International Evangelical Church

This church was founded around 1970 by two American Pentecostal leaders. One of them was involved in missionary work in Italy, the other was the founder of an evangelizing ministry and church in Washington D.C. The full name of the organization was International Evangelical Church and Missionary Association. Through the activities of another Pentecostal leader associated with the organization, the work expanded to Brazil. A revival movement in Nigeria also became part of it. The missionary work in Italy developed slowly. In the 1980s another group joined, and in 2005 there were 45 churches with 80 pastors, and about 18,000 members. The church is known in Italy as CEIAM, the Italian acronym of International Evangelical Church and Missionary Association. It has its office in Rome. In the USA, the church continues to exist in Washington D.C. as a congregation of 3,000 members, called Evangel Cathedral. It is a lively, pioneering and racially reconciling community. African Americans make up 95 percent of the membership. The church runs a Bible school with over 1700 students. Several other churches look to Evangel Cathedral for assistance and direction.

Note: According to the last edition of the Handbook of WCC member churches, the International Evangelical Church had 168,100 members in 1985. In 2005, no other than the above-mentioned information was available about the church in the USA and internationally.