I’m stepping aside with a great sense of peace, anticipation and excitement for what lies ahead

As Chris Cartwright’s term as General Superintendent draws to a close he reflects on the highlights of leading Elim, on steering the movement through a global pandemic and the excitement of discovering what God has planned for him next. He spoke to Chris Rolfe

Let’s start at the beginning – what was it like stepping up as General Superintendent in 2016?

I began as General Superintendent the year after Elim’s centenary and it’s really interesting – my predecessor John Glass had asked me to lead many of the preparations so I had been writing a coffee table-style book about Elim’s defining moments.

Having that opportunity to reflect on the past was a valuable time of preparation before I even knew I was going to take on this role.

It was a wonderful way to begin, seeped in Elim’s history and DNA throughout many changing seasons, as we began to ask what was next.

What came next? What are some standout moments from leading Elim?

When I started we’d been thinking a lot about our story and journey and I wanted to continue that conversation.

I felt God calling us to take time to talk about our future so we invited leaders around the UK to imagine what the future would look like.

These turned out to be pivotal conversations about where we were heading and what the Lord was saying to us about outreach and evangelism in our increasingly secular culture.

From that came our ‘Advance’ vision with our four priorities of making disciples, developing leaders, growing churches and reaching nations. This was our calling to press for a decade of radical gospel mission. With that clear vision in mind, we went around the regions to ask for commitment to a decade of mission. But then the pandemic hit...

At that moment you were suddenly thrust in the unique position of leading Elim through a global pandemic. What was that like?

It’s easy to forget what it was like four years ago but we were suddenly in a national crisis.

Overnight we were asking how we could respond appropriately to the totally new and unforeseen challenges our leaders, churches and communities were facing. How too could we remain gospelcentred Jesus-people in our communities while tackling a global pandemic and national lockdowns?

I look back at that time and I’m so proud of our leaders’ hard work. Our national team was fabulous, as were our pastors, youth leaders and church members who stepped up. Not only did they take church online, they were also out in their communities as soon as they were able, being voices of hope and giving practical help.

One highlight was the opportunity to extend our outreach digitally – to quite literally stretch our walls and vision.

Another was our evangelism team; people like Gary Gibbs and Mark Greenwood and many other churches who put together outreaches for Christmas and Easter. Do you remember we ran Alpha online in partnership with Alpha UK? 167 Elim churches took part and people came to faith through that! So it’s strange to say the pandemic brought highlights, but it did. Supporting and resourcing our churches deepened our connections and partnerships and created new opportunities for us to move forward in the mission God has called us to.

And post-pandemic, what are some standout moments from the past couple of years?

Despite the severe disruption of the pandemic I still believed in our Advance vision and felt we should commit to it again. I’ve also felt for years that the Lord has been leading Elim to recommit to our core DNA of evangelism. As we’ve done both those things, a highlight has been how our vision has broadened.

I and many colleagues leading Elim have seen that we’re not the only people believing for advance. We’re part of a bigger Kingdom picture.

Across the global Pentecostal and Charismatic church people are calling for a decade of mission. The Lord is waking us up to advance the gospel throughout the world by 2033, and a growing movement of churches in the UK and overseas is partnering to discern how we can do that.

Let’s change track and talk about this month’s ELS. Why have you chosen the theme ‘Awakening’?

It was something the Lord dropped significantly into my spirit last year. We are in a time of awakening to the activity of the Holy Spirit all around the world. Let’s take the UK as an example.

Very recently I asked our regional leaders to count the number of baptisms in 2022 because we were hearing stories of people coming to faith all the time.

With data in from just three of our regions we know that at least 1,200 baptisms have been reported so far and many churches who didn’t have any baptisms that year say they have some planned for 2024.

We’re in a season of awakening at a time when Elim is moving forward with fresh leadership, with a clear commitment to a Kingdom vision and a radical Pentecostal mission to reach our nation with the life-changing gospel of Jesus.

Let’s talk about the change in Elim’s leadership. Firstly, why are you stepping down as General Superintendent and how do you feel about that?

Last autumn I was seeking the Lord and felt a really deep impression from him that my time as General Superintendent was coming to a close.

I’ve been excited about what God has been – and is still – doing in Elim, and remain very committed to that, but my season of serving in this challenging but hugely fulfilling role is ending.

I feel confident and excited that I’m not giving up ministry but am taking time to reposition and then to serve the Lord in other ways.

I’m stepping aside with a great sense of peace, anticipation, excitement and faith for what lies ahead for me personally, for my successor and for Elim.

What’s next for you? What are you most excited about doing in future?

You know when we, as leaders, ask people to make big faith steps and obediently follow what God’s calling them into? It’s a long time since I’ve been in that place, facing a step into the unknown, but that’s what I feel called to right now. I’m keen to see where God leads and to respond to that call.

That said, my heart is for encouraging, equipping, mentoring and coaching leaders to pursue the calling God has for them. I love doing that and I have some invitations which I’m really excited about. I also have invitations to speak in the global church.

As I said before, I believe the Lord is waking the Pentecostal church worldwide to advance the gospel everywhere by 2033. Of course, I’m also excited to support the vision and mission of Elim in the UK!

What is the biggest challenge your successor Mark Pugh will face?

That Elim would not hold back but be bold, radical and willing to step out of familiarity. We need to keep being released from things that restrict us from fully following the call of God. We need to be bold and committed to following the Lord into radical Spirit-powered gospel mission.

What three pieces of advice would you give him?

Number one: be bold and courageous in trusting what the Lord speaks into your heart and spirit. Number two: don’t carry it all on your own. The Lord will put many people around you, so engage them to go on that journey with you. Number three: remember that the calling on Elim is more radical than we can imagine or understand. We need to discover the pathways to where God is calling us.

And what’s one big lesson you could share that you’ve learned as General Superintendent?

Leadership often doesn’t follow the script! Things happen that change our plans. Very early in my role God spoke to us about a big seasonal shift that was coming. This wasn’t a slight adjustment. The landscape was dramatically changing and we weren’t going back to the old ways. This would require real adaptive leadership, renewed faith and flexibility in the Spirit. Whether you’re talking about a huge shift like a global pandemic or more day-to-day situations, things haven’t always gone as expected or how I would have chosen, but the Holy Spirit has been with us and I thank him for his grace in helping us to do what he’s called us to do.

Finally, how has being General Superintendent impacted your own faith?

I was surprised to be appointed to the role in the first place and that gave me a deep sense of the need to be dependent on the Lord. Over the years I’ve found a personal discipline of living out of grace and dependency rather than my own abilities.

That was a change for me because I’d been used to trying to be an expert in everything. But that doesn’t work in this role. It’s challenging and you soon come to the end of your own strength, expertise and experience.

Instead, I’ve very intentionally kept in a place of – I hope – humility and wanting to know God’s grace, wisdom, strength and empowering for every situation. Long ago I exhausted my ability to do this job but God’s grace has sustained me and will sustain our next leader too.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.

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