World Evangelical Alliance

At the global level, the Evangelical churches, groups and individuals are represented through the World Evangelical Alliance, formerly World Evangelical Fellowship, which was founded in 1951 (a first Evangelical Alliance was formed as early as 1846; it ceased to function after World War I, i.e. in the period marked by the rise of fundamentalism). The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is made up of national and regional Evangelical Alliances or Fellowships, which exist in 123 countries in the world, and group together Evangelical churches, groups, organizations and sometimes individuals. The WEA understands itself as existing: “To foster Christian unity and to provide a worldwide identity, voice and platform to Evangelical Christians. Seeking empowerment by the Holy Spirit, they extend the Kingdom of God by proclamation of the Gospel to all nations and by Christ-centered transformation within society” (WEA Purpose Statement approved by the International Council, July, 2002). This purpose is carried out by: a) providing a framework to convene, catalyze, connect, and communicate an evangelical perspective on global issues in full obedience to both the great commandment and the great commission; b) establishing and strengthening regional and national evangelical movements; c) establishing commissions, and releasing the resources of member-bodies to address and meet the needs of the global church; and d) stimulating strategic partnerships in order to strengthen Christian witness and compassionate action in every nation.

The WEA Statement of Faith reads:
“We believe in the Holy Scriptures as originally given by God, divinely inspired, infallible, entirely trustworthy; and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct… One God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit… Our Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, His virgin birth, His sinless human life, His divine miracles, His vicarious and atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His mediatorial work, and His Personal return in power and glory… The Salvation of lost and sinful man through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith apart from works, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit… The Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the believer is enabled to live a holy life, to witness and work for the Lord Jesus Christ… The Unity of the Spirit of all true believers, the Church, the Body of Christ… The Resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.”

The highest governing body of the WEA is the general assembly. It appoints an international council representative of the geographic regions of the WEA. The secretariat is lodged in an international service centre and led by an international coor-dinator/chief executive officer, who is assisted by an international leadership team. The WEA has commissions on missions, theology, evangelical theological education, religious liberty, women, and youth.

The regional members of the WEA are: the Association of Evangelicals of Africa (AEA), the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia (EFA), the Evangelical Association of the Caribbean (EAC), the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA), the Latin American Evangelical Fellowship (FIDE), the North American Council, and the Evangelical Fellowship of the South Pacific (EFSP).

The precise number of national evangelical alliances which constitute the WEA was 123 in 2005; these are estimated to embrace nearly 3 million local churches and 380 million Christians.