AWF EMERALD (Europe and the Middle East) Regional Conference in Germany (1-4 May 2019)

The AWF EMERALD 2019 Regional Conference was the biggest AWF regional conference in history with more than 140 delegates present from both the region and from the wider AWF family, including Latin America.

The meeting started with pre-conference ministry workshops based on language groups (Latino, Arabic and Chinese). Many Alliance pastors from the Middle East were able to attend the conference and the pre-conference ministry workshops due to the generosity of the Alliance family.

The theme of the conference was “Living in the Fourfold Gospel” and included a Symposium of Alliance Theology. The main speaker, Dr. Bernie A. Van De Walle, is chair of the AWF-ICTE (International Commission on Theological Education), and topics at the symposium included “Jesus is the Gospel” and “Saving the Gospel.” The EMERALD representatives on the AWF-ICTE, Dr Jack Sara of Bethlehem Bible College, and Dr Marco Wittenberg, facilitated the symposium discussion groups.

The evening teaching sessions based on the conference theme “Living in the Fourfold Gospel” were given by pastors Steve Fowler and Rob Bashioum of Salem Alliance. There were also testimonies from the mission fields in the Middle East and the diaspora mission field in Europe and presentations on how the mission field is evolving throughout the world.

During the conference, the AWF EMERALD region adopted a new vision statement for the region:

              “The mission of the Alliance World Fellowship and the EMERALD Region is to facilitate cooperation amongst its members (churches and organizations) as they work for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.”

              “The vision of the Alliance World Fellowship is that EMERALD becomes a platform for Kingdom centered partnerships and fellowship within the Alliance family in our region to further the Gospel as we work together for the fulfillment of the Great Commission.”

The EMERALD business meeting saw the confirmation of the election of Pastor Munther Shahatit (Jordan) to the position of regional coordinator and the election of Pastor Misha Medvedev (Russia) to the regional coordinating committee. The EMERALD family also honored Philip Margesson, the retired EMERALD Secretary, for his commitment of more than 40 years to the Alliance family.

The French-speaking delegates at the conference also met to discuss the possibility of creating an Alliance Francophone group within the Alliance World Fellowship.

The next AWF EMERALD regional meeting will happen at the 2020 Alliance World Fellowship Quadrennial Convocation on “Going Deep & Going Beyond” which will take place at the Sheraton Guayaquil Hotel, Ecuador, October 20-24, 2020. The AWF EMERALD Regional Coordinating Committee is putting into place plans so that all National Alliance Churches in the AWF EMERALD Region will send delegates to the AWF Quadrennial.