About Us
#livewellwelly #lovewellwelly #churchofrefuge #safechurchforall
Capital Church believes in Jesus, being authentic, real and relevant
Capital church was founded in 2008 and is part of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination of churches, under the name Powerhouse Community Church.
Throughout its history, Capital has been led by a diverse group of committed people, it has always aimed to be a place for inclusive worship grounded in the Gospel, where everyone is welcome.
We are a safe vibrant, ethnic-diverse community that is learning to grow in our spiritual faith.
We do not claim to have all the answers. In fact, we are searching together to discover what it is like to live well and love well in Wellington as a faith community that seeks to follow the spirit of God as they lead us into a closer relationship both with our God and one another.
#livewellwelly #lovewellwelly #churchofrefuge #safechurchforall
Contact us
Want to know more about Capital Church, ask a question, or have someone from our team get in contact? Fill out the form and someone will be in touch as soon as we can.
Leadership team
We are blessed with a team of leaders committed to making Capital Church feel like home. How can we serve you?
Kirsten Øster Lundqvist
Lead PastorKirsten is originally from Scandinavia, a global citizen, with 30 years in ministry experience, she moved to Wellington from the United Kingdom. Naturally, she has fallen in love with Wellington and New Zealand.
Gabe Ruiz
ElderGabriel “Gabe” Ruiz has worn many hats over the years. The Puerto Rico native has been a minister, teacher, CEO, and, most recently, a transformative coach for a Wellington-based game development company. He is passionate about creating a church space that is welcoming and safe for the diversity of human experiences among God’s children…
Devon Steenberg
Leader & assistant treasurerDevon grew up in Christchurch but moved to Wellington in 2019 to work at a fast-pased startup as a software engineer. He’s a third generation SDA and loves communities where the radical love of Christ is on full display.
Melanie Malifa
Elder & Kids church coordinatorMelanie grew up in rural Whanganui where she developed a love for nature and a life of simplicity. She has a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology from Massey University Palmerston North. Melanie has extensive experience in pastoral leadership and community work as well as administration within the health, education, and community sectors.
Paul Whiting
ElderPaul is originally from Christchurch and grew up there. He became a Christian as a teenager in a Pentecostal church and attended the University of Canterbury, graduating with a Masters in sociology. In 2008, Paul moved to Wellington to pursue a career in public policy. He has worked largely in the area of education – in industry and trades training for young people, secondary school qualifications development, and most recently in early childhood education.
Vicky Jennings
Leader & Health coordinatorVicky has grown up & still lives in Wellington. She is a registered nurse and health educator passionate about people living their best lives. Vicky loves to support youth, capital, and community initiatives to improve health and wellbeing.
Community Outreach
Community involvement is part of our commitment. Through the years we have been particularly involved with youth.
Some of our involvement is more on a need base, but others are more organized.
There are 2 main community charities we have continually supported. StopTrafficking & Wellington Shoebox Christmas.
We are newly partnering with ADRA and Community Champions with the upcoming focus on living better Blue Zone Living. #livewellwelly #lovewellwelly
Stop Trafficking
Shoebox Christmas
ADRA
Blue Zone Living
Values
Capital Church’s values are based in the bible which we believe to be God’s inspired word to us.
These are our Commitments
God Worshiping
We are committed to honoring God through joyful expressions in our worship services. We hear and experience the power of God’s presence through music, relevant Bible messages and the creativity of art.
Life Transforming
We understand that everyone is not at the same place or going at the same pace in his or her experience with God. We seek to provide opportunities for spiritual growth in your personal relationship with Jesus through prayer and reading and studying the Bible and by continuing to commit to Jesus, to growing in Him, and to serving in ministry.
As well as our Saturday morning worship and study, small groups meet during the week to give you places to interact and grow spiritually, share challenges and discover principles that lead to a deeper understanding of God and His plan for your life.
Culturally Relevant
We understand that culture changes, so we have to change — our methods, not the message —to reach people for Jesus. We are committed to sharing the gospel in a way everyone will be able to understand. We are committed to making our music, preaching, language and outreach relevant to our area. Because we’re serious about our commitment to reach our community, we will do and try anything and everything to help people get to know, fall in love with and follow Jesus.
Community Connecting
We consider it our privilege and mission to offer our time, energy, and abilities to serve in our community and in the world. We embrace everyone as brothers and sisters in Jesus and strive to extend unconditional kindness and service to people in need. Through various ministries that serve the local community, we try to connect with and help people because they are children of God.
Family Empowering
We’re committed to supporting and nurturing children and equipping families of any kind, to make lifelong decisions for God. Kids are the most impressionable people in our community; many kids decide to follow Jesus do so before age of 13. As a result, we include our children, and as a church community, we ensure they also have a special time set aside for creative interaction to learn about God and fall in love with Jesus.
Mission Compelled
We believe the good news of Jesus is the best news for our world. It’s our mission to reach out to those who don’t have a relationship with Him and share the hope that we’ve discovered. We’re serious in embracing Jesus’ great commission and in being personally relevant to our community as we seek opportunities to invite others to fully connect with Him and with us. We take Jesus’ words “as you are going” to heart and are committed to going out into the community before asking the community to come to us.
Beliefs
Capital Church.
As part of the world wide Seventh-day Adventist church, Capital shares in the belief as expressed in a collection of 28 statements, called the 28 fundamental beliefs. The Adventist Church does not have a creed, but a collection of beliefs that connects us in our faith across the denomination.
The Trinity.
There is one God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons usually called the Trinity. God the Father is the Creator, Source, Sustainer, and Sovereign of all creation. God the eternal Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ, through Whom all things were created; the character of God is revealed; the salvation of humanity is accomplished; and the world is judged. God the Holy Spirit draws men and women to Himself and gives spiritual gifts to the Church.
Christ our Hope.
In Christ’s life of perfect obedience to God’s will, His suffering, death, and resurrection, God provided the only means of atonement for human sin, so that those who by faith accept this atonement have eternal life.
Christ’s Return.
The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the Church, the grand climax of the Gospel. His coming will be literal, personal, visible, and world-wide. When He returns the righteous dead will be resurrected and together with the righteous living will be glorified and taken to heaven. The unrighteous – those who have rejected divine grace – will die.
The Church.
The Church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. In it men and women join together for worship, fellowship, instruction in the Word, the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, service to our neighbours, and the world-wide proclamation of the Gospel.
The Holy Scriptures.
The Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God, given by divine inspiration through men of God who spoke and wrote by the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures reveal God to us.
Baptism.
Baptism by immersion is a symbol of our union with Christ, the forgiveness of our sins, and our reception of the Holy Spirit. It is a public way of showing our commitment to be a Disciple of Jesus.
The Ten Commandments.
As part of the world-wide Seventh-day Adventist church, Capital shares in the belief as expressed in a collection of 28 statements, called the 28 fundamental beliefs. The Adventist Church does not have a creed, but a collection of beliefs that connects us in our faith across the denomination.
The Sabbath.
The seventh day of the week, Saturday, is observed as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. We joyfully observe this blessed time from Friday evening to Saturday evening, from sunset to sunset, as a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts.
The New Earth.
On the new earth, in which righteousness dwells, God will provide a glorious home for the redeemed with a perfect environment for everlasting life, love, joy and learning. God Himself will dwell with His people, and suffering and death will exist no more.