Evangelical Alliance churches booklet

Imagine a day...

When Christians love each other with a passion.

When we pray, work and speak as one body - full of hope, living to change the world. for churches

“The future of the UK Church depends on leaders who are passionate about working together.

The Alliance plays a crucial role in facilitating this, by bringing leaders together, inspiring and resourcing them to do the job God has given them well.”

Kate Coleman, Evangelical Alliance Council Chair and Director of Next Leadership

In the hours before his death, Jesus prayed for his Church to be united – so that the world would know the immense love of the Father, who sent his Son for us.

This is the heartbeat of our work here at the Evangelical Alliance. We bring Christians together from all different backgrounds to see our lives and communities changed by the gospel. And as we do so, we point to the Lord, whose extraordinary love makes unity possible.

So come with us. Because we’re better together.

Steve Clifford General Director 2

Who we are The Evangelical Alliance is the largest body serving evangelical Christians in the UK. For more than 165 years, we have been bringing Christians together and helping evangelicals listen to, and be heard by, the government, media and society.

From Skye to Southampton, from Coleraine to Cardiff, we work across 79 denominations, 3,300 churches, 750 organisations and thousands of individual members.

We’re a founding member of the World Evangelical Alliance, a global network of more than 600 million evangelicals. As a member, you will become part of this network, hearing the latest about what God is doing through his Church, and receiving resources and access to our members’ combined expertise.

We believe the Church is key to long-lasting change in our country - and that by working closely with our amazing members, we can transform our communities with the good news of Jesus.

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What we do From national campaigns to local church networks, we love nothing more than to connect people for a shared mission.

Here are some of our campaigns and networks:

GWEINI Serving the Christian Voluntary Sector in Wales

Serve and Gweini are alliances of Christian organisations committed to passionately supporting churches as they transform their communities.

Gather exists to support unity movements of churches and organisations in towns and cities across the country.

Confidence in the gospel will help churches throughout the UK make small changes to nurture a culture that is increasingly confident in the gospel.

S outh As i a n F orum of the

Evangelical Alliance

connecting, uniting, representing

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South Asian Forum is a forum for South Asian Christians in the UK to encourage, support and equip each other for mission, and to represent their concerns to government, media and the wider Church.

Elfed Godding, Director, Wales

“Our mission is to help the Church proclaim and demonstrate the gospel. We do this by representing Evangelicals to the National Assembly and media. Enabling the Church to work together in evangelism, community transformation and mentoring younger leaders is our passion. The key to the way we work is through coalitions like Gweini, New Generation Leaders, and Cymru Institute for Contemporary Christianity.

Building on decades of experience and relationships, we speak to the government, national assemblies and the media. By giving an evangelical perspective on important issues and telling stories about how the Church is making a difference, we communicate God’s truth with grace. You can find our press releases on our website, www.eauk.org.

Whether you’re looking for research on evangelicalism, political comment, theological analysis, global news or simply to find a church, we are here to resource you. As well as our website, our many resources include: magazine – keeps Alliance members informed about what’s happening in the Christian world and takes an evangelical look at some of today’s most challenging issues.

Headlines – a fortnightly email keeping you in the loop about the latest stories of what God’s doing across the UK and resources for you and your church.

Friday Night Theology – an evangelistic comment on an event of the week to help you engage with the world over the weekend.

The Alliance Notice Board – a bi-monthly mailing on Christian events, jobs, books and other resources.

Culture Footprint – a fortnightly email telling the story of Christ in our culture.

PQ – a monthly political news update and Christian comment on public affairs.

“I have been excited to witness the Evangelical Alliance’s journey of bringing unity. All of us have come to the place where we have realised that we cannot do this on our own. I am passionate about unity because I know that if we can harness our potential together, we can achieve so much more.”

Pastor Agu Irukwu, Jesus House 5

Why join? Don’t just take it from us…

“We love being part of the Evangelical Alliance. We have access to fantastic resources, credible studies and articles. Being part of the Alliance which has been representing the Church to the UK for years also means our voice on social issues is louder.”

Dominique John, Derby City Church Peter Lynas Director, Northern Ireland

“As part of our passion for advocacy we offer a prophetic and evangelical voice to those at Stormont and in the media. As part of our passion to see unity, we partner with a number of organisations in coalitions including Mission Agencies Partnership and Marriage Week NI. We hope, through our members, to impact every part of Northern Ireland with the good news of Jesus.”

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“My wife and I have been supportive members of the Evangelical Alliance for more than 10 years. We believe that the Alliance provides a constructive and relevant voice for Christians within an increasingly secular society, emphasising the love and compassion of Christ. For Christians the Evangelical Alliance provides an invaluable resource, helping us to understand our role, relevance and purpose in the midst of a rapidly changing world.”

Rev Robert Atkins, Castleoak Group and Raglan Baptist Church “I love being involved with the Alliance because it connects me with like-minded enthusiastic people who share similar passions, that I otherwise wouldn’t have met.”

Jennifer Hogg, public affairs campaigner

“The Evangelical Alliance is a brilliant organisation, giving Christians a contemporary voice in the public square and helping us to connect graciously, prayerfully and imaginatively as brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Pete Greig, 24-7 Prayer and Alpha International

“I welcome the work the Evangelical Alliance is doing encouraging Christians to engage with issues in the public square.”

Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York

“In public policy and in making representations to Government, the Evangelical Alliance plays a key role for the growing evangelical movement in the UK. The Alliance also works to bring evangelical Christians together in shared projects – for example, to transform some of the most deprived communities in the country. These initiatives deserve wide support.”

Stephen Timms MP, East Ham

“I rate very highly the Alliance’s professionalism, their friendly approach and sensitivity and openness to the public. I value the expertise and advice on mission that the Alliance offers and their passion to see the gospel come alive in unreachable places. The Alliance is a catalyst for change. Churches of all denominations and traditions can benefit immensely from the variety of resources, activities and training courses. They are a resource that helps to make the gospel relevant for contemporary society.”

Pam Daniel, St Mark’s Kennington 7

Why join? The benefits When you join the Evangelical Alliance, you’ll become part of a movement of Christians around the country passionate about changing our communities with the good news of Jesus Christ.

With each church that decides to stand with the Alliance, we become more effective in speaking and acting on your behalf - and more representative of the whole evangelical scene in the UK. So our voice, as Christians, gets stronger. And as we become part of the answer to Jesus’ prayer for a united Church, we are better at changing our communities and reflecting the love of God.

Membership benefits to churches: • An opportunity for your church to respond to God’s call for unity.

• Representation on a national scale, as we speak on your behalf to government and the media.

• Use of the Alliance member logo on your church’s stationery and website, instantly helping people to identify you as part of our network.

• Your church will be listed as part of our website’s church search facility, which is popular for people looking for a local church.

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• Priority admission of children from your congregation to some Church of England schools.

• Three copies of our bi-monthly magazine idea to circulate in your church.

• A bi-weekly Headlines email and a sign-up to all our e-letters, helping you build up your leaders and resource your church for mission.

• Discounted media and advocacy training, helping your church engage with your local media and local government.

• Emergency advice or support from our press and advocacy teams.

As well as these benefits we are working hard to offer exciting new additions to help us to fulfill our calling as the worshipping, praying missionary people of God.

How can our church become a member?

Step 1: Has your church been established for a minimum of 2 years?

Step 2: Is your church geographically based in the UK? Step 3: Can your church agree with the Evangelical Alliance Basis of Faith (see page 12)?

Step 4: Can your church agree to and practise the Evangelical Relationships Commitment (see page 13)?

Step 5: Is your church in good standing with local evangelical churches?

Can you provide references from 3 local evangelical churches, willing to act as referees in support of your application, with at least one of them being an existing Evangelical Alliance member?

Step 6: Can you commit to supporting Alliance initiatives and programmes through prayer and a minimum donation of £1 per head of congregation (based on average attendance at your main meeting) per annum?

This is subject to a minimum of £80

Join us by applying online at: www.eauk.org/join or using the paper application form (to request one, please email membership@eauk.org or call 0207 2072138).

Fred Drummond, Director, Scotland

“Uniting leaders in our forums; uniting young adults for God’s heart for justice through Just Generation, or acting as a united voice into politics and the media - unity is at the heart of all we do. As we come together, God will transform Scotland.”

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Basis of faith All our members agree that the below statements are true.

We believe in...

1. The one true God who lives eternally in three persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

2. The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.

3. The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God—fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.

4. The dignity of all people, made male and female in God’s image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement.

5. The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ— born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.

6. The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.

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7. The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.

8. The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.

9. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.

10. The Church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers—given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit’s gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love.

11. The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.

Evangelical Relationships Commitment The Evangelical Relationships Commitment is a modern re-wording of the eight Practical Resolutions originally agreed at the 1846 Assembly that launched the Evangelical Alliance. They were written to guide members in their relationships with other Christians. We hope they will help you as you build good positive working relationships in all areas of your Christian life.

Affirmations 1. We welcome as Christian brothers and sisters all who experience the grace of new birth, bringing them to that fear and knowledge of God which is expressed in a life of obedience to His word.

2. We recognise our Christian duty of trust and mutual encouragement to all who serve Christ as Lord, not least to those who conscientiously prefer not to be identified with the same churches, alliances or councils as ourselves.

3. We respect the diversity of culture, experience and doctrinal understanding that God grants to His people, and acknowledge that some differences over issues not essential to salvation may well remain until the end of time.

Actions 4. We urge all Christians to pray as Christ prayed, that we may be one in the Father and the Son, and so by the Spirit promote personal relationships of love, peace and fellowship within the Body of Christ, His universal Church.

5. We encourage all Christians earnestly to contend for biblical truth, since only as we are open to learn from others and yield fuller obedience to the truth will we be drawn closer to Christ and to each other.

6. We call on each other, when speaking or writing of those issues of faith or practice that divide us, to acknowledge our own failings and the possibility that we ourselves may be mistaken, avoiding personal hostility and abuse, and speaking the truth in love and gentleness.

7. We owe it to each other, in making public comment on the alleged statements of our fellow Christians, first to confer directly with them and to establish what was actually intended.

Then to commend what we can, to weigh the proportional significance of what we perceive to be in error, and to put a charitable construction on what is doubtful, expressing all with courtesy, humility and graciousness.

8. We rejoice in the spread of the Gospel across the world and urge all Christians to commit themselves to this task, avoiding unnecessary competition and co-operating, wherever possible, in the completion of Christ’s kingdom of peace, justice and holiness, to the glory of the one God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

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“If you’re serious about loving God and loving your neighbour as yourself, the Evangelical Alliance will be a great resource, and you’ll be part of a movement who think the same.”

Paul Woolley, Bible Society

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