The Yamoussoukro Declaration

As we come together to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Alliance World Fellowship, we rightly give thanks for the remarkable work that God has done through the Global Alliance family. From small and humble beginnings—and in faithful dependence on the Spirit of God (Zech. 4:6)—the Alliance has grown to include more than 6.7 million members worldwide. Today, the Alliance is present in 88 countries and consists of more than 24,000 local churches who are sending more than 1,700 international workers. By every measure, the worldwide Alliance family has remained faithful to the mission to which it has been called.

Even so, the task of taking the gospel into the whole world remains unfulfilled. The Great Commission, to which we have given our all, continues to command us to radical and faithful obedience. We must continue to obey because it is estimated that:[1]

• 3.6 billion people (or 44% of the world’s population) are bound by the religions of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism alone.
• 2.25 billion people do not have access to the gospel.
• 81.5% of all non-Christians do not know a Christian personally.
• There remain 7,295 identified unreached people groups.[2]

These sobering statistics mean that we must continue to give our all to take the gospel into the dark and hard to reach places, and to make disciples from all nations who are committed to making disciples themselves in obedience to all that Christ has commanded. But we continue to note the following challenges and opportunities to this mandate:

1. Conflict and Humanitarian Crises: A significant portion of the unreached are in conflict areas, where entire people groups are displaced and suffering from physical and emotional trauma. Mission to these places is difficult and requires the church to count the cost in terms of both financial and personnel resources. Mission must also be viewed as a task to constitute Christ’s presence in both word and deed in such contexts.
2. Global Diaspora: 281 million people are estimated to be on the move, displaced from their origins by economic, conflict, or family reasons.[3] Many of the unreached have left their places of origin and are now within ready reach of the Christian church. 146 million are in Europe or North America alone. We must be awake to the opportunities that global migration present for mission.
3. Spiritual Oppression: The work of the powers, authorities and dominions continue to stand opposed to all that God would do in this world. Mission must stand against these powers in the name of Jesus Christ and in the supernatural empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
4. Persecution and Religious Extremism: 1 in 7 Christians across the world face persecution for their faith.[4] It is estimated that 910,000 Christians will be martyred this decade.[5] We must be prepared to count the cost when proclaiming of the gospel even as we seek the Lord for protection and security in that task.
5. Challenges in Alliance Mission:
   1. Vision: There is an urgent need for the global Alliance church to recapture the heart of God for the lost and the foundational call of the Alliance to take the whole gospel to the whole world. Pastoral demands, local challenges and local opportunities must not distract us from the global task to which we are collectively called.
   2. Training: The ongoing and general decline in Western Christianity has resulted in the loss of historic missionary training institutions. With almost 90% of the Alliance now in the Majority World, efforts need to be made to develop innovative recruiting and training strategies from these regions for future missionaries.
   3. Retention: Global Alliance missions is hampered by challenges related to missionary retention. There is an urgent need to implement strategies to effectively support our missionary workforce in their various callings to enable them to serve to their full potential.

In response we note that the Global Alliance has no ability of its own to fulfil the Great Commission except in full and complete reliance upon the power of the gospel manifested through the indwelling Spirit of Christ. Therefore, in submission to the Spirit we commit to:

1. Proclaim the truth of the Gospel: Focus on sharing the message of Christ’s love and salvation in the midst of a pluralistic world. The uniqueness of Christ and the hope of the gospel cannot be left to the margins but must be foremost in any preaching of the kingdom.
2. Demonstrate the Power of the Kingdom: The gospel must be demonstrated in both word and deed through the manifestation of the Spirit’s power. Effective mission work has always found its locus in the empowering work of the Spirit, and we must follow the lead of the Holy Spirit in completing the Great Commission.
3. Grow in Deeper Discipleship: Proactively lead and engage others to develop the deeper life through spiritual formation towards conformity to Christ.
4. Engage in Both Word and Deed: Make a concerted effort to engage the world with the presence of Jesus through both word and deed.
5. Partner with Local and Global Churches: Collaborate with national and local churches throughout the Alliance World Fellowship and beyond to enhance mission effectiveness.
6. Educate and Equip Leaders for Local and Global Ministry: Provide continuing theological education and leadership training to equip pastors, missionaries, and leaders for successful ministry in the contexts to which they are called.
7. Commit to the Hard Places: The C&MA was born to take the gospel to where it had not yet been preached. This call still resonates today. We must be prepared to go to the hard and costly places.

To see real forward momentum in addressing these challenges and in taking up the above mandate, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, as a global fellowship, should focus on the following actions as an immediate aim:

1. Solidify Alliance Identity: Make every effort to strengthen the distinctive nature of the Alliance movement with emphasis given to both the deeper life and global mission.
2. Strengthen Global Partnerships: Enhance collaboration among Alliance national churches to pool resources and expertise for greater impact.
3. Enhance Gospel Presence: Expand the visible presence of Jesus through proclamation and tangible action, addressing the needs of the lost with love and kingdom power.

1. Equip and Release Workers: Invest in the education and training of local pastors and missionaries to ensure they are well-equipped to minister to their communities.

Through these actions, the Christian and Missionary Alliance can continue to fulfil its calling to go into all the world and preach the gospel, bringing the hope and healing of Christ to all corners of the world.

[1] Statistics from Todd M. Johnson and Gina A. Zurlo, eds. World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, January 2024). www.worldchristiandatabase.org

[2] Joshua Project. Correct as 29^th July 2025. The Joshua Project and Lausanne movement define an unreached people group as “those who lack an indigenous church capable of evangelizing their own people.” State of the Great Commission. Report prepared for the Lausanne Global Congress Seoul-Incheon 2024.

[3] IOM UN Migration, World Migration Report: worldmigrationreort.iom.int/msite/wmr-2024-interactive/

[4] Opendoors.org/en-US/persecution/countries/

[5] Todd M. Johnson and Gina A. Zurlo, eds. World Christian Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, January 2024). www.worldchristiandatabase.org