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Ecumenical Christian organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) is an ecumenical, Christian fellowship that advances partnerships among confessional Reformed churches around the world.[1]
| World Reformed Fellowship | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Fellowship |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Confessionally Reformed |
| Origin | 2000 |
| Members | 7,281,955 |
| Official website | www |
The World Fellowship of Reformed Churches 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 Calvinist 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 operates commissions that serve its global membership, focusing on evangelism and missions, theological education, and theology. These commissions facilitate dialogue for better partnership between member denominations and organizations, produce and provide resources for the church, operate as theological and ministerial forums between WRF members, and serve as platforms of engagement from the WRF towards other organizations. The theological commission has produced several documents, such as the WRF’s Statement of Faith, a narrative statement on Reformed identity, and a statement on ecclesiology, all designed to facilitate greater theological partnership across cultural and intra-Reformed theological differences.[4] The commissions of the WRF sometimes facilitate larger forums, such as partnering with the Lausanne Movement to host a consultation on theological education in 2014 in São Paulo[5][6] and a theological consultation on Christian ministry among Muslims in 2011 in Istanbul.[7][8] The WRF partners with both the World Evangelical Alliance, of which the WRF is an affiliate member,[9] and New Growth Press for book publishing.[10][11]
The WRF hosts a global general assembly approximately every four years. These assemblies review and direct the work of the WRF’s commissions, are a time of networking and fellowship for the membership of the WRF, and are where the WRF’s membership hears about major issues facing the global church in order to consider and address them.
WRF membership is also divided up into regional boards for planning and implementing fellowship for ministries within their own larger, geographic area.[13] These boards are more contextualized than the general assembly, both in composition and in the nature of their work.
Governance of the WRF is held by its membership voting at general assemblies. Oversight and operations are carried out by a board of directors and an international director (CEO).
Chairmen of the Board,
International Directors,
The WRF is similar in theology to the International Conference of Reformed Churches and more conservative than the World Communion of Reformed Churches, though several member churches of the WRF are also members of either the ICRC or the WCRC. The WRF primarily differs from these other groups in that it is a fellowship, not a council, and so includes in its membership not only denominations, but individual congregations, pastors and theologians, and non-ecclesial organizations (e.g. theological seminaries). It conceives of its existence as facilitating dialogue and sharing of resources between the different global branches of Reformed Christians.[16] Unlike the WCRC, which officially supports the ordination of women,[17][18] and the ICRC, which prohibits denominational members that ordain women as pastors,[19][20] the WRF as a confessional fellowship recognizes the diversity of positions among its members regarding the ordination women.[21] There are a total of 82 denominational members of the WRF and 155 organizational members, as of July 08, 2023.[22][23] The majority (75 of 83, as of September 15, 2023) of WRF member denominations prohibit women from being ordained as pastors, elders, or deacons.
The WRF has a Reformed, confessional basis for membership. Members have to agree with:
The largest churches as of 2023 are (membership of 100,000 or more):
As of June 2024, there are 84 member denominations:[32][33][34]
| Country | Denomination | Number of congregations | Number of members | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Christian Reformed Church in South Africa | 19 | 2,500 | 1984[35] |
| South Africa | Reformed Churches in South Africa | 382 | 76,812 | 2022[36] |
| Angola | Presbyterian Church of Angola | 100 | 60,000 | 2023[37] |
| Argentina | Orthodox Episcopal Anglican Church (Buenos Aires) | - | - | - |
| Argentina | ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (Argentina)^ | - | - | - |
| Australia | Presbyterian Church of Australia | 546 | 54,000 | 2006 |
| Australia | Westminster Presbyterian Church of Australia | - | - | - |
| Australia | Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia | 16 | 719 | 2016[36] |
| Bangladesh | Presbyterian Church of Bangladesh | 26 | - | 2011[38] |
| Bangladesh | Bangladesh Presbyterian Church | 13 | - | 2017[39] |
| Bangladesh | Grace Presbyterian Church of Bangladesh | - | - | - |
| Bangladesh | Smyrna House of Prayer Church | - | - | - |
| Bangladesh | Isa-e Church | 125 | 6,000 | 2015[40] |
| Bangladesh | Thyatira Church Trust Bangladesh | - | - | - |
| Bangladesh | Evangelical Reformed Church of Bangladesh | - | - | - |
| Bangladesh | Bangladesh Evangelical Reformed Church of Bandarban, Tripura | - | - | - |
| Brazil | Presbyterian Church of Brazil | 5,420 | 702,947 | 2021[27] |
| Brazil | Christian Church Nations For Christ | - | - | - |
| Burundi | Christian Reformed Church in Burundi | - | - | - |
| Burundi | Holy Spirit Revival Church | - | - | - |
| Canada | Reformed Church of Quebec | 5[41] | 400[36][42] | 2018[36] |
| Colombia | United Church of Christ in Colombia | - | - | - |
| Congo | United Presbyterian Churches of Congo | - | - | - |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Kivu Presbyterian Church | - | - | - |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Reformed Community of Katanga | - | - | - |
| Egypt | Gospel Peace Church of Egypt | - | - | - |
| Ethiopia | Raisin Power Baptist Church of Ethiopia | - | - | - |
| Germany | Reformed Free Church in Germany | 2 | - | 2024[43] |
| Haiti | Union of Churches of the Christian Community of Haiti | - | - | - |
| Hungary | Reformed Presbyterian Church of Central and Eastern Europe | 25 | 370 | 2022[36] |
| India | Council of Reformed Churches of India | - | - | - |
| India | Telugu Baptist Church Council | - | - | - |
| India | Celitic Cross Ministry Dioceses of India | - | - | - |
| India | Christian Reformed Fellowship of India | 300 | - | 2019[44] |
| India | Malankara Evangelical Church | - | - | - |
| India | Reformed Church of India | - | - | - |
| India | Presbyterian Reformed Church in India | 10 | - | (2022)[45] |
| India | India Christian Mission Church | - | - | - |
| India | Presbyterian Church in India (Reformed) | 50 | 10,000 | 2015[46] |
| India | Reformed Presbyterian Church of India | 10 | 3,000 | 2004[47] |
| India | Reformed Presbyterian Church India | - | - | - |
| India | Reformed Presbyterian Church North East India | 105 | 11,376 | 2021[36] |
| India | Evangelical Reformed Church of India | 84 | - | - |
| India | United Church of India | - | - | - |
| Indonesia | Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Church | 74 | 7,000 | 2011[48] |
| Italy | Evangelical Reformed Baptist Churches in Italy | 14 | 500 | 2020[49] |
| Kenya | Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church | 100 | 22,000 | 2020[50] |
| Liberia | Emmanuel Temple (Sinkor, Monrovia) | - | - | - |
| Lithuania | Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania | 14 | 7,000 | 2008[51] |
| Madagascar | Protestant Church of Ambohimalaza-Firaisiana | - | - | - |
| Malawi | Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Malawi and Mozambique | 90 | 15,000 | 2016[52] |
| Mexico | National Presbyterian Church in Mexico | 6,000 | 2,800,000 | 2010[25] |
| Myanmar | Biblical Reformed Church in Myanmar | - | - | - |
| Myanmar | Christian Reformed Church in Myanmar | 50 | 5,000 | 2004[53] |
| Myanmar | Community of Reformed Churches in Myanmar | - | - | - |
| Myanmar | Reformed Evangelical Church of Myanmar | 40 | 7,000 | 2010[54] |
| Myanmar | Reformed Presbyterian Church in Myanmar | 35 | 2,500 | 2021[55] |
| New Zealand | Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand | 25 | - | - |
| Pakistan | United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan | 200 | 250,000 | 2018 |
| Pakistan | Sutlej Reformed Church of Pakistan | 20 | - | - |
| Poland | Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Poland | 4 | - | - |
| Russia | Evangelical Reformed Church of Russia | 15 | 350 | 2010[56] |
| Senegal | Presbyterian Church of Senegal | 20 | 800 | 2017[57] |
| South Korea | Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) | 11,920 | 2,351,896 | 2022[26] |
| Sri Lanka | Christian Reformed Church in Sri Lanka[58] | 41 | 3,000 | 2014[59] |
| Sudan and South Sudan | Sudanese Reformed Churches | 34 | 6,000 | 2023[60] |
| Uganda | Presbyterian Church in Uganda | 87 | 3,047 | 2019[36] |
| Uganda | Reformed Presbyterian Church in Uganda | 12 | 5,000 | 2004 [61] |
| Uganda | Community Worship Presbyterian Church | - | - | - |
| Uganda | Covenant Reformed Church in Uganda | - | - | - |
| Uganda | Greater Grace Ministry (Kampala, Uganda) | - | - | - |
| Uganda | King's Church (Kampala, Uganda) | - | - | - |
| Uganda | Reformed Presbyterian Church in Africa (Uganda) | - | - | - |
| Uganda | New Life Presbyterian Church of Uganda | - | - | - |
| United Kingdom | Associated Presbyterian Churches | 9 | 200 | 2021[62] |
| United Kingdom | Free Church of Scotland[63] | 112 | 5,400 | 2016[36] |
| United States | Presbyterian Church in America | 1,934 | 393,528 | 2023[28] |
| United States | Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church | 273 | 30,649 | 2021[36] |
| United States | Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States) | 629 | 121,058 | 2023[31] |
| United States | Evangelical Reformed Church in America | - | - | - |
| United States | ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians | 400 | 127,000 | 2022[30][64] |
| United States | Christian Reformed Church in North America[65] | 1,000 | 189,753 | 2024[29] |
| United States | United Episcopal Church of North America | 26 | - | - |
| Uruguay | Presbyterian Church of Uruguay | 2 | 150 | 2023 |
| World | Total | 30,448 | 7,281,955 | 2004-2024 |
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