Parachurch organizations are Christian faith-based organizations that work outside and across denominations to engage in social welfare and evangelism. Parachurch organizations seek to come alongside the church and specialize in things that individual churches may not be able to specialize in by themselves. They often cross denominational and national boundaries providing specialized services and training.
These bodies can be businesses, non-profit corporations, or private associations. [1] Most parachurch organizations, at least those normally called parachurch, are Protestant or Evangelical. Some of these organizations cater to a defined spectrum among evangelical beliefs, but most are self-consciously interdenominational and many are ecumenical. [2]
In Protestant and Catholic theology parachurch organizations are termed sodality, as distinct from modality, which is the structure and organization of the local or universal church.
Parachurch organizations perform a number of roles, including: [3]
Evangelical parachurch organizations proliferated as a byproduct of the fundamentalist–modernist controversy. As modernist views penetrated mainline churches, those with more fundamentalist views who elected to stay reached across denominational boundaries for opportunities for Christian fellowship and outreach. [5] While most parachurch organizations involved in social work operated in a collaborative mode, those engaged in evangelistic and discipleship ministries, particularly on college campuses, have at times been in fierce competition. [6] Seeking to resolve such issues, Campus Crusade for Christ, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, the Navigators, and Young Life signed the "Trail West Agreement", pledging mutual respect. The agreement was renewed in 2010 with thirteen additional signers as the "Chicago Agreement". according to a student's thesis from 2019. [7]
Evangelicalism, also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes the centrality of sharing the "good news" of Christianity, being "born again" in which an individual experiences personal conversion, as authoritatively guided by the Bible, God's revelation to humanity. The word evangelical comes from the Greek word for "good news" (euangelion).
Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century modernist theologians had misunderstood or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical inerrancy, which they considered the fundamentals of the Christian faith.
William R. Bright was an American evangelist. In 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles, he founded Campus Crusade for Christ as a ministry for university students. In 1952 he wrote The Four Spiritual Laws. In 1979 he produced the film Jesus.
Cru is an interdenominational Christian parachurch organization. It was founded in 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles by Bill Bright and Vonette Zachary Bright. Since then, Cru has expanded its focus to include adult professionals, athletes, and high school students. In 2020, Cru had 19,000 staff members in 190 countries.
The International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) is an interdenominational association of 180 evangelical Christian student movements worldwide, encouraging evangelism, discipleship and mission among students. The headquarters is in Oxford, England.
Transformational Christianity, or Transformationalism, represents a fusion of evangelicalism, Pentecostalism, and ecumenism that started becoming prominent in the early 21st century. Unlike previous movements, it is typically embodied in regional meta-church organizations—alliances of churches from different denominational backgrounds—rather than particular churches, denominations, or parachurch organizations. Critics of Transformationalism accuse it of overemphasizing eschatology, false dichotomies, unnecessary idealism and a tendency to be corrosive of individual church identities.
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA (IVCF) is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian campus ministry founded in 1941, working with students and faculty on U.S. college and university campuses. InterVarsity is a charter member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, a network of similar campus ministries around the world.
Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada, or InterVarsity, is a Christian organization which ministers to youth and university students. It has a variety of ministries, including Pioneer Camps of Canada, high school, college and university ministries. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is the American branch of InterVarsity.
The Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) is an evangelical Christian parachurch organisation that aims to encourage university students to believe in and follow Jesus Christ. It is affiliated with, and in 1947 was a founding member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.
Protestant denominations arrived in the Philippines in 1898, after the United States took control of the Philippines from Spain, first with United States Army chaplains and then within months civilian missionaries.
Awana is an international evangelical Christian nonprofit organization in child and youth discipleship. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Illinois, United States. Its mission is to equip children's and youth ministry leaders throughout the world to reach kids with the Gospel and engage them in lifelong discipleship.
Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship is a New Zealand evangelical Christian student movement with affiliate groups on most university campuses, as well as some polytechnics and other tertiary institutions. It is a founding member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. With a firm commitment to evangelism and mission, the four principles which guide the TSCF ethos are undivided life, deep thought, global reach and true witness. TSCF partners with approximately 2000 supporters, 1000 students and 27 staff members.
Protestants in Thailand constitute about 0.77% of the population of Thailand. Protestant work among the Thai people was begun by Ann Judson in Burma, who evangelized Thai war captives who were relocated to Burma. Protestantism was introduced to the country of Thailand in 1828 through the work of Karl Gutzlaff and Jacob Tomlin, the first two resident Protestant missionaries in Thailand.
Quiet time, also stated as heart-to-heart time, or one-on-one time with the creator, is a regular individual session of Christian spiritual activities, such as prayer, private meditation, contemplation, worship of God or study of the Bible. The term "quiet time" or "sacred time" is used by 20th-century Protestants, mostly evangelical Christians. It is also called "personal Bible study" or "personal devotions". Rick Warren points out that it has also been called "morning watch" and "appointment with God".
Integral mission or holistic mission describes an understanding of Christian mission that embraces both evangelism and social responsibility. With origins in Latin American, integral mission has influenced a significant number of Protestants around the world through the Lausanne Movement.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand is a national evangelical alliance, and a member of the World Evangelical Alliance. It is a group of over 3,000 evangelical churches, and various parachurch organizations, and foundations, and is one of five Christian groups legally recognized by the Thai government. The headquarters is in Bangkok, Thailand.
Myron Augsburger is an American Mennonite pastor, professor, theologian, and author. He is the former president of both Eastern Mennonite College and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
Isaac Ababio was a Ghanaian evangelist. He pioneered radio evangelism in Ghana and founded and served as Director of the Hour of Visitation Choir and Evangelism Association Ministries (H.V.C.E.A), the first evangelistic association in Ghana from 1968 to 2018. He was also one of the founding members of the Scripture Union in Ghana.
