| World Reformed Fellowship | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Fellowship |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Confessionally Reformed |
| Origin | 2000 |
| Members | 7,177,652 |
| Official website | www |
The World Reformed Fellowship (WRF) is an ecumenical, Christian fellowship that advances partnerships among confessional Reformed churches around the world. [1]
The World Fellowship of Reformed Churches was formed in 1994 by the Presbyterian Church in America, the National Presbyterian Church in Mexico, and the Presbyterian Church of Brazil, as well as member churches mainly from Latin American countries and from India, East Africa and the United States. [2] The International Reformed Fellowship (IRF) was formed also in 1994 with Calvinist churches in Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, and from all part of Asia.
The World Fellowship of Reformed Churches and the International Reformed Fellowship united on October 24, 2000 to form the World Reformed Fellowship. The WRF is now an international body represented in seventy-nine countries. [3]
The WRF operates commissions that serve its global membership, focusing on evangelism and missions, theological education, and theology. These commissions facilitate dialogue for better partnership between member denominations and organizations, produce and provide resources for the church, operate as theological and ministerial forums between WRF members, and serve as platforms of engagement from the WRF towards other organizations. The theological commission has produced several documents, such as the WRF’s Statement of Faith, a narrative statement on Reformed identity, and a statement on ecclesiology, all designed to facilitate greater theological partnership across cultural and intra-Reformed theological differences. [4] The commissions of the WRF sometimes facilitate larger forums, such as partnering with the Lausanne Movement to host a consultation on theological education in 2014 in São Paulo [5] [6] and a theological consultation on Christian ministry among Muslims in 2011 in Istanbul. [7] [8] The WRF partners with both the World Evangelical Alliance, of which the WRF is an affiliate member, [9] and New Growth Press for book publishing. [10] [11]
The WRF hosts a global general assembly approximately every four years. These assemblies review and direct the work of the WRF’s commissions, are a time of networking and fellowship for the membership of the WRF, and are where the WRF’s membership hears about major issues facing the global church in order to consider and address them.
WRF membership is also divided up into regional boards for planning and implementing fellowship for ministries within their own larger, geographic area. [13] These boards are more contextualized than the general assembly, both in composition and in the nature of their work.
Governance of the WRF is held by its membership voting at general assemblies. Oversight and operations are carried out by a board of directors and an international director (CEO).
Chairmen of the Board,
International Directors,
The WRF is similar in theology to the International Conference of Reformed Churches and more conservative than the World Communion of Reformed Churches, though several member churches of the WRF are also members of either the ICRC or the WCRC. The WRF primarily differs from these other groups in that it is a fellowship, not a council, and so includes in its membership not only denominations, but individual congregations, pastors and theologians, and non-ecclesial organizations (e.g. theological seminaries). It conceives of its existence as facilitating dialogue and sharing of resources between the different global branches of Reformed Christians. [16] Unlike the WCRC, which officially supports the ordination of women, [17] [18] and the ICRC, which prohibits denominational members that ordain women as pastors, [19] [20] the WRF as a confessional fellowship recognizes the diversity of positions among its members regarding the ordination women. [21] There are a total of 82 denominational members of the WRF and 155 organizational members, as of July 08, 2023. [22] [23] The majority (75 of 83, as of September 15, 2023) of WRF member denominations prohibit women from being ordained as pastors, elders, or deacons.
The WRF has a Reformed, confessional basis for membership. Members have to agree with:
The largest churches as of 2023 are (membership of 100,000 or more):
As of June 2024, there are 84 member denominations: [32] [33] [34]
| Country | denominational subfamily | Denomination | Number of congregations | Number of members | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Continental reformed | Christian Reformed Church in South Africa | 19 | 2,500 | 1984 [35] |
| South Africa | Continental reformed | Reformed Churches in South Africa | 382 | 76,812 | 2022 [36] |
| Angola | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church of Angola | 100 | 60,000 | 2023 [37] |
| Argentina | Reformed anglican | Orthodox Episcopal Anglican Church (Buenos Aires) | - | - | - |
| Argentina | Presbyterian | ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (Argentina) ^ | - | - | - |
| Australia | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church of Australia | 546 | 54,000 | 2006 |
| Australia | Presbyterian | Westminster Presbyterian Church of Australia | 16 | 900 | 2004 [38] |
| Australia | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia | 16 | 719 | 2016 [36] |
| Bangladesh | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church of Bangladesh | 26 | - | 2011 [39] |
| Bangladesh | Presbyterian | Bangladesh Presbyterian Church | 13 | - | 2017 [40] |
| Bangladesh | Presbyterian | Grace Presbyterian Church of Bangladesh | - | - | - |
| Bangladesh | Presbyterian | Isa-e Church | 125 | 6,000 | 2015 [41] |
| Bangladesh | Continental reformed | Evangelical Reformed Church of Bangladesh | - | - | - |
| Bangladesh | Continental reformed | Bangladesh Evangelical Reformed Church of Bandarban, Tripura | - | - | - |
| Bangladesh | Reformed baptist | Smyrna House of Prayer Church | - | - | - |
| Brazil | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church of Brazil | 5,420 | 702,947 | 2021 [27] |
| Bangladesh | Reformed baptist | Thyatira Church Trust Bangladesh | - | - | - |
| Brazil | - | Christian Church Nations For Christ | - | - | - |
| Burundi | Continental reformed | Christian Reformed Church in Burundi | - | - | - |
| Burundi | - | Holy Spirit Revival Church | - | - | - |
| Canada | Continental reformed | Reformed Church of Quebec | 5 | 400 | 2018 [42] [36] [43] |
| Colombia | Presbyterian | United Church of Christ in Colombia | - | - | - |
| Congo | Presbyterian | United Presbyterian Churches of Congo | - | - | - |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Presbyterian | Kivu Presbyterian Church | - | - | - |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Continental reformed | Reformed Community of Katanga | - | - | - |
| Egypt | - | Gospel Peace Church of Egypt | - | - | - |
| Ethiopia | Reformed baptist | Raisin Power Baptist Church of Ethiopia | - | - | - |
| Germany | Reformed baptist | Reformed Free Church in Germany | 2 | - | 2024 [44] |
| Haiti | - | Union of Churches of the Christian Community of Haiti | - | - | - |
| India | Reformed anglican | Council of Reformed Churches of India | - | - | - |
| India | Reformed baptist | Telugu Baptist Church Council | - | - | - |
| India | Reformed anglican | Celitic Cross Ministry Dioceses of India | - | - | - |
| India | Continental reformed | Christian Reformed Fellowship of India | 300 | - | 2019 [45] |
| India | Reformed anglican | Malankara Evangelical Church | 3 | - | 2024 [46] |
| India | Continental reformed | Reformed Church of India | - | - | - |
| India | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Reformed Church in India | 10 | - | (2022) [47] |
| India | Reformed anglican | India Christian Mission Church | - | - | - |
| India | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church in India (Reformed) | 50 | 10,000 | 2015 [48] |
| India | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church of India | 10 | 3,000 | 2004 [49] |
| India | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church India | - | - | - |
| India | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church North East India | 105 | 11,376 | 2021 [36] |
| India | Continental reformed | Evangelical Reformed Church of India | 84 | - | - |
| India | Reformed anglican | United Church of India | - | - | - |
| Indonesia | Continental reformed | Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Church | 74 | 7,000 | 2011 [50] |
| Italy | Reformed baptist | Evangelical Reformed Baptist Churches in Italy | 14 | 500 | 2020 [51] |
| Kenya | Presbyterian | Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church | 100 | 22,000 | 2020 [52] |
| Liberia | - | Emmanuel Temple (Sinkor, Monrovia) | - | - | - |
| Lithuania | Continental reformed | Evangelical Reformed Church of Lithuania | 14 | 7,000 | 2008 [53] |
| Madagascar | Continental reformed | Protestant Church of Ambohimalaza-Firaisiana | - | - | - |
| Malawi | Presbyterian | Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Malawi and Mozambique | 90 | 15,000 | 2016 [54] |
| Mexico | Presbyterian | National Presbyterian Church in Mexico | 6,000 | 2,800,000 | 2010 [25] |
| Myanmar | Continental reformed | Biblical Reformed Church in Myanmar | - | - | - |
| Myanmar | Continental reformed | Christian Reformed Church in Myanmar | 50 | 5,000 | 2004 [55] |
| Myanmar | Continental reformed | Community of Reformed Churches in Myanmar | - | - | - |
| Myanmar | Continental reformed | Reformed Evangelical Church of Myanmar | 40 | 7,000 | 2010 [56] |
| Myanmar | Presbiteryan | Reformed Presbyterian Church in Myanmar | 35 | 2,500 | 2021 [57] |
| New Zealand | Presbyterian | Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand | 25 | - | - |
| Pakistan | Presbyterian | United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan | 200 | 250,000 | 2018 |
| Pakistan | Continental reformed | Sutlej Reformed Church of Pakistan | 20 | - | - |
| Poland | Presbyterian | Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Poland | 4 | 120 | 2024 |
| Romania, Ukraine and Hungary | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church of Central and Eastern Europe | 25 | 370 | 2022 [36] |
| Russia | Continental reformed | Evangelical Reformed Church of Russia | 15 | 350 | 2010 [58] |
| Senegal | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church of Senegal | 20 | 800 | 2017 [59] |
| South Korea | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) | 11,.832 | 2,250,530 | 2023 [26] |
| Sri Lanka | Continental reformed | Christian Reformed Church in Sri Lanka [60] | 41 | 3,000 | 2014 [61] |
| Sudan and South Sudan | Continental reformed | Sudanese Reformed Churches | 34 | 6,000 | 2023 [62] |
| Uganda | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church in Uganda | 87 | 3,047 | 2019 [36] |
| Uganda | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church in Uganda | 12 | 5,000 | 2004 [63] |
| Uganda | Presbyterians | New Life Presbyterian Church of Uganda | 2 | 1,000 | 2004 [64] |
| Uganda | Presbyterian | Community Worship Presbyterian Church | - | - | - |
| Uganda | Continental reformed | Covenant Reformed Church in Uganda | - | - | - |
| Uganda | - | Greater Grace Ministry (Kampala, Uganda) | - | - | - |
| Uganda | - | King's Church (Kampala, Uganda) | - | - | - |
| Uganda | Presbyterian | Reformed Presbyterian Church in Africa (Uganda) | - | - | - |
| United Kingdom | Presbyterian | Associated Presbyterian Churches | 9 | 200 | 2021 [65] |
| United Kingdom | Presbyterian | Free Church of Scotland [66] | 112 | 5,400 | 2016 [36] |
| United States | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church in America | 1,934 | 393,528 | 2023 [28] |
| United States | Presbyterian | Associated Reformed Presbyterian Church | 260 | 25,692 | 2022 [36] |
| United States | Presbyterian | Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States) | 629 | 121,058 | 2023 [31] |
| United States | Continental reformed | Evangelical Reformed Church in America | - | - | - |
| United States | Presbyterian | ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians | 400 | 127,000 | 2022 [30] [67] |
| United States | Continental reformed | Christian Reformed Church in North America [68] | 1,000 | 189,753 | 2024 [29] |
| United States | Reformed anglican | United Episcopal Church of North America | 26 | - | - |
| Uruguay | Presbyterian | Presbyterian Church of Uruguay | 2 | 150 | 2023 |
| World | Total | World Reformed Fellowship | 30,335 | 7,177,652 | 2004-2024 |
The vast majority of the World Reformed Fraternity (more than 95.74% of individual members) are Presbyterian denominations. The Continental Reformed Churches represent the second largest group within the FRM, with 4.25% of members. The remaining 0.01% of members are Reformed Anglicans, Reformed Baptists and other denominations.
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