LeaderShip Profiles

Iliafi Esera is married to Fia Esera, they have 8 children and 13 grandchildren one of which passed away earlier this year. Iliafi and Fia are the Senior Leaders of Faith City Church Wanganui. They have been with the church since 1992 and are held in high regard within the city of Wanganui among both the church and the un-churched. Faith City Church is a vibrant assembly and is distinctly Pentecostal. The church is very active in missions and have mission interests in several countries including Russia and China.

The Eseras’ are leaders in the faith and provide spiritual covering and apostolic oversight to many Christian leaders as well as several Church Movements within and without New Zealand. Iliafi and Fia are both missionaries at heart and are happiest when they are ministering cross-culturally. The Esera’s passion for God and for people is contagious; their desire to see people live their Christianity in practical ways is well known.

Pastor Iliafi loves young people and will go out of his way to mentor and train young people to fulfill their God given destinies. The Esera’s are pioneers at heart and have helped pioneer churches in several countries including New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Iliafi and Fia have been in pastoral ministry for 33 years. Iliafi is the present General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God in New Zealand and has held that post since 2011. They are both Samoan born but have lived in New Zealand since the early 1970’s.

Terry Bradley has been married to Rowena, a woman of unbelievable Kiwi know-how creativity and stamina, for nearly 29 years. They pastor Journey church in Te Kuiti which is in the Waikato region; they have five children, three of whom are married, and five vibrant grand-children.

Terry was ordained in 1999, gaining experience from service in the New Zealand Army, Grocery Manager of a New World Supermarket, youth and assistant pastor, and finally the Senior Minister of Journey church for nearly 17 years. Through the collective achievements of his church in the local community, he was voted as Waitomo District Council’s Citizen of the Year in 2014.

He has a Master’s degree in Christian studies through Alphacrucis, and has just recently qualified as a ‘Christian Life Coach’ through Dr Sam Chand’s Dream Releaser Coaching School USA. Furthermore, they invited him to complete the ‘Coach of Coaches’ course in July and August of this year. Skills learnt there have been invaluable in helping him to draw out the best in others that he has done ministry and leadership with, both locally, and on overseas missions. Like many pastors within our Movement, he has endured the highs and lows of church life; seasons of lack, and seasons of plenty, and has seen that God has shown Himself as strong, when hearts hold loyalty to Him!

By this October he will have served for six years on the current Executive being responsible for the Waikato and Northland Regions, working with the Regional Overseers, and is the Executive representative for the Korean ethnic churches, Chaplaincy NZ, and sits as part of our credentialing team. Terry has thoroughly enjoyed the growing roles that have been assigned to him under the leadership of Ps Iliafi Esera, and is looking forward to further helping him, and the Executive team, serve our Movement through the seasons ahead!

Mina Acraman pastors Crossroads Church, Whitianga, with her husband Dennis in a ‘Priscilla and Aquila’ leadership style. She has held a credential with AGNZ for 19 years and has over 40 years of ministry experience in AGNZ churches at local, regional and national levels including church planting. Mina has served on our national Executive for the last 6 years as the overseer for Women’s Ministries, Bay of Plenty region, Fijian churches and new Maori initiatives. Mina also oversees the Empowered Magazine, the yearly ‘21 Days of Prayer & Fasting’ and is part of the credentialing committee.

Mina has been a pioneer and leader in AGNZ women’s ministries. She has initiated conferences for hundreds in the early 90’s and has been involved in smaller mentoring groups for our nation’s key leaders. Mina has a strong preaching and exhortative gift, ministering from life-tested perspectives, encouraging both men and women. She passionately believes that people can ‘rise and become who God has uniquely created them to be’. She believes and sees in each person, a destiny that is revealed through faith and courage, despite all impediments. She sees that indigenous perspectives can be a significant part of God’s timing and positioning.

Mina’s ministry has taken her to many nations. She has ministered in Australia, Tanzania Solomon Islands, Tonga, Ukraine, Belarus, Chile, Easter Island, The Navajo nation, and Kazakhstan. Mina’s travels have taken her to Dr Cho’s church in Seoul Korea in 1994 and to the revival in São Paulo, Brazil in 1997. She also attended a C.B.N. conference in Virginia Beach USA with Pastor Jack Hayford and visited his School of Pastoral Nurture in Van Nuys.

Mina’s Maori ethnicity gives her acceptance nationally and internationally along with her capacity to operate in the Holy Spirit. She constantly receives feedback from people she has ministered to about the substantial impact she has had on their lives through prophetic and encouraging words.

Mina comes from a large Maori whanau, has one son and five grandchildren.

Mike is married to Michelle, and together they lead Connect Church in South Canterbury (Waimate, Timaru & Temuka). They live in Timaru with their four growing children. Mike is a second-generation AG pastor and has been serving in church as long as he can remember. In his early 20’s Mike started his own business which expanded quickly while serving as youth pastor then young adult pastor in his local Church in Ashburton. In 2007 they moved to Timaru, where Mike was appointed as the Associate Pastor of the Timaru AG (now Connect church). In 2011, Mike was appointed the Lead Pastor at Connect Church (Timaru) before also taking on the Waimate AG (now Connect Church (Waimate)) in 2014 & planting Connect Church (Temuka) in 2016.

Mike is a visionary leader, passionate about the church, not just locally but nationally & has a real heart to see it strengthened, expanded & equipped to be all that It can be. To this end, Mike leads the team of campus pastors at Connect & travels widely, speaking at camps, conferences, churches and leadership training events around the Nation. Mike also works with other Movements in the areas of strategy, vision & leadership development. Mikes heart is to see the greatest treasure of the movement – its people released & empowered to see HIS Kingdom come increasingly in our corner of the world as we give ourselves to making disciples, building churches & impacting nations.

La’u is married to Nancy and they are Senior Pastors of King’s House Church in Napier, a post they’ve held for 26 years.

La’u and Nancy currently lead the Samoan Churches of the AGNZ, and have done so for nearly 10 years. During this time they have seen God move mightily, influencing change for Kingdom Purposes to be relevant in a 21st Century setting.

Ps La’u is also President of King’s Leadership College (KLC), which focuses on educating, equipping and empowering future leaders for Kingdom Purposes. Currently KLC has six extensions in Australia and New Zealand and close to 200 students attending classes. La’u also Chairs the Boards of Kings FanauA’oga Amata (Early Childcare Centre), and King’s Force Charitable Trust, a Pacific Health Provider in Hawkes Bay. Through these ventures, they have seen incredible growth in ministry and the ability to assist the wide community as the hands and feet of Jesus.

Ps La’u is a visionary leader with a passion to mentor and raise new leaders, a vibrant and dynamic pastor who loves missions, and extending the Kingdom of God.

God continues to bless and multiply their family with four children and seven grandchildren, all lof whom love the Lord and continually serve Him.

I have been married to Kerry for thirty nine years. We have three great adult kids (who with their spouses are all serving God) and four lovely grandchildren. I first entered fulltime ministry in 1991 where I served on staff at the AG church in Whangarei. Following this Kerry and I planted a church in 1999 in Tauranga which we led for seven years. We then answered a call to serve on staff at Harvest Church in Papakura. In 2012 I joined Alphacrucis Bible College in the role of Business Development Manager which included organisational leadership, promotions and lecturing. I continue to lecture at the College in leadership subjects.

Kerry and I currently lead Mt Zion - Manurewa Assembly of God which we have done for the past four years.

I love Jesus, my wife and family, and I love my church.

Sanjai is married to Sunitha and has two sons, Samuel and Nathaniel. Sanjai has been in the ministry for over 20 years; he has been working at CityChurch Waitakere for the last 10 years and has been the Senior Pastor since February 2009.  He is the co-founder of As One NZ, a combined prayer & worship night for all churches and denominations in West Auckland as well as facilitates Gathering of the Generals (GOTG) for Senior Pastors serving in ministry.

In 2016, as the event director, The Auckland Prayer Breakfast was launched which saw a range of key influencers attend from business, the arts and politics.

Sanjai has a great desire to see people coming to know God and enjoys helping people reach their God-given potential. His heart is to see the local church mobilized to impact their local community.  He is crazy about cricket and would watch a game any day, any time.

Joseph is the Lead Pastor at St Luke’s, an Assemblies of God Church in Tauranga. Having completed a Ministry Internship Diploma with Laidlaw College, a Master’s Degree with Alphacrucis, and a Doctorate of Ministry with Fuller Theological Seminary, Joseph is a ‘pracademic’ who is committed to theology as a discipline that serves local churches, genuinely strengthening pastors and congregants in their faith journey.

Anchored in our unique heritage as a Pentecostal movement and mindful of the shifting sands of secularism, he is passionate about renewal as an ongoing work of the Spirit ever empowering pastors and churches to navigate the complexities of our contemporary culture in faithfulness to the gospel. If you are familiar with the Myers-Briggs personality types, Joseph is an INTJ. If Strength Finders is more your thing, his top five traits are; strategy, learner, futurist, maximiser and relator.

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