1846 booklet

1846

Dear friend, “That they may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

(John 17:21-23) In 1846, the Evangelical Alliance was founded with the motto: “We are one body in Christ.” On 28 August 2013, almost exactly 167 years since its inauguration, this motto was no less integral to the Alliance’s ethos as The Most Revd and Rt Hon Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, officially opened our new home in Copenhagen Street, London.

The Evangelical Alliance remains committed to restoring Christian values to the UK through a united Church movement. Though so much has changed in our nations, the need is as great as it ever was. Maybe it is even greater; we are speaking to a UK that no longer has the reference points of the Christian faith.

That is why the challenge is so great. But like those that founded the Evangelical Alliance, we are committed to facing the challenge. We are taking up the baton that has been passed to us. The call to unite as Christ’s body, the Church, to speak the good news into society, is more urgent than ever. This booklet explains both the history of the Alliance and introduces you to the key leaders of each strategic area of our work today, all of whom are working towards this decadeslong vision.

We cannot do any of this without you. What is needed in this enormous task are people like you who will support us in our God-given responsibilities; who are willing and able to partner with us, providing prayer and financial support, advice and skill.

We invite you to join us on this challenging but exciting journey in a partnership based on our original values: 1846. Once again, just like our predecessors did all those years ago, we are gathering a group of trusted friends together in this new era for us to continue this journey.

It is my prayer and hope that you will consider joining 1846.

With thanks in Christ,

1846

Steve Clifford General Director

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Join with us To be part of 1846, we invite you to give, to pray and to influence.

You are invited to give £1,846 a year (or £150 or more a month) and pray for the work. You are also invited to leave a legacy of £1846 or more to the future of the Alliance.

Prayer is at the centre of all we do and we trust that all who join will support us in this important way.

You will have the opportunity to: • Direct your giving to the area of work you are most interested in or to wherever it is most needed across all areas • Learn about new initiatives at an annual anniversary event • Receive complimentary membership of the Alliance should you wish • Engage in occasional additional events hosted by the Alliance • Share your views with programme leaders, as well as the Alliance senior staff and trustees, through the 1846 secretary, Nicky Waters (020 7520 3858, n.waters@eauk.org) You will also receive: • Bi-annual news and prayer bulletins • Progress updates on the work • Notification of events

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Origins of the Evangelical Alliance 1843 John Angell James – a church leader from Birmingham – first presented his vision of an alliance for evangelical Christians in a speech to the congregational union in May 1842.

As a result, a meeting was held in the heart of the Capital in June 1843 to discuss church unity. The response was overwhelming, with 11,000 people requesting tickets for a hall that could accommodate only 3,500! From this meeting it was agreed that together an organisation for evangelical unity would be formed.

1845 Just two years later, 1 - 3 October 1845, a conference was held in Liverpool to further develop this exciting vision of a united alliance.

The key note theme for this conference was “love”.

A provisional committee was created to work on turning the expressions of spiritual unity made in Liverpool into a tangible alliance. The committee drew up resolutions that were to be approved at a large conference to take place the following year.

1846 The conference took place from 19 August to 2 September 1846 in London.

922 men from the UK, USA, Canada and Europe met to form the Evangelical Alliance.

“The role of members present will bear comparison with the councils of early fathers, the ecclesiastical diets of the later empire, or the synods and assemblies of the Papal Church.”

Dr J W Massie, speaking at the 1846 conference which established the Evangelical Alliance.

On 20 August 1846, a motion was unanimously approved to proceed towards creating a “confederation under the name ‘The Evangelical Alliance’”.

1846 secretary Nicky Waters joined the alliance in 2013 from UCCF. She studied Philosophy and Theology at Oxford University, which nurtured a passion for persuasive writing. In her role as head of giving, one of the highlights of Nicky’s year is the 1846 celebration, getting to know our supporters. She also manages the team, prepares the Alliance’s fundraising strategy, and writes appeals, trust applications and legacy communications.

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Our work in...

The UK Steve Clifford, who was a long-serving board and council member of the Alliance, took over as general director in 2009. He has been involved in a variety of exciting ministries and initiatives in his time. He is chair of HOPE Together and has previously been international chair of March for Jesus and chair of the leadership team for Soul Survivor. Steve continues to give advice, training and support to churches and has worked in a variety of church roles, including many among the Pioneer network of churches.

Emrys Jones joined the Alliance in 2016 as director of finance & operations. Having been a chartered engineer and business graduate and held a number of senior management positions in blue-chip, hi-tech, international businesses, Emrys followed a God-directed career transition when he took on the role of director of operations for Care for the Family eight years ago. He has been a trustee of other Christian charities, and is a member of his local church, part of the Salt & Light family, and lives in rural Leicestershire.

At the Evangelical Alliance, we serve the Church by uniting evangelicals across denominations, ethnicities, church size, style and location. Our focus is on Christ and our foundation the Bible.

We work relationally with churches to identify needs and opportunities for the Church and society, mobilising them to become God’s agents of change.

And we know that unity works. By bringing evangelicals together, we’ve changed laws, spread the gospel, defended the vulnerable, supported each other and loved our neighbours.

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Advocacy Dave Landrum has been the Evangelical Alliance’s director of advocacy since June 2011, when he joined the Alliance from his previous role as senior parliamentary officer for Bible Society. Well-respected in Parliament, Dave’s passion is to see Christianity making an impact on society by being at the centre of political, cultural and economic life.

As the primary organisation representing evangelicals in public life in the UK, we have a team of experts dedicated to speaking God’s truth in government and the media in a way that reflects His grace and love.

Our parliamentary officers work closely with politicians in the Senedd, Holyrood, Stormont and Westminster. We’ve carved out an influential role in British politics by lobbying on a wide variety of laws, from gaining protections for Christians in equality legislation, to campaigning against human trafficking across the UK. The more wise, prophetic evangelical leaders there are in the public arena, the more influence and voice we will have for the gospel. This is why our Public Leadership programme trains, equips and resources Christian leaders across the UK.

Mission initiatives Gavin Calver is the director of mission at the Evangelical Alliance and has a burning passion to see the gospel reach every person in the UK. He was formerly the national director of Youth for Christ, is an ordained evangelist and regular public speaker, and has authored four books.

Gavin is married to Anne and they have two children: Amelie and Daniel.

Our society desperately needs the healing power of the gospel – a gospel of both words and actions, of hope and service. I want to see the Church equipped to reach the people of its community, united so that we might impact the UK with God’s good news.

That’s why the Alliance’s unity in mission team wants to be a catalyst to mission both locally and nationally, resourcing and strengthening the muscles of the church for mission.

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Communications & Media Jo Frost joined the Alliance in September 2017 as our new director of communications and marketing. She has a background in communications consultancy, having worked with businesses and organisations on developing communications strategies and brand support.

Jo is overseeing the strategic direction of the Alliance’s communications and marketing, helping to develop the Alliance’s voice in equipping the Church in unity, mission and advocacy.

The communications and marketing team are dedicated to celebrating stories of Jesus changing lives and the Church transforming society. Through our bi-monthly magazine idea, regular emails, online and in person, we are committed to championing the voice of evangelicals. We encourage and inspire Christians across the UK to speak up in the public square and share Jesus in their communities.

Wales Elfed Godding, national director for Evangelical Alliance Wales since 1999, travels extensively throughout Wales communicating the vision and mission of the Welsh Alliance. Part of his current role involves leading Alliance coalitions– including Gweini, the Cymru Institute for Contemporary Christianity and Wales’ New Generation Leaders – and he is also a vicepresident of Tearfund.

The diverse contribution of the Alliance Wales’ experienced team of twelve enables us to focus on unity in mission across Wales with three main focuses.

We engage with Welsh government through our seat on the Faith Communities Forum; we enable collaborative mission through initiatives such as Waleswide – a collaboration of evangelical churches and organisations for the planting and strengthening of churches across Wales – and Cymru Institute of Contemporary Christianity, and we serve the churches as they reach their communities through acts of kindness and mercy through Gweini.

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Scotland Fred Drummond is the Alliance’s national director for Evangelical Alliance Scotland. He has been an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland for 20 years, and has led a variety of churches in his time. Fred is passionate about storytelling, the power of prayer, the gospel and unity for extending the Kingdom of God.

This is a time of great change in Scotland. Both in the Church and nation we are wrestling with issues that will help define us for generations to come. In a time of church decline we need to build unity around mission and make sure that the gospel is at the heart of what we are seeking to say, do and be. To that end we are leading the way in both local and national conversations about Scottish society and the place of the Church within this.

We want to see a new generation of millennial Christians leading and influencing in public life so that Scotland is transformed by the power of the gospel. The Evangelical Alliance’s Scottish Public Leader programme will train and equip emerging Christian leaders to make a significant cultural impact in key areas of Scotland’s public life.

Northern Ireland Peter Lynas, Director of Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland, combines this post with his role as operations director for Causeway Coast Vineyard Church in Coleraine and being on the board of Regent College, Vancouver. He qualified as a lawyer and practiced as a barrister for five years before completing his masters in divinity at Regent College. Peter speaks regularly on faith, politics, work, justice and ethics.

We have a growing team here in Northern Ireland, with an expanding internship programme allowing us to train young leaders. Our team has taken the lead on issues such as human trafficking, marriage and abortion, influencing Stormont legislation. We regularly engage with the media, presenting a clear Christian voice and telling good news stories of what God is doing locally. Finally we work to bring churches and their leaders together to see spiritual transformation here.

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Church unity movements Roger Sutton is Gather national coordinator for the Alliance, formerly the Senior Pastor of Altrincham Baptist Church and Chair of the Reaching the Unchurched Network (RUN). Roger now has a wider role serving as an independent executive member for his borough in Trafford, linking the community to the statutory authorities.

God is immensely proud of His Church – and so are we. We love nothing more than championing and supporting the Church, promoting unity.

One of the most exciting developments in recent years in the UK Church has been the springing up of over 100 local unity movements in towns and cities across the nations, working together for the good of their areas. Through Gather, we are working to network, equip and resource those movements in England, and help establish new ones where there are none.

Yemi Adedeji is director of the One People Commission, a group of key national church leaders across ethnic backgrounds which celebrates diversity while promoting unity. He is associate director for HOPE, a global ambassador for Compassion UK and strategic adviser for many church leaders across UK. Yemi is also closely involved with Jesus House London, a dynamic and entrepreneurial church/social enterprise charity operating locally in north London and part of the worldwide network of Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 was that his people might be one. The One People Commission is committed to celebrating ethnicity, while promoting unity within the UK Church. It’s a body of the Evangelical Alliance made up of key national church leaders, with a shared vision, to see the UK Church, in all its vibrant ethnic diversity, united as one.

Our mission is to reflect, celebrate and serve the ethnic diversity of the Church in the UK, by helping to reshape the focus and feel of the Alliance and its membership.

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In March 1845, in a motion prior to the birth of the Alliance, the Reverend A Cox wrote these words:

That the great object of the Evangelical Alliance be to aid in manifesting. . . the unity which exists amongst the true disciples of Christ. . .to impress upon Christians a deeper sense of the great duty of obeying our Lord’s command to “love one another” and to seek the full accomplishment of his prayer: “That they all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me (John 17:21-23)”.

Key Leaders in the life of the Alliance John Angell James chaired a speculative meeting about church unity in 1843. The interest in the meeting was overwhelming with 11,000 asking for tickets. He took part in the provisional committee meetings that prepared the resolutions that were presented to the 1846 conference.

Rev Edward Bickersteth was a leading Anglican priest who spoke in favour of the creation of an Alliance at the 1843 meeting, a member of the pre-alliance provisional committee and then part of the executive committee for the early years of the Alliance. He presented the proposed basis of faith to the 1846 conference. His support for the alliance caused him criticism from some Anglican sources but his devotion to the cause was vital to prevent the Alliance becoming a group solely for nonconformists.

Rev Baptist Noel was an outspoken supporter of Christian unity who spoke in favour of the creation of an evangelical alliance at the meeting in 1843. He was a Vice-Chair of the 1846 London meeting and seconded the motion that brought the Evangelical Alliance into being.

Sir Culling Eardley Smith, chair of the 1846 meeting in London, was the Alliance’s first president until ill health forced his resignation in 1862. His “firm but kindly guidance” as chair is said by J.W. Ewing in Goodly Fellowship to have contributed much to the success of the assembly.

Dr Edward Steane was a leading Baptist minister; he was secretary to the 1846 meeting in Manchester when the practical arrangements for how the Alliance would work were discussed and then part of the executive council for the newly formed organisation.

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