A Participants Viewpoint of GAFCON
It was Bec and my great honour and privilege to be representatives of the Diocese of North West Australia at the first Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) held in Jerusalem from 22nd-29th June. Millions of Christians from 25 nations were represented by 1148 delegates including 291 Bishops.
GAFCON was convened to consider the future of the Anglican Church in light of the current crisis caused by the revisionist agendas among some Anglican leaders. This revisionist agenda has torn the fabric of our communion by departing from traditional Anglican foundations as expressed in the Thirty-nine Articles and the three Confessional Creeds. The most evident of which is the departing from the Bible as the unchangeable and ultimate source of authority for all things Christian and indeed for all of life. At GAFCON we reaffirmed our Biblical Anglican roots and sought, through prayer and consultation, to find a way forward for our beloved Church.
It was with great joy that we worshiped with men and women from every continent. This provided a colourful blend of cultures and ecclesiastical styles, celebrating diversity within the unity of our common confession of Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Saviour of His creation. Over 8 days the GAFCON delegates heard Biblical exposition from prominent Anglican leaders; met together in workshops to pray over and discuss the way forward; and enjoyed pilgrimages around the Holy Land.
As Bec and I spoke with clergy from all around the world we heard stories of great persecution as diocese have forcibly removed whole congregations from church properties because of their unwavering stance on the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only way to have a relationship with God and for upholding Biblical morals and values. Many of these property ownership cases are now before the secular courts. Despite this persecution the clergy that we met were still smiling because they know that the Gospel is what is most important. Excitingly many of these outed congregations have experienced significant spiritual and numerical growth since being removed from their property.
Another great joy was hearing of the huge revival taking place in Africa at the moment. One young minister we spoke to has planted 6 churches in the last 2 years. The smallest of which is already 500 strong, and the largest around 2000. He asked us to pray for people to be come to Uganda to train his church leaders and that he and his wife might be blessed with children (as if he isn’t already busy enough!).
It was with a standing ovation on the last day of the conference that the gathering received the final Statement of the Global Anglican Future which clearly outlines GAFCON as a movement which will endeavour to reform our Church back to its Biblical and Anglican roots. Can I encourage you as fellow Anglicans to read through the statement which can be found at http://www.gafcon.org/ and then, with brothers and sisters from around the world, pray for our communion.
Rev. Lachlan Edwards
GAFCON was convened to consider the future of the Anglican Church in light of the current crisis caused by the revisionist agendas among some Anglican leaders. This revisionist agenda has torn the fabric of our communion by departing from traditional Anglican foundations as expressed in the Thirty-nine Articles and the three Confessional Creeds. The most evident of which is the departing from the Bible as the unchangeable and ultimate source of authority for all things Christian and indeed for all of life. At GAFCON we reaffirmed our Biblical Anglican roots and sought, through prayer and consultation, to find a way forward for our beloved Church.
It was with great joy that we worshiped with men and women from every continent. This provided a colourful blend of cultures and ecclesiastical styles, celebrating diversity within the unity of our common confession of Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Saviour of His creation. Over 8 days the GAFCON delegates heard Biblical exposition from prominent Anglican leaders; met together in workshops to pray over and discuss the way forward; and enjoyed pilgrimages around the Holy Land.
As Bec and I spoke with clergy from all around the world we heard stories of great persecution as diocese have forcibly removed whole congregations from church properties because of their unwavering stance on the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the only way to have a relationship with God and for upholding Biblical morals and values. Many of these property ownership cases are now before the secular courts. Despite this persecution the clergy that we met were still smiling because they know that the Gospel is what is most important. Excitingly many of these outed congregations have experienced significant spiritual and numerical growth since being removed from their property.
Another great joy was hearing of the huge revival taking place in Africa at the moment. One young minister we spoke to has planted 6 churches in the last 2 years. The smallest of which is already 500 strong, and the largest around 2000. He asked us to pray for people to be come to Uganda to train his church leaders and that he and his wife might be blessed with children (as if he isn’t already busy enough!).It was with a standing ovation on the last day of the conference that the gathering received the final Statement of the Global Anglican Future which clearly outlines GAFCON as a movement which will endeavour to reform our Church back to its Biblical and Anglican roots. Can I encourage you as fellow Anglicans to read through the statement which can be found at http://www.gafcon.org/ and then, with brothers and sisters from around the world, pray for our communion.
Rev. Lachlan Edwards
posted by Lachlan Edwards @ 5:28 PM
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