WEA to Explore Strategic Alliances Between ‘North’ and ‘South’ Churches

''The only way to unleash the vast potential inherent in this network is to unite the Church in the ‘Global South’ together with the Church in the ‘North’ in strategic initiatives''

By Pauline J. Chang, Christian Post Reporter Friday, March 25, 2005

North American Evangelical leaders will have a unique opportunity this May to connect with their international counterparts through the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA)’s Move the Stones – The Power of Alliance conference.

The three-day gathering, which begins May 3 at Orlando, Florida, strives to “unleash the vast potential” of the strong WEA network by planning ways to distribute the resources available in the ‘North’ to the churches in the ‘South’.

According to the event’s program director Jonathan Lewis, such “strategic initiatives” is the only way to accelerate church growth around the world.

“WEA is a huge, global network of evangelical churches that are loosely linked through national and regional association. The only way to unleash the vast potential inherent in this network is to unite the Church in the ‘Global South’ together with the Church in the ‘North’ in strategic initiatives,” Lewis said.

Geoff Tunnicliffe, the recently-appointed WEA international coordinator, agreed that such an effort would be the “only way” for Christians to “effectively address the huge challenges the Church if facing today.”

“What we are attempting through this conference is to provide a venue for divine appointments—where the creative energies and resources of the North American Church can meet the top leadership of the Church from each global region, and generate the explosive synergy needed to effectively address our tremendous opportunities and challenges,” said Tunnicliffe.

Tunnicliffe has been overseeing the international operations of the WEA since the General Secretary prematurely resigned.

Prior to the May 3-6 conference, the WEA’s regional secretaries will hold a closed-door meeting regarding the future direction of the Alliance. These regional secretaries will then offer fresh reports on church growth in each major region of the world and opportunities and challenges facing Evangelicals during the Move the Stones gathering.

According to the WEA, the Move the Stones conference is open to all evangelical leaders in North America who sense God is calling them to global ministry.

For more information, visit: www.worldevangelical.org.