| ICF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Charismatic |
| Theology | Evangelicalism |
| Region | 12 countries |
| Origin | 1990 Zürich, Switzerland |
| Congregations | 40 |
| Official website | www |
ICF (International Christian Fellowship) is an international charismatic Christian association of churches. The headquarters is located in Zurich, Switzerland.
ICF was founded in 1990 by Heinz Strupler. [1] In 1996, leadership was taken over by Leo Bigger and Matthias Bölsterli, who emphasized an international policy of expansion. [2] [3] Around 2005, worship attendance at the Zurich church was 2,000 participants. In 2017, it was 3,500. [4] In 2020, it would have more than 40 associated churches in 12 countries. [5] ICF has 4 Bible Colleges, ICF College. [6]
The association has a charismatic confession of faith. [7]
Senior pastor Leo Bigger (b. 1968) with his wife Susanne introduced a hierarchical structure of groups, called "g|12", consisting of groups of 12 people of which every group leader was a group member in the superordinate group, terminating in the group led by Bigger. In 2004, official terminology was changed from "g|12" to "SmallGroup". The graphical representation was changed from presenting the Bigger couple at the center of a circle instead of at the top of a pyramid, but the topological structure of the system remains unchanged. [8] "g|12" is conceived as a pyramid scheme, urging each group member to strive to become the leader of a derivative group. [9] The one who serves the others best shall be their leader.
Small groups are set in place to promote group discussion on biblical principles. Members are encouraged to start new groups if their own group becomes too large to the point of fair discussion being jeopardized.
The Jesus movement was an evangelical Christian movement that began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, and Central America, before it subsided in the late 1980s. Members of the movement were called Jesus people, or Jesus freaks.
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is an interdenominational organization of evangelical Christian churches, serving more than 600 million evangelicals, founded in 1846 in London, England, United Kingdom to unite evangelicals worldwide. WEA is the largest international organization of evangelical churches. The headquarters are in Deerfield, Illinois, with UN offices in New York City, Geneva, and Bonn. It brings together 9 regional and 143 national evangelical alliances of churches, and over one hundred member organizations. Moreover, the WEA includes a certain percentage of individual evangelical Christian churches. As of March 2021, the Secretary General of the WEA is German theologian Thomas Schirrmacher.
Nondenominational Christianity consists of churches which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally aligning with a specific Christian denomination. Many non-denominational churches have a congregationalist polity, which is self-governing without a higher church authority. This is not absolute of all non-denominational churches though, as elder-ruled non-denominational churches have grown quite recently within networks like Acts 29.
A megachurch is a church with a very large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant, including Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant Christian church having 2,000 or more people in average weekend attendance. The megachurch is an organization type rather than a denomination.
The World Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is an international Pentecostal denomination.
Yoido Full Gospel Church is a Pentecostal church affiliated with the Assemblies of God on Yeouido in Seoul, South Korea. With about 480,000 members, it is the largest Pentecostal Christian congregation in South Korea. Founded by David Yonggi Cho and Choi Ja-shil in 1958, the church is presently led by Young Hoon Lee. The church has several satellite locations throughout the city of Seoul.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is a Pentecostal megachurch and denomination in Lagos, Nigeria.
The Shepherding movement was an influential and controversial movement within some British, Australian and American charismatic churches. It emerged in the 1970s and early 1980s. The doctrine of the movement emphasized the "one another" passages of the New Testament, and the mentoring relationship described in the Second Epistle to Timothy.
The cell group is a form of church organization that is used in many Christian churches. Cell groups are generally intended to teach the Bible and personalize Christian fellowship. They are always used in cell churches, but also occur in parachurch organizations and other interdenominational settings, where they are usually referred to as such as Bible study groups. In Methodism, they are known as class meetings and are a means of grace; in Catholicism, they are known as basic ecclesial communities.
People of Praise is a network of lay Christian intentional communities. As a parachurch apostolate, membership is open to any baptized Christian who affirms the Nicene Creed and agrees to the community's covenant. The majority of its members are Catholics, but Protestants can also join, reflecting the ecumenical nature of People of Praise. It has 22 branches in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, with approximately 1,700 members. It founded Trinity Schools, which are aligned with the philosophy of classical Christian education.
The Apostolic-Prophetic movement is a US-based Christian movement founded in the early 2000s. It is a network of non-denominational alliances of independent churches and ministries.
The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world.
The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially the General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States. The Assemblies of God is the U.S. branch of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the world's largest Pentecostal body. With a constituency of 3,041,957 in 2011, the Assemblies of God was the ninth largest Christian denomination and the second largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States, growing to 3,295,923 in 2019. Since then, its adherents have declined to 2,928,143 in 2022.
Paul Sylvester Morton is an American Baptist pastor, Gospel singer and author. He is also a founder of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship.
Misión Carismática Internacional is an evangelical megachurch, in Bogotá, Colombia, its part of the neo-charismatic movement. It operates under a pyramidal and cellular model.
The Swiss Pentecostal Mission is the largest Pentecostal Christian denomination in Switzerland. Officially known in English as the Pentecostal Assemblies of Switzerland, it is the Swiss branch of the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world. In 2013, the denomination had 10,000 adherents in 66 churches across Switzerland, and operated a conference center in Emmetten.
New Life Fellowship Association, commonly known as New Life Fellowship (NLF), is a group of megachurches primarily located in India, that is characterised by adherence to the Holiness movement, Evangelicalism, and Biblical fundamentalism. New Life Fellowship Association Mumbai (Bombay) is a megachurch with 70,000 members.
Pentecostalism in Australia is a large and growing Christian movement. Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through baptism with the Holy Spirit. It emerged from 19th century precursors between 1870 and 1910, taking denominational form from c. 1927. From the early 1930s, Pentecostal denominations multiplied, and there are now several dozen, the largest of which relate to one another through conferences and organisations such as the Australian Pentecostal Ministers Fellowship. The Australian Christian Churches, formerly known as the Australian Assemblies of God, is the oldest and longest lasting Pentecostal organisation in Australia. The AOG/ACC is also the largest Pentecostal organisation in Australia with over 300,000 members in 2018. Until 2018, Hillsong Church was one of 10 megachurches in Australia associated with the ACC that have at least 2,000 members weekly. According to the church, over 100,000 people attend services each week at the church or one of its 80 affiliated churches located worldwide.
The Sword of the Spirit is an international, ecumenical association of Christian communities within the charismatic movement. As of 2017, the Sword of the Spirit is composed of 82 communities, 45 of which are Catholic. The member communities are composed predominantly of laypersons. The Sword of the Spirit is one of the largest federated networks of communities to come out of the Catholic charismatic renewal.
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