World Evangelical Alliance


The World Evangelical Alliance is a global organization of evangelical Christian churches, serving more than 600 million evangelicals, founded in 1846 at Freemason Hall in London, England, United Kingdom to unite evangelicals worldwide. WEA is the largest international organization of evangelical churches. The headquarters is in Deerfield, Illinois. It brings together 7 regional and 135 evangelical alliances of churches, and over 150 member organizations. Some of the national alliances include Protestant churches which are not traditional Evangelical churches in the strict sense. Moreover, the WEA includes a certain percentage of individual evangelical Christian churches. It is open for membership of individual evangelical Christians. The Evangelical Alliance of the United Kingdom, its founding member, is part of WEA.

Purpose

Its mission is to establish and strengthen regional and national Evangelical Alliances, who in turn enable their national Church to advance the Good News of Jesus Christ and effect personal and community transformation for the glory of God.

History

The organization has its origins in the Evangelical Alliance, a British organization founded in 1846. In 1951, the World Evangelical Fellowship was founded by 21 countries at the first general assembly in Woudschoten in the Netherlands. In 2001, after the General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur, WEF became the World Evangelical Alliance. As of 2005, the WEA was experiencing a collegiate management under the leadership of its Canadian leader, Geoff Tunnicliffe. Offices were opened in Vancouver, Canada, San Francisco, Washington, and Geneva. As of 2010, the central office is in New York, United States

Beliefs

The Alliance has an Evangelical confession of faith.

Leadership

The WEA is headed by a Secretary-General whose function is to administer and represent the Alliance. Efraim Tendero, born in Philippines, is the Secretary-General since March 1, 2015.

List of former leaders

This list contains the former leaders of the WEA since 1951.
In 1974, the WEA creates 6 commissions to better achieve its mandates.
Function: Reflect on issues of evangelical theology, and the important issues concerning the churches and society in the world.
Function: Coordinate activities of evangelism and Christian humanitarianism.
  • Religious Liberty Commission
Function: Monitor religious freedom in the world and participate in the defense of persecuted Christians. In the United Nations, the Commission shall field observation reports.
  • Women's Commission
Function: Identify and address the special needs of women. The commission works with advocacy organizations women's rights.
  • Youth Commission
Function: Equipping children for their development and protect their rights.
  • IT Commission
Function: Sharing knowledge on Information technology and promote the quality of Christian websites.

Membership

The World Evangelical Alliance embraces member-bodies whose identity and vocation are rooted in historic biblical Christianity. WEA affirms and seeks the biblical unity of Christ's body, the Church, celebrating the diversity of practices and theological emphases consistent with the WEA Statement of Faith, recognizing the existing dynamic tension between unity and diversity.
There are five types of membership, each with its distinct qualifications and responsibilities:
  • Regional & National Alliances are regional evangelical fellowships and their national fellowships/alliances.
  • Global Partners are independently incorporated organizations which work in harmony with WEA structures and serving the WEA constituency.
  • Associate Members are independently incorporated organizations with their own specific ministries and accountability, an international scope of ministry, and the capacity and authority to serve in and beyond the WEA community.
  • Church Networks & Denominations are networks of churches, in agreement with the Statement of Faith and objectives of the World Evangelical Alliance.
  • It is open for individual membership of evangelical Christians.

    General Assemblies

A General Assembly takes place every six years in a country that differs depending on the year. It is a time of healing and gathering for national alliances and associations. It allows the execution of administrative procedures and the training of leaders of each country. The last General Assembly was to be held in 2014 in Seoul in South Korea, but was postponed to a later date.
There are two quarterly publications: a journal Evangelical Review of Theology and a newsletter Theological News. Books are published occasionally.

Global engagements

Development

The fight against poverty is a major concern of the WEA. Publications and meetings of the Alliance are the means used to influence and inspire development initiatives and actions humanitarian in churches, NGOs and political. It is the origin of the Micah Challenge, an initiative to educate Christians and promote decision making among leaders.

Ecumenical Participation

On June 5, 2010, Geoff Tunnicliffe, the International Director of the WEA, appeared alongside the leaders of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches in a press conference, entitled “Christian unity today”, at the Edinburgh 2010 Conference. The gathering marked the centennial of the 1910 World Missionary Conference. In the same year, on 17 October 2010, Olav Fykse Tveit, the general secretary of the WCC, gave an invited address to the 3rd International Congress of the Lausanne Movement. In the address he said, "we are called to participate in the one mission of God". The World Evangelical Alliance, Geoff Tunnicliffe, the International Director and other WEA leaders were involved at each level in the development of the programme, and helped choose its participants. In May 2014 the Lausanne International Student Ministry Global Leadership Network became a "docked network" with the WEA's Mission Commission.
On 22 January 2015, the WCC and WEA announced plans for closer cooperation, worship and witness. In the same year, in June 2015, the WEA reported that discussions with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity were finalised, and that "the open questions of the 16th century are almost answered". The WEA representatives also reported that "still open is the question to what extend [sic] evangelical Christians who stem from the reformation churches have full access to salvation according to the catholic view".
On May 24, 2017, the WEA participated in a two-day Global Christian Forum meeting with the World Council of Churches, officials from the Vatican and Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Pentecostal World Federation to facilitate moves 'towards greater oneness in Christ'. The meeting was held at the WCC's Bossey Ecumenical Institute. Some criticism was voiced of the WEA for lack of consultation about this move, the absence of regional and national discussion, or a vote of the General Assembly prior to the meeting.

Criticism

Neglect of the suffering church in China

The WEA was criticised for its positive assessment of the situation of the churches in China, after meeting with government approved representatives in 2009. China Aid and Church in Chains claimed, "There are many Christians in China who are not free to worship, do not have Bibles of their own and are not free to organise their own affairs and this situation is not mentioned in your press release… our concern is that you have turned your back on these brothers and sisters." One exemplary case of abuse, that of the imprisoned Uyghur Christian, Alimujiang Yimiti, was raised in the criticism, but the WEA did not respond in detail.