Alliance World Fellowship facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alliance World Fellowship |
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| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Evangelical |
| Theology | Keswickian |
| Polity | Mixed polity, including Congregationalist, Presbyterian and Episcopal elements |
| President | Jura Yanagihara |
| Region | 88 countries |
| Headquarters | Reynoldsburg, United States |
| Founder | Albert Benjamin Simpson |
| Origin | 1975 |
| Separations | Assemblies of God |
| Congregations | 22,000 |
| Members | 6,200,000 |
The Alliance World Fellowship (or The Alliance, also C&MA and CMA) is an evangelical Christian denomination within the Higher Life movement of Christianity, teaching a modified form of Keswickian theology. It includes 6.2 million members throughout 88 different countries within 22,000 churches.
History
The Alliance has its origins in two organizations founded by Albert Benjamin Simpson in 1887 in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, in the United States, The Christian Alliance, which concentrated on domestic missions, and The Evangelical Missionary Alliance, which focused on overseas missions. These two organizations merged in 1897 to form the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
In 1887, in a series of sermons called The Fourfold Gospel in New York, United States, which will characterize his teaching, Simpson summarizes the Gospel in four aspects; Jesus Christ Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and Soon Coming King.
The Missionary Training Institute (later including Alliance Theological Seminary), founded in 1882 by Simpson in Nyack, near New York, contributed to the development of the union. In the 21st century, the school moved again to New York City and changed its name to Alliance University. After losing their accredation, Alliance University ceased operations in 2023, with its records transferred to Houghton College.
A.B. Simpson was influenced by Keswickian cleric W.E. Boardman in his view of sanctification. During the start of the 20th century, Simpson became closely involved with the growing Pentecostal movement. It became common for Pentecostal pastors and missionaries to receive their training at the Missionary Training Institute that Simpson founded. Consequently, Simpson and the Alliance had a great influence on Pentecostalism, in particular the Assemblies of God and the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. This influence included evangelical emphasis, Alliance doctrine, Simpson's hymns and books, and the use of the term 'Gospel Tabernacle,' which led to many Pentecostal churches being known as 'Full Gospel Tabernacles.'
Eventually, there developed severe division within the Alliance over issues surrounding Pentecostalism (such as speaking in tongues and charismatic worship styles). By 1912, this crisis was a catalyst for the emergence of the Alliance as an organized Christian denomination, shifting more authority to the council and becoming more ecclesiastical. To ensure the survival of the Alliance in the face of division, Simpson put all property in the name of the Alliance. In the event of separation, all property would revert to Alliance.
After Simpson's death in 1919, the C&MA distanced itself from Pentecostalism, rejecting the premise that speaking in tongues is a necessary indicator of being filled with the Holy Spirit, and instead focused on the deeper Christian life. By 1930, most local branches of the Alliance functioned as churches, but still did not view themselves as such.
By 1965, the churches adopted a denominational function and established a formal statement of faith. In 1975, the Alliance World Fellowship (AWF) was officially organized. In 2010, it was present in 50 countries.
In June 2023, the Christian and Missionary Alliance of the United States approved women being ordained as pastors, but only if the women's local church leadership approves, and never as senior or lead pastors.
Statistics
According to a census published by the association in 2022, it has 22,000 churches, 6,200,000 members in 88 countries.
Beliefs
The denomination has an evangelical theology, and is largely aligned with the Higher Life movement. A.B. Simpson articulated the Alliance's core theology as the Christological "Fourfold Gospel": Jesus Christ as Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer, and Soon Coming King. These are represented by a cross, laver, oil pitcher, and crown in the Alliance's logo. Sanctification is sometimes described as "the deeper Christian life". This teaching is that of other churches aligned with the Higher Life movement and its Keswick Conventions. It is perhaps best exemplified by the writings of A. W. Tozer. Simpson, however, departed from traditional Keswickian teaching in his view of progressive sanctification and his rejection of suppressionism. The Alliance also emphasizes missionary work, and believes that the fulfillment of the Great Commission is the reason it exists.
Espousing a modified form of Keswickian theology, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, as with Simpson, differs from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement in that the Christian and Missionary Alliance does not see entire sanctification as cleansing one from original sin, whereas adherents of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement affirm this Methodistic teaching of John Wesley.
Ministries
CAMA Services
Associated with the denomination is CAMA Services. "CAMA" stands for "Compassion and Mercy Associates". Services include a variety of relief and development efforts providing food, clothing, medical care, and job training to people in crisis situations around the globe in the name of Jesus.
Begun in 1974 by Andy Bishop as an outreach to refugees fleeing the Indochina conflict, CAMA now works in refugee camps in Thailand, and has worked with refugees in Hong Kong, Lebanon, Jordan, and Guinea, and famine victims in Burkina Faso and Mali. CAMA Services worked together with local C&MA churches in 2005 to provide Hurricane Katrina relief in the United States.
Seminaries and colleges
It had 90 theological colleges.
See also
- Bible
- Born again
- Worship service (evangelicalism)
- Jesus Christ
- Believers' Church
- Full Gospel
- Reform Party of Canada
- Canadian Alliance
- Conservative Party of Canada
- Preston Manning
- Stephen Harper
- Pierre Poilievre
- IDU
