About Us

The Elim Pentecostal Church is a growing Movement of more than 550 Christian congregations in the UK and Ireland and over 3000 congregations around the world.

Elim was founded in 1915 by George Jeffreys, a young Christian from Maesteg in South Wales. Jeffreys and a group of friends, known as the Elim Evangelistic Band, preached, started churches and witnessed a move of God that was characterised by miraculous healings and an explosion in the number of people becoming Christians.

In a world that can feel like a desert, our 21st-century churches seek to be a place of spiritual resource within their communities.

The founders wanted the name of their new Movement to express their vision and values, and so chose ‘Elim’, the name of an oasis in the Bible that the people of Israel discovered as they wandered through the desert. It provided shade and refreshment to all who encountered it.


There has been an Elim Church in Dewsbury since April 1953 when an evangelistic campaign led by the Elim presbytery was held, with the church first meeting in the Liberal rooms in Bond Street. Since then the church has moved twice; in November 1961 the church moved to Swindon Road, Dewsbury. The church outgrew its building at Swindon Road and moved out on 5th March 2000.  On Saturday 11th March 2000 we held an opening service at the Central Methodist Church in Daisy Hill. During the opening service, the church joined together for prayer; part of what we said to God was this:

Let Your glory and power fall upon us as we gather in this building.
Let the fragrance of Your presence be known in our worship.
We desire that the Holy Spirit has freedom to move as He chooses.
We call upon You for salvation.
We call upon You for healings.
We call upon You for signs and wonders.
May Your kingdom come and Your will be done.

At first, the church shared the building with the Central Methodist Church, who have now merged with the United Reformed to form Longcauseway Church, United Reformed and Methodist. In January and April 2010 we secured the purchase of the building in Daisy Hill and the sale of the Swindon Road site respectively. Following this, we commenced a major renovation project in the spring of 2011.