Prayer Initiative

Ko Whiromena (Mina) taku ingoa
Ko Ngongotaha te maunga
Ko Rotoruanui-a-kahu-matamoemoe te moana
Ko Te Arawa te waka
Ko Ngati whakaue raua ko ngati Pikiao, oku iwi
Ko Te Papaiouru, raua ko Te Takinga oku marae
No Rotorua ahau
Ko Dennis Acraman toku hoa tane
No Whitianga e noho ana

Whiromena (Mina) Acraman and her husband Dennis, along with a great leadership team, have led the Crossroad Church, Whitianga, in the beautiful Coromandel since 2015. They have one son and five beautiful mokopuna. Her happy place is weaving, a craft she took up while she was still living in Hastings. Her goal was to make a Korowai for her whanau, which she accomplished. It was her joy to see her oldest mokopuna wear it at her university graduation. It is also used for other special events in her whanau.

Mina has many years of experience in church leadership.  Her passion for Jesus, and love for His church, with a pioneering spirit, leads her to catch godly vision and then just to do it. She has initiated several new endeavours in the AGNZ movement. Among these initiatives was the beginning of the Lower North Island Women’s Ministry, which saw many women released into ministry. After much persuasion, she stood for the AGNZ Executive, becoming the first woman to be appointed in its nearly 100-year history. Being an Indigenous leader, she activated a structured approach to Māori ministries – seeing many Māori flourish in their environment, e.g. on marae, hui, and wananga. Mina carries a deep passion for helping people identify their spiritual calling and see them released into all that God has intended them to be.

Mina holds several portfolios as part of her responsibilities for the AGNZ Executive. This includes oversight of prayer for the movement and the MM33 vision. Why prayer? For Mina, it was during her daily habit of walking the beach and listening to the Word of God she heard the Spirit say, “Give me one hour” Two days later, while talking to a friend, she was asked ‘would you like to meet with us on zoom for one hour each day for prayer’? Prayer consisted of praying in the Holy Spirit's language, which has continued daily for four years. Many have now joined us. We have also connected with other prayer initiatives – truly, PRAYER IS AWAKENED IN THE AGNZ MOVEMENT!!

Sanjai Kandregula, his wife Sunitha and two little boys arrived in New Zealand 25 years ago from India with a call for this nation. Although he didn’t initially know the specifics of that call, he faithfully pursued whatever God placed before him. In 2012, God began speaking to him about the importance of unity and the power of united prayer. This led Sanjai to gather believers across denominations, starting in West Auckland. In 2014, 3,500 people gathered at a local stadium to worship Jesus, lift His name, and pray for their community.

In 2016, Sanjai and a few others initiated the annual Auckland Prayer Breakfast, which now sees over 600 people meeting at Eden Park to pray for the city.

Sanjai desires to see believers come together and pray—whether in small groups, via Zoom, or large gatherings at stadiums nationwide. He believes that, ultimately, it’s all about seeking the will of the Lord and obeying His guidance.

Paul Cornish is married to Michelle; they have four children and three grandchildren. Together, they lead the Hawera A/G church and share a burden to make Jesus known and loved with the other local churches in South Taranaki. Paul and Michelle are Laidlaw (BCNZ) graduates and have led churches throughout Aotearoa, NZ, in different denominations over the years.

Paul has a passion for unity in the body of Christ, to see believers intentionally manifest the unity won on the cross. Paul senses a strong call to help church leaders take responsibility for demonstrating Christ's presence in their town or city. A shared, corporate witness to the power of the resurrection always begins with prayer and worship. Being convinced of this, Paul has been used by God to inspire others to pray and to call believers to join Jesus in his continued intercessions.

Paul was deeply impacted by the 2022 Conference declarations Ps Tak Barna led us in: “The Assemblies of God in New Zealand will become a movement of prayer.” Being able to serve on the Prayer Team, a group dedicated to raising up an army of prayers capable of continuous prayer for decades to come, is a genuine joy for Paul.

Pastor Binuraj serves as the Senior Pastor of Bethel Assemblies of God Auckland, a multicultural church he and his wife pioneered in 2007. Hailing from India, Binuraj is a second-generation Assemblies of God pastor and has been Pastoring since he was 22. He holds a triple master's degree in English, Theology, and Education and has earned a Doctorate in Ministry from the Asian Theological Association.  

Binuraj is married to Ancilla, and they are blessed with three children: Bryan, Brianna, and Brendan. As a leader of the Bethel church planting movement, he has overseen the establishment of thriving churches in Wellington, New Plymouth, and Hamilton, with a vision to expand the gospel throughout New Zealand.

A passionate prayer warrior and a teacher of the Word of God, Binuraj currently serves as the Regional Overseer of the Assemblies of God churches in Auckland. He possesses a shepherd’s heart and an evangelist’s calling. Pioneering churches and interceding for the nation are divine mandates entrusted to Pastor Binuraj and his family. They are grateful to be part of a church and movement with the same philosophy and commitment.

Sajan Easow and his wife Jessy were born and raised in the state of Gujarat in India. They immigrated to New Zealand in 2003, accompanied by their 4-year-old daughter. They co-pastor Revive Church, a multilingual and multicultural congregation, which they pioneered after serving as pastors and in other leadership roles in a very influential church in Hastings for 10 years. 

Sajan and Jessy’s lives are full of adventures of faith and the power of the Holy Spirit. They have a passion for seeing people walk in God's freedom and destiny. They travel extensively to conduct seminars and speak at conferences. In these seminars, they share a step-by-step, easy-to-follow process that they have learned from the personal, life-changing inner healing and restoration journey that God took them through. 

Jessy and Sajan co-authored a book on inner wholeness: Revived and Restored (Keys to a healed, restored, renewed heart).

Sajan has a background in accountancy, while Jessy is a trained secondary school maths teacher. They have two beautiful daughters, Jeriel and Ariel, who are 25 and 17, respectively. They both passionately love God and actively serve in The Kingdom. Jeriel loves working with the youth. She is a worshipper and songwriter. She released her album ‘Beautiful Grace’ at the age of 17. Ariel is a writer, speaker, and debater and does podcasts on Radio Hawke's Bay. She is currently sitting on the Hastings District Youth Council.

Riana Kassim is one of the Pastors of ‘Our City Church’, supporting the Church with project management, strategy, and governance.

She has led the SWORD International Prayer Team for 15+ years. This Team focuses on raising up seasoned, consistent, and passionate intercessors. The Team is also involved in organizing conferences, charity dinners, and missions locally and internationally.

Originally from Zimbabwe, Africa, Riana has lived in New Zealand for over 20 years. She came from a Muslim background and converted to Christianity. She has not looked back and has served the Lord for over 30 years.

By God’s gifting and grace, Riana operates in the spiritual gifts of prophecy, speaking in tongues and interpretation of tongues; as well as teaching, training and expressing God through His word.

She has travelled extensively through the USA, UK, Fiji, Australia, and the Bahamas, ministering to the people of God. Her passion is to travel the world teaching, preaching the gospel, developing Godly leaders, and helping the body of Christ realise and operate in its gifts.

Kia ora,
Ko Makuini Kokiri tōku ingoa
Pirongia te maunga
Waipa te awa
Tainui te waka
Ngaati Maahanga Hourua tōku hāpu
Waikato raua ko Te Arawa ōku iwi
Oomaero me Te Papa ō Rotu ōku Marae
Nō Waikato e noho ana

My name is Makuini Kokiri, and I was born and raised in Waikato. I have three tamariki, two in college, and the youngest is in her first year of intermediate. They have a love for kapa haka, creative arts and digital arts. For myself, being raised in the country and only a 20-minute drive to Raglan, I grew up in the orchards, out in the garden fields, fishing and gathering kai Moana. I loved sports and represented many sports teams, and I also became a representative for Waikato Touch and Rugby League. Fishing is definitely something I still love to do.

I attend Nga Puna Wai o te Ora church, it is an A/G Marae based church located in Whatawhata at Oomaero Paa. I am part of the leadership team of Nga Puna Wai o te Ora with my primary role of operating in the prophetic gift in my local church, prayer and intercession.

Over the last four years, I have been involved in Holy Spirit-led prayer and intercession, and it has helped me develop a solid foundation in my relationship with the Lord. I can honestly say that without a solid prayer life, I would not be wholeheartedly functioning for the true purposes of God. Prayer and intercession are a passion for me, but it has become more than that. It is also a daily lifestyle that keeps me humble, grounded and accountable to the Lord. Because of that, I know who I truly am as a child of the most - high God.

Tina Bartlett lives at Cooks Beach with her husband who is a great handyman and loves fishing. They are both long term members of the Cooks Beach Volunteer Fire Brigade, where their youngest daughter served 5 years before moving to Tauranga. They have 3 adult children and 4 grandchildren who all have a love of being out, on, in and under the water. Catching the prize fish of the day is always steeped in fierce competition and hilarity.  

Tina has a heart for worship and has previously led teams through many seasons in 3 churches in Whitianga. She also has a heart to see youth trained and raised up into leadership capacity. To this end, she champions and oversees a local annual 4-day camp for 300 children 6 -13 years, empowering teens in practical outworking to lead and make good decisions on the run, and in small groups. She is visionary, an entrepreneur and a capable member of any leadership team.