Who is the Evangelical Church?

The idea of being evangelical is associated with key concerns of the Reformation, particularly personal commitment to Jesus Christ, a high view of the Bible, and belief in Christian mission (even though it took some centuries for the Reformation to produce a missionary movement). From the late 18^th century “Evangelicals” were parties in the Church of Scotland and the Church of England, quite often linked to Methodist and other revivals.

The ecumenical and social gospel movements grew out of evangelical commitment and missionary experience, but from the 1920s polarization over modern theology, and in the 1960s over political mission and church union, meant many felt alienated. Fundamentalism began as an attempt to define core elements of faith, but became a mentality which sought survival through separation.

From the 1950s John Stott in Britain and Billy Graham in North America called for a fresh engagement with the world and other Christians. Institutions such as Fuller Theological Seminary, Christianity Today, and international movements such as Lausanne, and the World Evangelical Fellowship, helped this strand of evangelicalism became successful and diverse. It included charismatics, Pentecostals and even radical social activists.

A serious commitment to biblical standards means that evangelical identity will often be associated with particular views on theological and moral issues. However mission is a risky venture, and we should not be too surprised when Jesus makes friends with some unexpected people.

John Roxborogh