World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship
Encyclopedia
The World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship is a global association of evangelical christian Congregational Churches, from various national associations around the world, including: Australia
, Brazil
, Bulgaria
, Canada
, India
, Macedonia
, Micronesia
, New Zealand
, Northern Ireland
, The Philippines, Portugal
, South Africa
, The United Kingdom and the United States of America. The Fellowship is united by a common belief the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and in the authority of the Bible, as well as by its common desire for evangelism. Its existence, too, is aided by the historical prevalence of Congregational missionaries who planted churches in places as varied as Ireland and Micronesia.
in the early 1980s, when a number of international delegates at the American meetings expressed an interest in solidifying relationships with other evangelical congregationalists across the globe. A constitutional framework for the Fellowship was ultimately agreed upon, and the WECF held its inaugural assembly in October 1986, in Sussex, England.
The purpose of the organization was laid out in three points:
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, The Philippines, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, The United Kingdom and the United States of America. The Fellowship is united by a common belief the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and in the authority of the Bible, as well as by its common desire for evangelism. Its existence, too, is aided by the historical prevalence of Congregational missionaries who planted churches in places as varied as Ireland and Micronesia.
Origins and Purpose
In a formal sense, the idea for the WECF began at a series of annual meetings of the Conservative Congregational Christian ConferenceConservative Congregational Christian Conference
The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference, colloquially known as the CCCC or 4C's, is a Protestant Christian denomination operating in the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, a suburb of St. Paul...
in the early 1980s, when a number of international delegates at the American meetings expressed an interest in solidifying relationships with other evangelical congregationalists across the globe. A constitutional framework for the Fellowship was ultimately agreed upon, and the WECF held its inaugural assembly in October 1986, in Sussex, England.
The purpose of the organization was laid out in three points:
- 1. To promote fellowship and cooperative endeavour in the faith, polity and work of evangelical Congregational associations and churches throughout the world.
- 2. To preserve the historic Congregational commitment to the Lordship of Christ and the infallibility of His Word, and
- 3. To present to the world a witness to our oneness in Christ as evangelical Congregationalists.