CONSTITUTION

Articles 1-6 of the CONSTITUTION of the World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship

Article 1 – Name

The name of this association is “The World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship.”

Article 2 – Nature

The World Evangelical Congregational Fellowship is a fellowship of national associations of evangelical Congregational churches of the historic and biblical persuasion.

Article 3 – Purpose

The purpose of the Fellowship is:

1. To promote fellowship and cooperative endeavour in the faith, polity and work of evangelical Congregational associations and churches throughout the world.
2. To preserve the historic Congregational commitment to the Lordship of Christ and the infallibility of His Word, and
3. To present to the world a witness to our oneness in Christ as evangelical Congregationalists.

Article 4 – Statement of Faith

While we acknowledge the Savoy Declaration of Faith and Order to be the classical expression of historic Congregationalism and, therefore, a valuable guideline for Congregational churches, we affirm the following statement of faith as an adequate basis for fellowship among evangelical Congregationalists.

1. We believe the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, to be the only inspired, inerrant, infallible, authoritative Word of God written.
2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
3. We believe in the deity of Christ, in His virgin birth, and His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
4. We believe that the salvation of lost and sinful man is through justification by faith apart from works and that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
5. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling power and fullness the Christian is enabled to live a godly life in this present evil world.
6. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.
7. We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in Christ.

Article 5 – Polity

1. We believe that Jesus Christ is the head of His body, the Church universal, and of each local church.
2. We believe that each local church is in itself a complete church, and therefore autonomous and possesses all rights and responsibilities of the Church by the Holy Spirit as set forth in the Holy Scriptures.
3. We believe that Jesus Christ exercises His authority in each local church by the Holy Spirit through the Holy Scriptures.
4. We believe that each local church is ultimately answerable only to Jesus Christ, and not to any association, conference, council, synod or any other ecclesiastical body.
5. We believe that it is proper and beneficial for each local church to seek fellowship and counsel of other such local churches.

Article 6 – Membership

The Fellowship shall consist of all national evangelical Congregational associations which subscribe to the Statement of Faith and accept this constitution.

Membership standing may be granted at any time by a majority vote of the members of the Fellowship present at a regularly called meeting.

Individual churches, in cases where no national evangelical Congregational association exists or is a member of the Fellowship, may be granted Associate Membership with voice but without vote in the proceedings of the Fellowship. The Fellowship recognises the complete autonomy of each member, function in accordance with the provisions of its own constitution.