Elim Pentecostal ministers are marking the 100th anniversary of the movement today with meetings in Birmingham and in Monaghan, Ireland, where it was founded by Welsh evangelist George Jeffreys on January 7, 1915.

Ministers and church leaders have gathered for a day of consecration, commitment and commissioning billed as a "holy convocation" where they will be "praying together for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit on each minister, leader, church and community".

It is billed as "a significant moment for Elim, celebrating and remembering what God has done over the last 100 years, while embracing all that is to come in our future".

General superintendent John Glass said: "We will be honouring yesterday, while dreaming great dreams for the days that lie ahead.

The event marks the beginning of a year of celebrations which will continue with a leaders' summit in Harrogate in May and local area celebrations through the autumn.

The Elim movement began with the formation of the Elim Evangelistic Band in Monaghan's Temperance Hall by Jeffreys, who had been converted in the 1904 Welsh Revival. He chose the name Elim for the new movement following the practice in his home of Wales of giving churches biblical names and also after the Elim Mission he had visited in Lytham, Lancashire. Thousands were converted under his ministry.

There are now more than 550 Elim churches across the UK and Ireland, and the movement is linked to more than 9000 Elim churches in other countries. It is marked by its commitment to evangelism and the gifts of the Spirit, including healing.