Laos and Brazil churches enter process for WCC membership
Towards the end of its meeting, two applications for admission into the WCC fellowship were received by the central committee according to new rules adopted at the WCC's 9th Assembly in Brazil. The two churches are the Lao Evangelical Church, and the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil.
According to the new membership criteria approved in Porto Alegre in February, applications for admission to WCC membership are "accepted for a specified interim period of participation" in the WCC's work, and "for interaction with the local fellowship of member churches". WCC member churches are to be consulted during this period, and the central committee then assesses "whether a consensus of member churches has developed in favour of the application," or not.
The new rules now also include a minimum membership requirement of 50,000 members.