NOTE: The content below expresses the views of the individual named as the author and does not necessarily reflect the position of the WRF as a whole.
The Presbyterian Reformed Church in India held its 2023 Conference for Pastors and Leaders in October 3 to 6. Read the report below:
On 3rd May 2023, All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) organized a Peaceful Rally in Churachandpur district against the Manipur high court order, granting the Scheduled Tribe status of the Meitei community. Meitei forms the majority population (about 53%) of the state. Towards the end of the peaceful march, miscreants (Meitei people) burnt the Memorial Gate and houses of the tribals situated between Churachandpur and Moirang. Upon hearing, the tribals went to the spot and confronted the miscreants and torched Meitei houses. That was how the situation escalated.
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), the European Evangelical Alliance (EEA), and the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine (CEPCU) join efforts to issue a statement on Ukraine marking one year since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. The statement precedes a partnering summit on March 1-3, 2023 in Poland that will bring together key leaders from various alliances, denominations, and organizations from Ukraine, Europe and around the world. The purpose of the gathering is to strengthen the response of the global Evangelical community to significant crises, responding to and learning from the situation in Ukraine.
Last week, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck along the Turkey-Syria border. The two major earthquakes affect about 14 million people living in 10 major cities in Turkey. More than 35,000 deaths have been recorded, though the estimates are that many more will be added to that number.
WEA senior theological advisor Thomas K. Johnson has co-edited with William S. Barker a provocative new book in the WEA World of Theology series. Called The Decalogue Project: Disciples from Six
Continents Engage God’s Ten Commandments, it contains 18 original essays by Christian leaders. We asked Dr. Johnson to explain the importance of this book, which will become available online this
month.
The 2022 Mid-Year Report of WRF Denominational Member The Sudanese Reformed Churches (August 2022, by Patrick Wic) -- The Sudanese Reformed Church (SRC) originated in Khartoum, Sudan in February 1992. Subsequently, in October 2005 SRC was re-organized and instituted as Reformed denomination. Up to date SRC has two classes (Khartoum & Juba) with sixteen (16) congregations plus 18 preaching centers in different IDPs and refugee camps with a membership of more than 6000.
Registration is now open for the TEASA Bible College Consultation on 14-16 June 2022. The theme this year is Serving the Church in Bible Education, based on feedback from previous years. See www.teasa.co.za for further details. We have an excellent roster of experienced speakers this year!
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has received a letter from Rev. Vitaly Vlasenko, General Secretary of the Russian Evangelical Alliance, one of WEA’s 143 national member bodies, with the request to share it with its worldwide constituency. The following is the letter in full – also available in French and Spanish.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church is a denominational member of the WRF. The EPC´s World Outreach Ministry sent out this Sunday (February 27th, 2022) a letter with a call to prayer for Ukraine and very helpful links with crucial information for further reading and for contributing for the EPC´s Disaster Relief Fund.
Signed by the International Director of the World Reformed Fellowship (Dr. Davi Charles Gomes) and the Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance (Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher), the brief declaration calls for the cessation of acts of hostility and for prayer and support for the people of Ukraine and especially Evangelical and Reformed Christians, organizations and churches in Ukraine.
The 2021 Annual Report of WRF Denominational Member The Sudanese Reformed Churches (February 2022, by Patrick Wic) -- The Sudanese Reformed Church (SRC) originated in Khartoum, Sudan in February 1992. Subsequently, in October 2005 SRC was re-organized and instituted as Reformed denomination. Up to date SRC has two classes (Khartoum & Juba) with sixteen (16) congregations plus 18 preaching centers in different IDPs and refugee camps with a membership of more than 6000.
WRF member Dr. Richard Smith (Westminster Ph.D., 1996) lives and ministers in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has published a new book called Such a Mind as This: A Biblical-Theological Study of Thinking in the Old Testament (Wipf and Stock).
WRF Member Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher makes his book, "Fundamentalism: When Religion becomes Dangerous" available for FREE download
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia met by videoconference on Tuesday, 12 October 2021, to discuss the matter of vaccination status and access to public services of worship.
From EPConnection: Collaboration, encouragement, fellowship, and worship were on the agenda for more than 30 EPC children’s ministry, student ministry, and family ministry leaders on October 6-7 in Orlando. The workers from local churches in all 14 Presbyteries met for the inaugural Next Generation Ministries Leadership Summit, hosted by the Next Generation Ministries Council (NGMC).
From The Aquila Report: Over 100 incidents of persecution documented in one-year span -- With the intensified crackdown against churches, both state-vetted and underground, there is no longer a safe place to be a Christian in China. Almost every province in China has seen an increase in Christian persecution over the last year (Written by International Christian Concern | Monday, October 11, 2021). Read the full article in The Aquila Report.
From The Aquila Report: Human rights activists have warned Nigeria is headed toward Christian “genocide” if global action is not taken quickly. A Nigerian civil society organization estimates around 43,000 Christians have been killed by Nigerian Islamic radicals in the last 12 years, while 18,500 have permanently disappeared and 17,500 churches have been attacked (Written by Emily Wood | Saturday, August 21, 2021). Read the full article in The Aquila Report.
From the Aquila Report: Afghan Christians are totally vulnerable with no political power. They have no-one to appeal to. They don’t even generally qualify for special immigrant visas to the United States or other Western countries because they have avoided working for American organizations or working for the Afghan military. To do so potentially exposes them to attention and danger (Written by John Stonestreet | Wednesday, August 18, 2021). Read the full article in The Aquila Report.
Report on the Actions of the 48th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA, 2021)
The Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church in America, Dr. Bryan Chapel, has issued his report, “Actions of the Forty-Eighth General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America.” The report is posted on the PCA Administrative Committee’s website, and can be found here. Dr. Chapel is an Individual Member of the World Reformed Fellowship and the PCA is a founding Denominational Member. You may also read the report below:
The Rev. Dr. Dean Weaver, a member of the Board of Directors of the World Reformed Fellowship, was installed as the new Stated Clerk at the 41st General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (a Denominational Member of the WRF), in June 2021. At the same meeting, the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Jeremiah, also an active member of the World Reformed Fellowship, was unanimously elected as Stated Clerk Emeritus.
The 48th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) was held between June 28 and July 2, in St. Luis, Missouri, with the theme "Proclaiming the Unhindered Kingdom." The PCA is a denominational member of the World Reformed Fellowship.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church, a denominational member of the World Reformed Fellowship held its 2021 General Assembly at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, between June 22 and 25, 2021.
Stay tuned as several WRF members are working together in a new multi-authored project based on the Ten Commandments!
Announcing Getty Music Worship Conference 2021: Sing! In Christ Alone -- A conference for everyone on the unparalleled opportunity to reset congregational singing, restore our hope, and reunite the church in Christ-centered worship! When: September 13-15. Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenessee (USA) and online.
David Zadok, who ministers in Israel and is a member of the World Reformed Fellowship, has co-authored the statement described as follows: "It is an expression of our unity in Christ in these challenging times, and it was written by the board of national pastors and elders that includes seven of us from various congregations in Israel."