About us!
The Evangelical Fellowship in the Church in Wales (EFCW) seeks to draw together the evangelically minded clergy and laity of the Church in Wales. It was founded in March 1967 at the Hookses, John Stott's house in Dale, Pembrokeshire. A group had been meeting informally for some time before the Fellowship officially came into being, as the Welsh member of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion.
It exists to link in fellowship evangelicals in the Church in Wales, providing encouragement and support for them in their witness and ministry. It also aims to bear witness to the biblical principles we uphold, and which form the Basis of Faith which we share with other members of the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion.
WHAT DOES EFCW DO?
The Fellowship has always been what the members make of it. Activities have varied over the years. Opportunities for meeting and learning together have always been at the heart of what it does. In recent years the pattern has often included Annual Conferences each Spring - in alternate years an all-Wales Conference held in Mid-Wales and in the other years an evening in North Wales followed by a Day Conference in Carmarthen. These conferences have sought to pick up on the current Aims of the Fellowship. An annual meeting in September in West Wales with John Stott as speaker has been a focus throughout the years. Area Fellowships have met in various places and several of these meet regularly now. Residential conferences feature from time to time too - a recent Clergy Conference was a great success. All these have helped build relationships which have provided real encouragement for members on an individual basis.
A magazine or newsletter has usually shared news and ideas - currently it is called Bwletin and appears about six times a year. We have sought to encourage evangelicals in training for ministry through Book Grants.
A very important aspect of EFCW's work through the years has been the Summer Camps for young people, through which many have come to faith and been helped to grow as disciples of Christ.
From time to time when members have felt that EFCW should make a contribution to an important issue facing church or society some means has been found to help us address such issues, such as a Working Party producing a report. Every five years a new set of aims is agreed at the Annual Meeting and we try to carry those out.
Over the years membership has grown and EFCW has been a real source of support for many people as they have sought to bear witness to evangelical principles in the life of the Church in Wales.