Mission - ECGI - Evangelism and Church Growth Initiative - Newsletters

Welcome to ECGI - If you are reading this newsletter you must be connected in some ways to the Evangelism and Church Growth Initiative (ECGI) of the Anglican Communion; whether you heard about it from a friend, read about it on the website, or are registered as a member, welcome!

ECGI Newsletter Welcome to the 2nd edition of the ECGI Newsletter I trust that you are as excited as I am about this possibility and the opportunity to enable collaboration around the Anglican Communion in this very important aspect of Mission. There is no doubt about the various evangelism and church growth initiatives going on in our churches, as now evidenced by the stories being shared through this newsletter. These and many unpublished stories reveal what God is doing through women and men, young people and adults, who have committed themselves, their skills and resources for the sake of the Gospel.

I must point out that ECGI is not simply about growing church in terms of numbers of church buildings or indeed church attendance, it is concerned both about "quantity" and "quality"! As Archbishop David Vunagi of the Province of Melanesia said to me recently, "we have no problem with numbers in Melanesia, but we have a challenge in terms of people understanding why they go to Church. That is our task now, that is where we need support!"

Just as there are a variety of evangelism and church growth initiatives, there are also a variety of resources around the Anglican Communion and among our ecumenical partners, which we wish to make available to all who may need. It is therefore important that you share with us or with a Core Group member in your region any resource that you know would benefit others. It is one of the ways we can be of mutual support to one another in God�s mission.

I pray that as you read this newsletter you will be enriched and inspired in your own life and ministry by the experience of others. But I also trust that you will be able to share yours or the experience of those you know involved in evangelism and church growth work in your context or elsewhere.

May God bless your ministry!
John K. Kafwanka (Revd) Director for Mission - Anglican Communion Office

 



ECGI Newsletter This newsletter is a modest beginning; however, like the mustard seed of the Gospel, it has the potential, in God, to grow large.  ECGI is the response to the great interest of the Lambeth Conference 2008 in evangelism and church growth throughout the communion, and the need for collaboration.  Following the ACC resolution in May 2009, the Secretary General called together a very small core which had its first meeting in Woking (UK) from 11—15 January 2010.

We are a very small core group. The only way this initiative can move forward is to work with you, not for you.

This first issue is a foretaste of things to come with articles about how evangelism and church growth is taking place in a variety of contexts. Please send your own stories, books and resources for future issues. Also, pray for evangelism and church growth throughout the world, and this Initiative. Pray that, as resources become available, we will be able to grow the website, and expand this quarterly newsletter into a journal for evangelism and church growth.

Bp Patrick Yu, Convener

 


 

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