IFFEC - : News

September 2008:

A letter has been sent to authorities in India regarding the difficult situation for the Christians in Orissa. It has been sent to the President, the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Orissa.

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Subject: persecution of Christians in Orissa.

Dear Sir,

We, the International Federation of the Free Evangelical Churches (IFFEC), which has members from 30 countries, including several churches in India, are deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians in the state of Orissa, India.

We appreciate your historic position of support for human rights and the protection of all people groups within India. We appeal to you on the basis of our respect for your country and your leadership as President of India.

The IFFEC has come to know about the atrocities against Christians in Orissa in the month of December 2007 and the present ongoing persecution against them. We are deeply concerned about Christians who are the target of mindless murder, crime, rape and the burning of properties. It is also sad to note, that several churches and prayer houses have been torched by the communal groups.

We express our sorrow for those Christians who lost their lives in the mindless killings. We are anguished over the burning of churches in Kandhmal, Jaipore, Koraput, Balangir, and Phulbani. At the same time we are deeply concerned about the destruction of church properties including several educational institutions, hostel facilities and offices of Christian organisations either destroyed or vandalised in Kandhmal, Phulbani and even Bhubneshwar. With sadness we note that thousands of Christians lost their houses and properties and were forced to flee to the jungles and other places. They have been living in relief camps since August 23 with little help from any source.

We request your good offices to take note of these persecutions of Christians in Orissa. We earnestly request you to protect the Christian communities and their property even as your government seeks to protect the lives and properties of all the people groups and people of different religions living within India.

We will do whatever we can to assist our fellow sisters and brothers, especially including them and you in our prayers asking for protection and wisdom to deal with this difficult situation.

September 16, 2008

Yours Sincerely,

On behalf of the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches

William J. Hamel Bertil Svensson

President General Secretary

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April 2007:

A letter from the Participants at “Joining Hands for Mission in Europe”

Dear Leaders and Friends of the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (IFFEC),

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

From 16 April to 20 April 2007, 85 participants from 18 countries gathered in Berlin, Germany for a very important conference entitled “Joining Hands for Mission in Europe”.

The focus was the evangelization of Europe in a holistic way, through a renewed commitment to church planting. We studied the Bible together, gathered in worship, addressed important issues through lectures and discussion groups, explored models and case studies from many European countries, made important connections, and prayed for one another. We leave convinced more than ever of the importance of furthering Christ’s mission in Europe through the planting of new churches.

This letter is designed to give you a summary of the event and to ask for your thoughts on how best to proceed.

We extend a special thanks to the Allianz-Mission of Germany for all of the arrangements of hosting the event, to the Missions Committee of IFFEC for planning such an inspirational and thorough program, and to the Executive Committee of IFFEC for the vision for sponsoring it.

Summary of Challenges

The conference recognized that Europe as a whole is an extremely challenging place for church planting. In addition, each country has its own particular contextual issues. Detailed presentations were made on the following topics by expert lecturers.

The Urban Challenge by Dr. Stephen Beck

The Social Challenge by Dr. Johannes Reimer

The Secular Challenge by Dr. Ingrid Eskilt

The Immigration Challenge by Rev. Krister Gunnarsson

The Cooperation Challenge by Rev. Darrell Jackson

International Missions in Europe by Rev. Rick Burke

All of these lectures are available in audio mp3 format with accompanying power point visual material. Contact Johannes Klement at j.klement@allianz-mission.de for a copy.

While these are significant challenges, there is determination to move forward with confidence and courage. There are many hopeful reasons for this. For example, each Federation Church has a firm commitment to advancing church planting. There are signs of increasing spiritual interest throughout Europe as secularism fails to address the spiritual yearnings of the heart. Many recent immigrants come with more openness to the gospel. There is a desire for increased communication and collaboration throughout the Federation and with other Christian groups as we recognize that the need is so large that no one group can address it alone.

Common Affirmations and Commitments

Several common affirmations emerged from this event.

We affirm that our hearts are deeply burdened for the multitudes in Europe, particularly the non-Christian, the nominal Christian, and the newcomers to Europe.
We affirm that although church planting will be difficult, it is absolutely essential if we are to move forward in reaching our own countries in particular and Europe in general.
We affirm that approaches to church planting must be contextualized for Europe and for each country.
We affirm that within these approaches, we must authentically join evangelism and compassion holistically, knowing that God both wants lost people found and hurting people helped.
We affirm that we desire to find improved ways to cooperate and collaborate with one another.

From these affirmations, we commit to these four things: to Europe, to church planting, to joining hands for mission, and to respecting differences in the process.

On-Going Planning Issues for Each Federation:

The hope of the conference is that each Member Church / Federation will prayerfully and carefully examine church planting in its context. While each Member Church / Federation will need to study these matters according to its context, these are common themes for study within each group:

How do we raise the vision for church planting among our own congregations and pastors / leaders?
How do we identify potential church planters?
How can church-planting be financed in our Church / Federation?
How do we provide on-going training and support for our new churches?
What is the role of “revitalizing” in existing congregations?
What does it mean to partner with other Churches / Federations or mission organizations interested in planting churches in our country?
If another IFFEC Member Church / Federation wants to do missions by church-planting in our country - how do we co-operate in these matters?
What can be our role / support / input in church-planting in Europe outside our own country?

For Your Response:

IFFEC is not a mission organization. Rather, it seeks to encourage the work of each Member Church/Federation through networking, fellowship, and conferences of mutual interest. We would appreciate your ideas of how IFFEC can best serve our mutual commitment to church planting. Your answers to the following questions will help IFFEC determine how to proceed. We would be grateful if you send your answers as soon as possible, or at latest June 30, 2007 to the IFFEC General Secretary Bertil Svensson at bertil.svensson@missionskyrkan.se

Do you want IFFEC to sponsor a follow-up conference that would address the on-going planning issues mentioned above? If so, what should be the focus?
What kind of material would you like IFFEC to make available in order to help your Member Church/Federation leadership reflect on church planting?

3. Would you like IFFEC to facilitate cooperation between Member Churches / Federations
in church-planting? In that case, what kind of guidelines would you like IFFEC to provide?

Conclusion

It has been said that the local church is God’s basic unit of mission and ministry in the world. We honor and respect the faithful mission and ministry of all of our currently existing churches. We pray for their strengthening, and are committed to making them healthy and vital. However, if we believe we need more of mission work in our own countries and in all of Europe, then quite simply we need more churches. We emphasize to you our sense of the great importance of church planting, and commend to you a deep and earnest seeking of God’s leading on these matters.

In Christ,

The Participants at “Joining Hands for Mission in Europe”

Berlin, Germany, 20 April, 2007

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Report from the General Assembly, Thailand, October 2006

The seventeenth General Assembly of the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches met in Chiang Mai, Thailand in October of 2006. This was the first time for the federation to meet in the far east. Delegates from around the world gathered in this beautiful northern city of Thailand to explore the theme “Jesus Christ is Lord.” The focus of the entire event was on the ways in which the lordship of Jesus Christ is experienced and communicated around the world. Keynote speaker Dr. Richard Ramesh challenged the delegates through his examination of the lordship of Jesus over every aspect of life.

Each evening leaders of churches in Thailand, China, and India led the delegates in contextualized worship. Wonderful music and powerful stories stirred and challenged the assembly. Morning Bible studies and communal times of prayer and conversation also encouraged and bound the delegates together. Delegates also had the opportunity to visit a variety of mission enterprises in the Chiang Mai area. Member churches of the federation sponsored these missions. Delegates were also able to tour religious and cultural sites. Many delegates visited the famous night market of Chiang Mai for some shopping.

During the business meeting delegates held a vigorous and profitable discussion of the future of the federation. In a time of change and decline for some churches and rapid growth for others, federation leadership and members were encouraged to be more visible, more forceful and more encouraging of the missions of the various communities represented in the federation. The energy of the discussion suggested that the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches still has an important role to play in declaring and living out the implications of the conference theme, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” The new executive committee was challenged to take the discussion of the federation as a way of framing its future mission.

During the business session Rev. Bill Hamel of the Evangelical Free Church of America was elected president for the next four years. Rev. Bertil Svensson of the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden was elected General Secretary. New members were also elected to the Executive, Missions, Theology, and Youth committees. The next meeting of the federation will be a Theology Conference. It will be held in Germany in 2008. The delegates thanked President Krister Andersson of Sweden and General Secretary Ketty Sogaard of Denmark for their service and leadership during the previous four years. They also expressed their appreciation for their Thai hosts from the church as well as from the hotel. They left challenged and renewed for the various ministries to which God had called them.