The world’s largest evangelical body will hold its first general assembly in seven years this October and will be presenting many new structures and projects, according to officials.

The World Evangelical Alliance, a body representing 420 million evangelicals, expects 500 to 600 representatives to attend its General Assembly from October 25 to 30. Members will participate in the usual activities of vision building, training sessions, and strategic networking during the event.

“WEA held its last General Assembly in May 2001,” said the Rev. Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of WEA, to The Christian Post. “Much has changed in the world since that date. We are at critical moment in history when we need evangelical leaders to come together to face some of the most significant challenges and opportunities the Church has ever faced. more >>

Dozens of prominent evangelical leaders recently endorsed a statement declaring a fact that many Christians already hold to be true – that Jewish people need the Gospel and Jesus Christ to receive eternal life.

The statement, sponsored by the World Evangelical Alliance, expressed friendship and love for the Jewish people, but unapologetically declared that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ.

“We want to make it clear that, as evangelical Christians, we do not wish to offend our Jewish friends by the above statements; but we are compelled by our faith and commitment to the Scriptures to stand by these principles,” read the evangelical statement on “The Gospel and the Jewish People.” more >>

The executive director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA)’s religious liberty arm will be flying to Turkey to deliver Christmas gifts and to help Christians who have fled from Iraq.

Though the challenge is “huge,” John Candelin explained to the Mission Network News (MNN) that “it's better to do a little than to do nothing.”

“So that's why I'm going there,” he added, “to comfort them, to share the Gospel about the birth of Jesus Christ and bring them some food and toys for the children." more >>

The religious liberty arm of the World Evangelical Alliance strongly rebuffed a recent report that claims, among other assertions, that the source of Muslim extremism is the "defamation" of Islam.

“I would propose that the very heart of the issue is not ‘defamation’ of Islam or ‘baseless’ Islamophobia,” expressed Elizabeth Kendal of the WEA’s Religious Liberty Commission, “but the fact that the dictators of Islam are now as ever consumed and driven by 'apostaphobia!'”

“Indeed the new openness brought to the world through globalization and developments in information and communication technologies is causing the power stakeholders and religious dictators of the non-free world to be seriously gripped by apostaphobia – a well-founded fear of loss of adherents, which is manifested primarily as uncompromising repression and denial of fundamental liberties, by violent and subversive means,” she added Monday. more >>

The head of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has welcomed the release of 19 South Korean hostages this week.

The group of Christian medical volunteers, originally numbering 23, endured six weeks of captivity at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan after their bus was overtaken by the Islamic militant group en route to provide free medical services to poor Afghan citizens.

Since the kidnapping – the largest abduction of foreigners in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 – two male hostages were killed by their captors. The remaining 21 were all released, beginning with two female hostages on Aug. 13 and followed weeks later by the final 19, who were released in successive rounds over the course of two days – Wednesday and Thursday. more >>

After several long days of back-to-back meetings and zig-zagging from one end of Washington, D.C., to another, the international director of the World Evangelical Alliance had a chance to sit down, unwind and chat with The Christian Post about the WEA’s plan to open a branch in Iraq next year.

The following are excerpts from the interview on Tuesday with the Rev. Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe:

CP: I know that there is a lot of discussion and planning right now for a WEA Iraq branch, but is it a sure thing or only an idea at this point? more >>