The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), with its network of 129 national and 7 regional member alliances, offers a unique platform for its members to be connected to a global body of evangelical Christians. As part of a continuous effort to strengthen relationships among its network and to increase awareness, the WEA began an initiative to personally contact and interview the representatives of each alliance regarding their vision, goals, and activities in their country or region, in order to share God's grace through successes, failures, and challenges.
"Through the interviews, we hope to provide exposure to the National Alliances, their work and impact in their countries, as well to share the difficulties that they face. We aim to make their work more widely known around the global evangelical community through the WEA's website,” Mark Spisak from the WEA Membership Department said.
Depending on their surroundings, the focus and work of the different alliances cover a wide range of topics. Some of them are working in countries with a Christian majority and a large number of Christian churches and organizations; others are working in countries where Christians are a minority and sometimes disadvantaged or even persecuted.
Therefore, one of the purposes of the interviews is to show the diverse ways in which member alliances have fostered unity of believers. “We want to create awareness of how evangelicals live and work in various countries and give the opportunity for prayer and support," Spisak continued.
The stories encourage readers to learn about the situation of their brothers and sisters in Christ in other parts of the world. Each story is a testimony of God's grace and His redemptive work, as well as an inspiration. Each one is also a request for prayer, for the alliance and those they serve.
Some 30 interviews have been made so far. They are being posted on a weekly basis in the National Alliance section of the WEA website.
The following are excerpts from already published interviews:
Costa Rica: We steer the Church into a life of prayer, life of integrity, holiness, righteousness, where the messenger is consistent with the message he preaches, and towards evangelization and re-evangelization of our country. Read more
Malaysia: The NECF is on the forefront of issues relating to Public Justice and National Righteousness. There is a movement to promote ethical living within the business and political community. The quest for greater democratic space and religious liberty is now a high priority (...). Much more can be done and we look forward to WEA giving us moral support as Malaysia has become the centre of Islamic activities spilling over to the neighbouring regions. Read more
Ecuador: We publish a magazine called "Evangelical Presence in Ecuador ". This is a historical summary of the formal presence of evangelicals in Ecuador that covers more than 115 years since the government of Eloy Alfaro. (...) Contrary to the public’s negative perception of evangelicals as praying and singing all day long doing nothing for the public or society, the magazine emphasizes contributions made to the sectors of health, education, communication, and community development over 100 years in Ecuador. Read more
Uruguay: The growth and impact of collaborative work and interaction between denominations, associations of churches and para-church ministries is increasingly evident. This area is where CREU is beginning to be elemental for joint initiatives, proclamations, cooperation, in areas such as: Public Advocacy, Church Edification, Evangelism, etc. Read more
Pakistan: The Evangelical Alliance of Pakistan played a significant role in the flood relief in the year 2011, after 2 big floods swept several villages in the area of Punjab nearby the city Lahore. We helped substantially by providing food to 250 families right after the flood happened. Blankets, quilts and pillows were distributed to families with 5 to 7 members. We have provided seeds and fertilizers to poor farmers who lost all means of livelihood during the floods this year. Read more
Ivory Coast: We carried out a project entitled “The Operation of the Good Samaritan” focused on giving shelter to displaced people at a camp. Clothes, money, food and medical assistance were provided to people living in dire circumstances. Currently we are preparing a training course to equip Pastors and help them be good men of peace and act as facilitators in the current process of reconciliation. Read more
Kosovo: More members have joined KPEC in the last annual assembly where our voice has been made even stronger. As a result of the trust given by all members, evangelicals have been recognized by the Law on Freedom of Religion as adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Kosovo. This is the first case of such kind in the Balkans and beyond where evangelicals are provided with the freedom of religion stipulated by the provisions of law. Read more
Singapore: We are thankful that we can serve the people on the Island of Nias located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The terrible Tsunami of December 2004 and the enormous earthquake of magnitude 8.7 in January 2005 ruined towns and villages on the island. To give help and hope to the stricken Niasians, EFOS initiated a center to improve the lives of farmers and their families by teaching them to use modern farming methods. Read more
Austria: We finally were able to establish network to work among immigrants. This is a Network of organizations which reach out not only to refugees, but to all immigrants who came and settled in our country. It is to bring them together for encouragement and training. Read more
Sri Lanka: If we look at the way our mission department is impacting our nation and our region, they have planted more than 200 churches in unreached areas, provided training for rural pastors who are unable to attend theological colleges and universities. We have an Alliance Institute where theological education is taken to the villages, so the pastors can receive an education in theology while serving in their own church. Read more
Paraguay: At APEP, we thank God for the project called "Literature with a Purpose" which consists of training sessions for pastors and leaders. Also for the program called "Healthy Pastoral Family" which provides support and assistance to pastoral marriages and the Chaplaincy Evangelical ministry that is being installed in the public forces of the nation. Read more