Evangelical Alliance Strategic plan executive summary

THE EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE 2018–2022

From Steve Clifford

The Evangelical Alliance joins together hundreds of organisations, thousands of churches and tens of thousands of individuals for the sake of the gospel. Working across the UK, with offices in London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Belfast, our members come together from across denominations, locations, age groups and ethnicities, all sharing a passion to know Jesus and make Him known. Today our dedication to serving the church, and society at large, is as strong as ever.

Like the evangelicals who have gone before us – those who abolished the slave trade, those who reformed our justice system, those who championed education for all – we are dedicated to blessing those around us as we worship God with all that we have and all that we are.

Today it is evangelicals who are at the heart of debt counselling, street pastors, night shelters and food-banks. Today it is active evangelical faith that is making a profound difference throughout our communities for the sake of the gospel.

We speak up on behalf of those who are maligned and marginalised, affirming freedoms and proclaiming the good news of Jesus in words and in action.

The next four years offer the Evangelical Alliance, and our members, both phenomenal opportunities and profound challenges. All around us we see change.

People are entering into a relationship with Jesus in numbers we have not seen in decades. We celebrate good news stories of church growth, Christian favour and God’s blessing from every part of our membership.

But we also face political, economic and cultural challenges which all serve to compound a sense of flux and shift.

We are also facing increasing opposition to biblical orthodoxy from politicians, the media and cultural influencers, who seek to weaken our voice and reach. But no matter what changes or challenges we encounter, we know that God is faithful.

Over the next four years we are committed to growing our membership, ensuring our sustainability and credibility for the future.

We endeavour to serve the UK church well, through our diverse council, board, and national executives. We will be good stewards of all that God has entrusted us with, as we endeavour to go above and beyond in all we do, to bring glory to God. The Evangelical Alliance is confident and ready. This strategic plan is an act of worship. We offer God what we have been entrusted with, to use as He wills. With open hands and open hearts, we trust in Him who gives us hope and a future.

Steve Clifford, General director

AS EACH PART

does its own

special WORK GROW

it helps the other parts

So that the WHOLE BODY IS

healthy and GROWING and full of

Ephesians 4:16

LOVE

We build

CONFIDENCE IN THE GOSPEL We love Jesus and want people to encounter Him. We champion our freedom to follow Jesus and make Him known in our communities and throughout society, because we know that Jesus can, and does, transform lives.

through the power of the gospel. We want to share those stories as far and as wide as possible. We know that testimonies from successful missional activities and by new disciples encourage and embolden the church to share Jesus more freely and more readily.

Our work through projects like the Great Commission, Missional Link Wales, and the We work relationally and collaboratively Talking Jesus research fuel our faith and because we believe God can do so much our passion, because every week we hear more when we work together. stories of people’s lives being changed

Over the next four years we are committed to: • Providing resource and inspiration to support local mission through the Great Commission hub, with national expressions of the Great Commission in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

• Identifying missional gaps and bringing together those with the resource and expertise to help the church meet those needs.

• Training and facilitating cross cultural mission by and for the local church.

• Encouraging and training those with the gift of evangelism and church planting.

• Sharing good news stories of changed lives and cheering on the mission of local churches.

“I have been excited to witness the Evangelical Alliance’s journey of unity… because I know that if we can harness our potential together we can achieve so much more” Pastor Agu Irukwu Jesus House

We see

A VIBRANT CHURCH We are an alliance made up of many different streams of church expression and situations, all sharing the same love for Jesus and love for our neighbour.

and profound challenges facing the church today.

As such, we are committed to helping identify and shape the theological and We are made for relationships with God, practical resources needed by the UK with others and with the environment. We church. We are a devolved alliance, passionately want to see healthy churches committed to resourcing national teams thrive and people flourish. We want to be in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. able to listen and learn from each other, to Whenever possible we work in partnership spark conversations and grow in our ability with others, to make Jesus known in our to navigate the immense opportunities towns, cities and places.

Over the next four years we are committed to: • Modelling what it means to be a diverse and unified community of Christians, through our work in the One People Commission, and South Asian Forum, and through unity movements across the UK. • Connecting church leaders locally to work collaboratively in mission and transformation.

• Praying with, for and on behalf of the church, being attentive to what God is saying to us and what He is calling us to do.

• Initiating conversations around church growth and missional church in the UK, through our What kind of church? materials.

• Supporting accountable and transparent leadership in church and society.

• Resourcing intergenerational needs and conversations.

• Representing and reflecting the diverse nature of the evangelical community in the UK.

“The Evangelical Alliance is like a bridge, helping us reach out from our own islands, giving us a path to tread, a journey to go on, to reach the mainland and join with our brothers and sisters in Christian unity.�

Pastor Chrishanthy Sathiyaraj Bethany Church: The Family You Need

We are

A TRUSTED VOICE We are a respected source of political insight and expertise in the media, to government and for our members. The Evangelical Alliance has been a trusted and influential Christian voice to those in power since 1846. We have a long history of advocating for freedom and justice in the UK and, as a founding member of the World Evangelical Alliance, around the world.

As a membership organisation it is vital that we faithfully represent our constituency, listen to the concerns and challenges facing Christians today and anticipate those on the political horizon. We encourage and support evangelicals to speak hope and live

differently in public life. We are committed to contributing towards the good, the true and the beautiful around the UK and beyond.

Our public policy team is well placed to work across the nations of the UK, advising on key policy developments and religious liberty issues, offering insight and commentary to politicians, government and the media, and raising awareness with Christians as to what is being discussed and implemented by our government.

Our Theology Advisory Group (TAG) will continue to guide and influence our public policy work as well as offer expertise and discernment on issues facing the UK church.

Over the next four years we are committed to: • Working in Westminster, the Northern Ireland Assembly, the National Assembly for Wales and the Scottish Parliament, advising on public policy and religious liberty issues.

• Raising awareness and championing the concerns of the evangelical community across the UK to those in government and the media.

• Training and equipping public leaders to live out their faith in their areas of influence, with public leadership programmes running in each nation of the UK. • Growing the size and scope of the Evangelical Alliance’s membership so that we can better represent the approximately two million evangelicals in the UK. • Helping to share best practice to those in church and charity leadership.

“In a world where agendas can skew the messages we hear, the Evangelical Alliance always seek to bring a balanced, accessible, credible and authoritative perspective for the UK church.�

Paul Hammond UCB

Spotlight

PUBLIC LEADERSHIP LEARN >> SPEAK >> LEAD

Pray EQUIP

The Evangelical Alliance serving the UK church

CHAMPION

Cheer TRAIN

SERVE

REPRESENT

HOST

CELEBRATE

ENCOURAGE

OUR

Since 1846, guided by our basis of faith and our relationship commitments, we have sought to be an alliance for the evangelical community. The Evangelical Alliance works across the UK, with offices in London, Cardiff, Glasgow and Belfast. We are committed to fostering strong relationships amongst our membership.

MEM BE RS

PLEDGE TO OUR

Our members come together from across denominations, locations and ethnicities to share fresh ideas, celebrate best practice and catalyse innovation throughout the evangelical community and beyond. We know that together we can achieve much more than we can ever achieve alone.

We exist to serve you, our members.

And so, to you, we make the following commitments:

WE

RELATIONSHIP. We promise to introduce you to like-minded Christians from all across the UK. When you join us, you join a community saturated in prayer, sharing best practice ideas, experiences, support and encouragement.

PR OM ISE

As a member of the Evangelical Alliance you are not alone. You are part of a community representing millions of evangelicals across the UK and around the world, cheering you on, praying for you and journeying with you as we all REPRESENTATION. In the UK we seek to know Jesus and make Him known. are privileged to possess the freedom to have a public faith in Jesus and to share that faith with others. We promise to champion those freedoms, representing the needs and interests of the church to those in politics, the RESOURCE. We promise to media, and civil society. share the wealth of resources, expertise and ideas of our members with our members. We will provide you with excellent, credible resources that will help you live this kingdom life to which we are called. We will help you to know what is out there to help you where you are and with what you’re doing.

We promise to present a balanced and credible perspective when advocating for the evangelical community. And we will endeavour to listen to the breadth and depth of opinion and insight through our board, our national executives, our council and our wider membership.

We will cheer you on and share your stories. We will celebrate what God is doing where you are and pray for you in your situation.

Evangelical Alliance 176 Copenhagen Street London, N1 0ST T 020 7520 3830 E info@eauk.org W www.eauk.org The Evangelical Alliance.

A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England & Wales No. 123448. Registered Charity No England & Wales: 212325, Scotland: SC040576.

Registered Office: 176 Copenhagen Street, London, N1 0ST