Who Are We?

Our History

Founded as Southern City Church by Pastors Ross and Shirley Davies in 1990, we became Ascension Church in 2017, now led by Pastors Jason and Annie Sagmyr. While the name and leadership have evolved, our Kingdom message, mission, and values remain unchanged.

Our Mission

Our purpose is to lead people into a life-transforming relationship with Jesus, impacting their lives, families, and communities.

Our Values

Kingdom Relationships

God wants us to have a life changing relationship with Him that defines and directs all our other relationships. Personal prayer and Bible study are important to us, alongside coming together as a church to worship and pray.

Kingdom Growth

We are committed to constant spiritual growth, meaning that we become more and more like Christ. We aim to inspire this growth through quality preaching and teaching. We don't just tell our congregation about the Bible, we teach our people how to be led by the Holy Spirit, to live the gospel, and develop a Biblical worldview.

Kingdom Purpose

We are called to make a difference in our families, with our friends, and in our community. The difference we make is Jesus! Our lives are transformed for a reason, we are called to be living expressions of God's nature and character that can be seen and experienced by the people around us.

Our Beliefs

God is the creator of the universe. He exists in three persons, but as the one true God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. To restore the relationship between God and humanity, He willingly gave His life on the cross to pay for our sins (moral mistakes) and was resurrected three days later, offering us new life in Him. 

In a world where fresh starts are rare, Jesus offers us a true new beginning.
The Holy Spirt has been sent to guide us into living the truth. We can know the Bible intellectually, but it's another thing entirely to authentically follow Jesus with our life.

The Holy Spirit also gives Christians super natural power that help us develop personal maturity, encourage and grow people in the church, and add value to our community (this power is not like a comic book hero, we can't zap things with our eyes!).
The Bible is God’s Word, revealing the truth about who God is, who we are, how we should view the world, and how we should live in it. It includes history, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, eyewitness accounts of Jesus' life (the Gospels), and the letters of the apostles. 

The Bible guides us toward healthy thinking and behavior, preparing us for the purpose God has for us. Comprising 66 books written by over 35 authors in three languages across three continents, the Bible is divinely inspired and serves as God's instruction manual for life.

God created the world to be a particular way, but people have broken His design. We think and do things opposite to God’s intentions and that brings harm to ourselves, to others, and to our environment. This creates a separation between us and God that the Bible calls sin.

All people are born into sin. We don’t need to be taught how to be angry, selfish, hurtful, or greedy - they come naturally to us. This sinful nature leads to moral mistakes that separate us from God and bring judgment. But God doesn’t want that for us. He offers salvation (forgiveness of our sins) through Jesus. 
To be saved, we must believe: recognise our need for forgiveness and Jesus' power to offer it. 
We must also confess: admit our faults and trust in His mercy. 
God is faithful to His promise, He forgives us and gives us a new start in life with Him.

Being a Christian means that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and we have made a personal commitment to follow Him and be obedient to what He teaches us in His Word. .

It is more accurate to say that God has a purpose and wants us to commit our lives to it. The invitation to be part of God's plan is an incredible honour.

Do we believe in the physical and personal return of Jesus bringing His Kingdom to Earth? Yes, absolutely!

We’re open to discussing our beliefs with you. They are based on a careful study of scripture, and when the Bible presents a clear stance on a topic, we aim to follow it faithfully.

There are people who don't agree with what the Bible teaches, and we certainly won't impose our beliefs on them. We won't affirm or agree with views opposing Biblical teaching either. It is important to note that the Bible also teaches that we should treat everyone with dignity, especially if we disagree with them. That can be difficult, but that's what seek to do.

Yes, absolutely! We have people from a diverse range of backgrounds in our church. We ask that you respect our beliefs while you are with us.

Email

ascensionchurch.inv@gmail.com

Call Us

Pastor Jay Sagmyr
027 4195968

Find Us

150 Don Street 
Invercargill

© 2025 Ascension Church

The Church Co