Historic meeting stopped split

In 1981, the Elim Pentecostal Church faced a deep crisis of identity, influence and decline. The Southport Conference united leaders, confronted hard truths, and sparked renewal – averting a major split and reshaping the movement’s future, writes Maldwyn Jones.

Elim encountered significant challenges in 1981. Indeed, at the end of the Special Conference held in Southport in October of that year, Wesley Gilpin, one of Elim’s greatest statesmen compared the difficulties confronting Elim to those of the period from 1936-1940.

Students of Elim history will be aware that Gilpin was referring to the schism that occurred within the Movement which resulted in the resignation of Elim’s Founder and Leader, George Jeffreys.

They were perilous times for the young British Pentecostal denomination.

Approximately 40 ministers and 30 congregations left Elim to join George Jeffreys and the Bible Pattern organisation.

They were dark and difficult times for a movement that was barely 25 years old.

The final parting of the way between George Jeffreys and the movement that he had founded occurred when Britain was involved in probably the greatest war in her entire history.

For such a highly esteemed former Bible College principal as Wesley Gilpin to compare the events and times leading up to October 1981 with the difficulties that Elim encountered in the late 30s reveals something of nature of the problems facing Elim in the early 80s.

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