationship, input and accountability essential for leadership survival and church growth. His motivation in all of these endeavours is to see mentored leaders, healthy churches, and a vibrant movement.

Ken is committed to education as a means of pursuing balanced excellence. He was the founding Chairman of Advance Ministry Training Centre (Southern Cross College New Zealand) and has lectured there, as well as at numerous Schools of the Bible and Bible Training Centres, and he was also National Director for ICI (International Correspondence Institute) for a number of years. He is always learning more because he understands that, in this Information Age, to cease learning is to cease living. Currently he is completing his MA in Leadership through Southern Cross College and Sydney School of Divinity.

His wife, Pastor Raewyn Harrison, leads with her husband both nationally and internationally as a credentialed ministry complement. She is active in Harvest Christian Church as Co-Senior Pastor, and is an integral team member of the National Vision Team of A/G Women’s Ministries, as well as being the leader for the Women’s Ministries Auckland Region.

Ken and Raewyn have two adult children who are both married, and one grandchild.

Iliafi Esera

Iliafi is the Senior Pastor of Faith City Church (Wanganui) and has been with the church for over fifteen years. The church is a thriving, growing congregation and is one of the largest in the city. The church is very strong on Missions and supports numerous missionaries and missions’ endeavours in several countries as well as pioneer churches in Russia. The church also runs a Christian School with a roll in excess of 140 students and a teaching staff of eight.

Iliafi was saved through the ministry of Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International and was brought up under the ministry of Pastor Peter Morrow (Christchurch New Life Center) and Pastor Talosia Vanilau (St Luke’s Samoan A/G). He served in various departments of the church including Children’s and Youth Ministries, Outreaches and lay preaching. He also served under the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship and Prison Fellowship, serving in various outreaches, speaking engagements and rehabilitation of prisoners on their release.

In 1984 Iliafi helped pioneer the Mangaweka A/G and became the church’s first pastor. He saw the church grow to be one of the largest churches per capita in the country, with over 20% of the town saved and in the church. Iliafi and his family left Mangaweka in 1992 to take up their present pastorate.

Iliafi is married to Falefiaoalii (Fia), who also holds A/G NZ credentials. They have five children and three grandchildren. They have ministered extensively in New Zealand, Australia, Asia, the United States, Hawaii, England and the Pacific Islands in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches as well as Mainline Church circles. He is a regular speaker at Promise Keepers Conferences and a regular teacher at Youth With A Mission’s Discipleship Training Schools, as well as at Youth For Christ’s Evangelistic Crusades and camps.

Iliafi was born in Samoa and has lived in New Zealand since 1972. He has been involved with the A/G NZ for twenty seven years and has been a pastor for the last twenty three years. Iliafi is a current member of the Executive Presbytery and for the past four years has been the Assistant General Superintendent.

Lau Faletutulu

Lau has been involved in the Assemblies of God in New Zealand for many years serving mainly in the Samoan churches. He was born again in Samoa in 1969 while studying in Avele College, Apia Western Samoa; and then travelled to New Zealand in 1976 for further education. He served in Porirua Samoan A/G for a number of years in various positions including oversight of the youth for many years.

He is married to Nancy and they have two sons Makisua and Charles and daughter Rose who all love and continually serve the Lord. Lau and Nancy have recently taken on the role of leading the Samoan churches with A/G NZ.

In 1979, Lau and Nancy moved to Napier to pastor the Napier Samoan A/G, and have seen the church grow and expand and have in the past three years built a new church seating 1000 people on a ten acre property. God has blessed them and they have reached not only to their Samoan people but across the borders to other cultures and nations. They both have a passion for missions and often travel on mission teams.

Alan Hood

Alan and Elena live in the amazing city of Tauranga with their four children Caleb, Kirsten, Sara and Andre.

They have had the privilege of leading City Church Tauranga for the past three years after taking over from Alan’s parents, James and Mary.

Alan is passionate about empowering and releasing leaders, equipping people to live a Kingdom life, and seeing the church in New Zealand grow to become healthy, strong and effective. In his spare time he enjoys hanging out with his family, having coffee with friends, and watching and playing sport.

Pat Lamborn

Pat Lamborn currently leads Connect Community Church (formerly Timaru A/G) along with his wife of 30 years, Margie.

Pat was saved and filled with the Holy Spirit in 1974 at the Donnelly's Crossing A/G. He later returned to live there after completing a degree at Massey University where he and Margie initially sharemilked and then bought their own farm. In 1990-92 both he and Margie attended the Assemblies of God Bible College in Sandringham. Pat then spent 5 years as an associate Pastor at West City Christian Centre.

In 1997 they were called to Timaru A/G. This growing church has a strong mission focus – local and global. Community impacting ministries are after-school children’s work, two youth groups, a large young-mothers group, drama productions, trolley derbies and concerts. Pat has lead teams into Thailand, Vietnam, Java and recently into Tanzania.

He is a strong believer in city-wide church unity, involved in the local Minister's association and coordinating events. Pat also serves as the Police chaplain for South Canterbury. He was in the first MA (lead) cohort and continues to study to extend himself. He keeps his sanity by rebuilding a '65 S-Type Jaguar, keeping in touch with their 5 children and now arriving grandchildren.

He has been a Regional Overseer for 5 years and currently oversees the Central South Island district.

Don James

Don has been involved in the A/G NZ for thirty three years. He was born again at Massey University in 1971 while studying biotechnology. After graduating he joined the Hamilton A/G where he served for twenty years. Don married Penny in 1976 and they have two adult sons who both love the Lord.

In 1989 Don left his executive position in the Dairy Industry to follow God’s call to the ministry. From 1989 to 1994 Don was on staff at the Hamilton A/G serving in various positions which included having oversight of Ngaruawahia, Raglan & Morrinsville Assemblies & the responsibility for establishing the Evangel Ministry Training College.

Don has served on the Overseas Missions Council for nine years and has led numerous overseas missions’ teams, ministering extensively in leadership training & Pastors’ Seminars. He has been on the Executive Presbytery since where for the first two years he had executive responsibilities for the Northland, Auckland North and Auckland South regions. For the last two years Don has held executive responsibilities for Northland and Overseas Missions.

For the past thirteen years Don & Penny have been leading the Crossroads Community Church in Whangarei. Under their leadership the church has more than doubled in size to become one of the larger churches in Northland.

Don’s wife Penny has always been an integral part of his ministry. Penny is responsible for Pastoral Care, Women’s Ministries and Children’s Ministries at Crossroads and is currently a member of the national Women’s Ministries Vision Team.

Peter Tate

Peter has been happily married to Annette for 29 years and has three adult children. He has been an A/G Pastor for over 22 years now, following an 11 year career in teaching.

Peter began his ministry as Assistant Pastor and then finally Senior Pastor of Marton Assembly of God. He and his family then moved to Auckland to become Senior Pastor of Avondale Christian Centre. He has been in Avondale for fourteen years now and leads a healthy multi-cultural congregation, lectures at Alphacrucis, our National Bible College, regularly conducts seminars in Leadership Development and Preaching throughout New Zealand and in Uganda, and has served as Regional Overseer of the Auckland Region in 2009.

During the last five years, Peter has been studying towards his MA in Leadership Studies through Alphacrucis and will finish his degree this year.

Peter's passion is to see strong leaders continually developed within our movement. New Zealand is fast becoming a very multi-cultural country. He believes we must be preparing ourselves as a movement to successfully adapt to these changes. The continuing development of positive relationship networks within the A/G is also of great importance to ensure our Pastors are supported and encouraged.

Don McDonell

Don and Julia were radically saved on 10 October 1978 and the following day led their best friend to the Lord. Over the next year, God miraculously transformed their family seeing every relative saved and many people in their neighborhood also saved. They raised a youth group from 3 to 150 that influenced every youth group within Whangarei.

The family moved to Tonga in 1985 and saw numerous inmates in the prison saved then rehabilitated. They also saw many people in the villages saved. During this time Don traveled to Fiji during the coup to speak at many crusades that saw hundreds give their lives to the Lord.

In 1987, the family moved to Melbourne to attend Harvest Bible College and also serve as Assistant Pastors at Waverly Community Church. Ten years later Don was awarded “Student of the Decade” by Harvest Bible College for his contribution to the Kingdom of God.

In 1989, Don and Julia were approached to help pioneer South City CLC in South Auckland and function as the evangelists for the church. This was the beginning of twelve years of evangelism that took Don to many countries seeing thousands saved and many churches pioneered.

Don was challenged eight years ago to pioneer a church in Albany, to raise up the next generation moving in the power of God. His belief is within the prophetic walls of the local church, where hope is conceived, dreams are nurtured and destiny is released.

Don and Julia have four children and six grandchildren. The blessing is generational.