World Reformed Fellowship
Formation | 2000 |
---|---|
Merger of |
World Fellowship of Reformed Churches International Reformed Fellowship |
Website |
www |
The World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) is an ecumenical Christian organization which promotes unity between conservative Reformed churches around the world.[1]
History
The World Fellowship of Reformed Churches (WFRC) was formed in 1994 by the Presbyterian Church in America, the National Presbyterian Church in Mexico, and the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, as well as member churches mainly from Latin American countries and from India, East Africa and the United States.[2] The International Reformed Fellowship (IRF) was formed also in 1994 with Reformed churches in Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, and from all part of Asia.
The World Fellowship of Reformed Churches and the International Reformed Fellowship united on October 24, 2000 to form the World Reformed Fellowship. The WRF is now an international body represented in seventy-nine countries.[3]
The WRF is a fellowship, not a council, and wants to fulfill the dream of John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield and many others to unite evangelical Reformed Christians. Members have to agree with:
- The statement that "The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are without error in all that they teach."
- At least one of the following historic Reformed Confessions - The Gallican Confession, The Belgic Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism, The Thirty-Nine Articles, The Second Helvetic Confession, The Canons of Dort, The Westminster Confession of Faith, the London Confession of 1689, the Savoy Declaration, or the WRF Statement of Faith.
World Reformed Fellowship wants to promote Reformed thinking, encourage churches and people to embrace Reformed thinking, and to promote evangelisation in the Reformed tradition and to provide forum for dialogue. [4]
It is similar in theology to the International Conference of Reformed Churches and more conservative than the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
There are a total of 72 denominational members of the Fellowship, and 183 organizational members, as of February 2, 2016.[5][6]
The Fourth General Assembly of the World Reformed Fellowship was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil in March 2015.[7] This General Assembly approved a new statement of faith which had been completed March 31, 2011. This statement includes twelve articles and was made to accomplish three purposes:
- To express accurately the contents of the other historic Reformed confessions which members are required to hold to at least one of.
- To apply the Reformed faith to specific issues that the 21st-century church is facing.
- To include the voices of Reformed Christians from around the world, since the other confessions were written primarily by Christians in Europe.[8]
Denominational members
As of February 2016 there are 72 denominational members:
- Aashish Presbyterian Church (Zone Koshi, East Nepal)
- Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church
- Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (USA)
- Associated Presbyterian Church in Scotland
- Biblical Reformed Church of Myanmar
- Christian Reformed Church in Nepal
- Christian Reformed Church in South Africa
- Christian Reformed Church of North America
- Christian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka
- Church of England in South Africa
- Egliese Protestante Reformee du Burundi
- L'Église Réformée du Québec
- Evangelical Presbyterian Church (USA)
- Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ivory Coast
- Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Malawi
- Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Myanmar
- Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Peru
- Evangelical Reformed Baptist Churches in Italy
- Evangelical Reformed Church in America
- Evangelical Reformed Church of the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Free Church of Scotland
- Lithuanian Evangelical Reformed Church
- General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines
- God's Healing Ministry (Lagos, Nigeria)
- Grace Presbyterian Church of Bangladesh
- Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
- Greater Grace Ministry, Kampala, Uganda
- Igreja Presbteriana de Angola
- India Reformed Presbyterian Church
- International Peacemaking Church of Christ, (Raleigh NC)
- Isa-e Church (Bangladesh)
- Mission Voile Déchiré, Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- Mount Zion Presbyterian Church of Sierra Leone
- National Capital Region Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines
- National Presbyterian Church of Mexico
- Peace Church Bangladesh
- Presbyterian Church in America
- Presbyterian Church of the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
- Presbyterian Church in India
- Presbyterian Church in Uganda
- Presbyterian Church of Australia
- Presbyterian Church of Bangladesh
- Presbyterian Church of Bolivia
- Presbyterian Church of Brazil
- Presbyterian Church of Sierra Leone
- Presbyterian Church of South India
- Presbyterian Free Church of Central India
- The Protestant Church of Ambohimalaza-Firaisiana, Madagascar
- Protestant Reformed Christian Church in Croatia
- Protestant Reformed Christian Church in Serbia
- Reformed Baptist Churches in North America
- Reformed Bible Churches of Trinidad and Tobago
- Reformed Church of India
- Reformed Church of Latin America
- Reformed Church of Nepal
- Reformed Churches in South Africa
- Reformed Community Churches in Myanmar
- Reformed Christian Church of Orlando
- Reformed Evangelical Church of Indonesia
- Reformed Evangelical Church of Myanmar
- Reformed Presbyterian Church in Africa (Uganda)
- Reformed Presbyterian Church in Africa (Rwanda)
- Reformed Presbyterian Church in Myanmar
- Reformed Presbyterian Church of India
- Reformed Presbyterian Church of Uganda
- Smyrna House of Prayer Church in Bangladesh
- Sudanese Reformed Churches
- United Christian Church and Bible Institute, USA
- United Church of Christ in Colombia
- United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan
- United Reformed Church in Myanmar
- Westminster Presbyterian Church (Bull Creek, Australia)
References
- ↑ www.wrfnet.org/about/case-statement#.Ul10HtKU0rU
- ↑ www.mackenzie.br/7026.html
- ↑ "Countries Represented in the WRF". World Reformed Fellowship. 2016-02-27. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
- ↑ www.wrfnet.org/web/guest/aboutwrf
- ↑ "Denominational Members." World Reformed Fellowship. Retrieved 2016-02-28
- ↑ "Organizational Members". World Reformed Fellowship. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
- ↑ "The 4th General Assembly of the WRF | World Reformed Fellowship". Wrfnet.org. 2015-03-23. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
- ↑ "Statement of Faith". World Reformed Fellowship. Retrieved 2016-02-28.