WEA News Update - Summer 2024 and more news

A Call to Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land On 7th October, the world commemorates the start of war in the Holy Land. Of late, the war has escalated in the region and threatens peace in the world. The WEA is calling for a prayer meeting alongside key leaders for the Holy Land. We will be praying for all the victims as well as for peace. We extend this call to our constituency at 5pm Jerusalem, 10am Eastern Time, 3pm London Time, 10pm Manila Time. Register Here Ministry Highlights Collaborating for the great commission at the Lausanne Congress in Seoul, Incheon Arguably one of the largest global evangelical meetings, the Lausanne Congress drew more than 5000 people from 200 countries and territories in Incheon, South Korea. With national alliances in 143 countries, many leaders of Regional and National Alliances participated in the congress physically or virtually. This included a significant number of participants who have attended the congress for the first time. Rev. Samuel Chiang, Deputy Secretary General, and Ryan Emis, Director of Office of the Future, facilitated the Gap session daily on ‘Integrated Spirituality and Mission’;  Dr. Brad Smith, Alliance Engagement Director served to put together the Table groups for 1,450 participants at the Workplace ministry. The WEA shares the concern for the state of the great commission today. Key leaders at the WEA contributed to the congress in a myriad of ways. The Executive Chair, Dr Goodwill Shana sent a word of greetings to all participants during the plenary session, thanking Lausanne particularly for the State of the Great Commission report. Bishop Efraim Tendero, the Global Ambassador of WEA passionately called for reformation of the evangelical movement to bridge the gap in the great commission. Read More World Evangelical Alliance and Lausanne Workplace Network Announce Global Day of Faith at Work 26th September 2024 – The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and Lausanne Workplace Network (LWN) announce the launch of the Global Day of Faith at Work (GDFW), a worldwide event to be held annually starting on 1st May 2025.This momentous occasion aims to bring together the global Christian community to celebrate, commission, and integrate faith into the workplace, encouraging believers to live out their calling in and through the workplace. Notably, GDFW was announced at the Fourth Lausanne Congress in Seoul-Incheon. Read More The WEA welcomes adoption of the UN Pact for the Future The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) welcomes the adoption of the United Nations Pact for the Future on 22 September 2024. This document is the culmination of months of negotiations and represents a reaffirmation of the role of the UN in peacebuilding, promotion of human rights and global development. The WEA is pleased to see the role of faith communities is affirmed in the Pact for the Future. As well, the Pact affirms the importance of combatting discrimination on the basis of religion. Read More Disciple or Die – Asia Evangelical Alliance’s 11th General Assembly The Asia Evangelical Alliance (AEA) successfully concluded their 11th General Assembly (GA) held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 7th to 12th August 2024. 200 participants from 23 countries and 20 mission agencies were committed to Disciple making. The assembly was historic, not only for the AEA but also for the host, Mongolian Evangelical Alliance (MEA), who celebrated their  25th anniversary. Mongolia’s Christian history, dating back to the 6th-7th century, experienced a significant interruption until the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Today, the Spirit’s movement is evident, with around 700 churches flourishing across Mongolia. Rev. Samuel Chiang, Dr. Peirong Lin and Rei Lemuel Crizaldo from World Evangelical Alliance participated in this historic gathering.                                            Read More WEA Singles Initiative Finds Global Partners Part 2 Report on the WEA Singles Initiative in Indonesia, Malaysia, East Malaysia, Nepal and Philippines The World Evangelical Alliance celebrates the growing single and single-again evangelical demographic worldwide and is advancing a paradigm that fully values, engages and empowers single persons within the global Christian family. A WEA Singles Advocacy team spent May and June in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, East Malaysia and Nepal, networking with local and national evangelical leadership and sharing biblical theology of singleness resources with seminaries, bible schools and churches. The team also had opportunity to share these resources with police, military and government agencies. This trip followed up on our WEA Singles 2023 initiative. Read More Brothers and sisters in Christ within the Three Self Patriotic Movement From 20 July – 24 July 2024, a global delegation from the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the World Chinese Christianity Alliance–our affiliated organization that serves Chinese Christians all over the world visited China to learn about the state of Christianity in China and rekindle ties with with key leaders of the Three-Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and the China Christian Council (CCC). Read More Human Rights Council participation in Geneva The Human Rights Council wrapped up its recent session on 12 July. During this session, the WEA made several oral statements to the Council. The first urged the government of Nigeria to disarm violent armed groups and boost security presence in Middle Belt communities that are vulnerable. The second, in cooperation with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and co-sponsored by the Salvation Army,  urged states to recognize prostitution as a system of exploitation and violence against women. The third statement, jointly with Caritas, urged a holistic approach to addressing internally displaced persons (IDPs). Updates from last webinars What is Evangelicalism in Africa? On July 12, the webinar series ‘What is Evangelicalism?’ initiated by the WEA and the Kirby Laing Center continues, this time with respected leaders from Africa, Dr. Master Matlhaope, Dr. Fohle Lygunda li-M, and Dr. Martin Munyao, sharing their thoughts on the shape that evangelicalism in Africa is taking today. The conversation was moderated by Dr. David Tarus and Dr. Peirong Lin. Read More Research for Impact On July 25, 2024, over 110 participants from 24 nations participated in the ‘Research for Impact’ Webinar, hosted by the WEA Women’s Commission and Rise in Strength. We were greatly encouraged by the interest in research. throughout the sessions. Presenters Claire Gibbons, Harriet Ngugi, Elsa Pereira and Diane Marshall provided diverse approaches, backgrounds and research topics adding complexity and depth to the webinar.                 Read More Upcoming Webinars Brian C. Stiller, the Global Ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance, invites us to join the webinar series hosted by Peirong Lin. Together, we will explore the important features of the 7 principles listed in Brian’s book, ‘7 Ancient Principles for 21st Century Leaders’. Over the past decade, while visiting many countries on behalf of the World Evangelical Alliance, Brian observed churches and ministries at work and prayed personally with those whose hearts are linked to the Father. So many of these prayer requests were leadership questions.  Brian is pleased to offer us a valuable resource that draws on biblical truths which we believe will help frame and inspire our leadership. 7 Ancient Principles for 21st Century Leaders is a guide rooted in the story of Nehemiah, designed to equip us for our leadership journey.  Read More Register Here We are complex beings - our leadership is influenced by culture and feelings as well as our biblical understanding. If we recognize this, we can overcome our bias and traditions to lead with servant hearts - men and women, young and older, from diverse languages and nations. We know that is what we need to do - How can we be better at aligning action with our belief and values? What happens when we can’t agree? Join us on October 28th, for a webinar, ‘Aligning action with beliefs and values’ hosted by Rise in Strength and the WEA Women’s Commission, with Helene Fisher, Amanda Jackson and Ken Katayama, facilitated by StacieNicole Simmons with time for questions and discussion about your situation and possible solutions. Register Here Editorials Reimagining Missions: Anticipating L4 By Jay Matenga Tēnā koutou katoa — that is a formal greeting in te reo Māori, which literally means I see you; I acknowledge you all. I am Jay Mātenga, Executive Director of the World Evangelical Alliance Mission Commission. I’m a contextual theologian of indigenous Māori heritage. In Te Moananui a Kiwa, the great wet continent that Europeans have called the Pacific Ocean, we embrace our moananui, our big waters, as the means by which our islands and island nations connect to one another. Rather than seeing the ocean as a barrier that keeps us apart, it is the water that brings us together. I bring this innate sense of connectivity to our discussion today about the Lausanne 4 strategy. Read More Jesus our true friend – WEA’s response to the opening ceremony at Olympics 2024 On the 30th July 2024, the UN celebrated International Friendship day. It is borne out of the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities. As a global event, the Olympics 2024 is an excellent opportunity to promote friendship and build bridges between communities. Read More Prayer Requests from Around the World Kindly visit https://worldea.org/24-7-prayer/ if you would like to share with us your prayer requests ‘Courageous Faith’ We invite you to join millions of believers worldwide for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) on November 3rd and 10th, 2024. This year’s theme, ‘Courageous Faith’, inspired by Deuteronomy 31:6, calls us to stand in prayerful solidarity with our persecuted brothers and sisters across the globe who face adversity every day for their faith in Jesus Christ. Personnel Update IC extends role of WEA Executive Chair till 31st October 2025 In its meeting on the 3rd of September 2024,the IC unanimously agreed for Dr. Goodwill Shana to extend the role of Executive Chair up to the period ending October 2025. In April 2024 the WEA International Council (IC) announced that following the resignation of its Secretary General on 31 March 2024 it would embark on a six-month review of its structural needs for the future. There have been consultations since that time, leading the International Council to resolve to take additional time to consult its constituency more widely. This will ensure that its operations going forward are as effective as possible in today’s “global village.” Read More WEA Appoints New Director for Global Advocacy Dr. Kyle Wisdom has been selected to replace Prof. Dr. Janet Epp Buckingham as the incoming Global Advocacy Department Leader. Dr. Wisdom, based in Florida, lived and worked in Indonesia for over a decade where he served as a pastor, theological lecturer and worked with local church leaders. He has represented the WEA in multiple intrafaith and interfaith settings since 2019, including the landmark G20 religion forum (R20) in 2022. For the last few years Dr. Wisdom has also worked as the deputy director of the International Institute of Religious Freedom, one of the oldest think tanks specializing in religious freedom. He brings an academic perspective that is sensitive to and grounded in the experience of practitioners to this role. Read More WEA Appoints New Director for Geneva Office On September 1, Prof. Dr. Janet Epp Buckingham, former Director of Global Advocacy, began her new role as Director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Office in Geneva, representing the WEA at the United Nations. Buckingham will continue her advocacy on behalf of WEA’s global constituency, focusing on human rights. “We are thrilled to have Janet lead our Geneva office. Her expertise and passion for advocacy will greatly enhance WEA’s impact at the United Nations,” said Goodwill Shana, Executive Chair and Chair of the International Council. Read More Over two billion Christians in the world today are represented by three world church bodies. The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is one of those, serving more than 600 million evangelicals belonging to churches that are part of 143 national Evangelical Alliances in 9 regions. Launched in London in 1846, the WEA unites evangelicals across denominations for prayer, evangelism, mission, theological education, religious freedom, human rights advocacy, relief, and engagement in a wide range of social issues. It speaks with one voice to United Nations, governments, and media in public or through behind-the-scenes diplomacy on issues of common concern to the Church. For more information, visit worldea.org WEA has been a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability since 1980. WEA is audited annually by an independent public accounting firm. WEA is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In the United States, your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. © Copyright 2024 World Evangelical Alliance