Interview: Gary Edmonds on WEA and Churches Together
On Monday, January 24, 2005, the resigning Secretary General of the World Alliance of Evangelical (WEA), Gary Edmonds, announced his decision to lead a separate alliance of Churches from North America.
Rev. Edmonds, who had been in dialogue with members of the WEA International Council (IC) and Regional General Secretary for nearly three months regarding his resignation, publicly announced his decision to step down as the head of the largest evangelical alliance in the world two weeks ago. He began communicating with the separate alliance, Churches Together, thereafter.
His new post as Executive Director of Churches Together is set to begin on February 1, 2005 – the last day of his role as the WEA head.
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The following is the full text of a Jan. 24 interview with Rev. Gary Edmonds regarding his new position as the Executive Director of Churches Together:
When was this new position proposed to you?
While I was in my Secretary General role, the WEA has been helping facilitate Churches Together for the last two years since it began. There has always been a relationship between the two. However, the people at Churches Together did not ask me to take on the executive role until recently.
Did you have Churches Together in mind when you announced your resignation 2 weeks ago?
No. The announcement of my resignation occurred two weeks ago, but I have been in dialogue with members of the WEA International Council and Regional General Secretaries for more than two months (now nearly three months). My communication with Churches Together began after this time period.
Some of the WEA members were listed as Resource organizations for Churches Together. Will the two groups be working together?
There will be cooperation, but the WEA will be in the standpoint of working through the churches in AEA (Association of Evangelicals in Africa), which is the WEA body in Africa. The AEA is listed as one of the networks working for Churches Together.
Also, Geoff Tunnicliffe, one of the staff people for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, is also on the board of Churches Together. So we have this level of relationship between the two groups.
Will the advocacy efforts of Churches Together overlap with the efforts of World Relief (one of the relief agencies represented in the WEA)?
One of our affiliates is AERDO, which is the Association of Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations in the US. World Relief a member of AERDO, and the consequence is yes, the two groups will be working together. When Churches Together talked to me in December, they indicated that as far as strategy and engagement goes, they will be working in many ways through organizations such as World Relief.
Is Churches Together a Relief and Development Organization?
Churches Together is not a Relief and Development Organization. Rather it is a partnership or alliance of Churches from North America who are committed to work together with each other and with churches in Africa. These churches are committed to foster a new paradigm for how the local church operates in cross-cultural mission contexts.
What will be the relationship between WEA and Churches Together?
I think as it has been. We have networks of relationships, whereby we can continue to operate together for the common good.
You mentioned before that one of the main reasons for your resignation is financial insustainability for the WEA. Has Churches Together developed a secure financial base?
Churches Together is a brand new entity, so it’s never had executive director. It has been operating with voluntary staff persons of these churches, who believe in the need to continue expanding the ongoing mobilization of churches and creating a pathway of involvement with African churches. The sustainability factor will be dependent upon the North America churches’ involvement. But as it is presently structured, there is no administrative overhead.
Will administrative overhead be your main role as the executive director?
No. My main role will be vision casting and overall strategy implementation. There is "minimal" administrative overhead for Churches Together. At present one of the local churches has handled the administrative responsibilities on behalf of the growing alliance.
Have you worked with staff members of Churches Together before?
I know many of them, and I’ve worked with them, and I was formally a pastor at one of the founding churches. I’ve been in contact with them -- in some cases for more than ten years.
You also mentioned several times that the AIDS effort is one of the most important issues facing the evangelical community. Is your role in Churches Together in-line with your hopes of mobilizing churches for the AIDS effort?
I believe that God calls his people to unite and work together for the discipling of the nations. And therefore, I believe as well that local churches are the sustaining instruments of communities who can disciple the nations.
One of the challenges is for churches in north America to find meaningful and effective ways of working together, and to work with churches in cross cultural contexts. As AIDS is a global epidemic that has ravaged Africa and other regions, I believe there is a need to respond. I also believe the church’s appropriate position is to play the role of a real mechanism of response.
What are some of the strategies and goals for Churches Together in 2005?
In 2005, one of things we plan for is to have city-based mobilization meetings in North America in order to create awareness for the AIDS pandemic. Through those meetings, we hope to engage those churches meaningful ways and to understand what their response should be.
In Africa, we will be looking at the different strategies and tactics that need to be carried out in regards to AIDS relief. There has been a large focus on rural strategies and on small groups of people, and global relief groups have been making great progress with that. However, there needs to be more thinking on taking a look at the urban context. What I mean is that there are significant initiatives focused on targeting rural areas, but there needs to be new thinking related to urban contexts.
We are also in relationships with other relief and development organizations, and part of the thinking is to cultivate this effort on both a continental and global context. Churches Together has indicated that they want to be represented in places where people are addressing this issue, because it will take more than one church or one group to tackle this epidemic – it will take everyone.
The last question is in regards to the WEA. Have there been any developments in regards to the future governance of the Alliance?
No. There have just been phone calls. I will continue to be in an advisory and consultancy role to help the WEA in its transition period; this could go on for several months.
I will have a period of overlap in my duties. During the next couple of months, I will continue to offer counsel and oversight to aspects of the WEA functions. Therefore, my responsibilities with WEA will not stop immediately on January 31. I am committed to help WEA for an effective transition.
Rev. Gary Edmonds began his term as the WEA Secretary General in July, 2002. Prior to his election, Edmonds served as the senior associate pastor at Mariners Church in Irvine, California, European director of Christian Associates International, and as a leader in development and church planting in Eastern and Western Europe for 18 years. Edmonds and his wife, Tricia, have four grown children. He serves on the board of directors for New Life Ukraine Partnership, and Breakthrough Partners.
For more information on Churches Together, visit: www.churchestogether.com
