Our APPROACH
How Is the WEA Children's Network Unique?
The uniqueness of the World Evangelical Alliance is in its constituency of 9 regional and more than 140 national Evangelical Alliances that are rooted in local churches in the neighborhoods. In order to contribute to transformation at the grassroots level, the WEA focuses on equipping and strengthening the Evangelical Alliances in each country, so that they can unite churches and ministries across the evangelical spectrum in order to share the gospel and bring positive change to all areas of society.
The WEA Children’s Network’s (WEA CN) primary approach is therefore to work with and through regional and national Evangelical Alliances by praying for them, listening and responding to their needs, and connecting them with various children’s ministries at global, regional and national levels.
Not every country has a national Evangelical Alliance yet, and each of the existing Evangelical Alliances is unique in the way they are set up and operate as they respond to the various needs in their own unique context. The WEA CN therefore encourages the leadership in each country to prayerfully discern how God calls them to collaborate and together serve and equip churches and parents to love, protect, guide, and empower all children.
The WEA Children’s Network encourages the leadership in each country to prayerfully discern how God calls them to collaborate and together serve and equip churches and parents to love, protect, guide, and empower all children.
An Alliance-Oriented Approach
The overall approach of the WEA CN generally depends on the situation in the country:
In countries without a national Evangelical Alliance, the WEA CN encourages Christian leaders to prayerfully work towards the formation of an Alliance that brings together churches and ministries across the widest possible evangelical spectrum. In many countries, Alliances were formed because Christian leaders felt the strong needs to come together and address the challenges – and leverage opportunities – that go beyond any single church or ministry. There are many issues related to children that could provide a first area of common concern that everyone could rally around, which may well (ultimately) lead to the formation of an Evangelical Alliance. To learn more about what a National Alliance is and how to form a new Alliance, explore the brochures produced by the WEA Alliance Engagement Department.
In countries where a national Alliance exists but does not yet have a point person or network focused on children-related issues, the WEA CN encourages the leadership of the Alliance to prayerfully consider what the most pressing needs are in their country and what the unique role is that the Alliance is called to fulfill. While every country is different, there are issues that go beyond the ability of churches, denominations and ministries and require a joint response. There are many stories of the good that came out when churches come together to address spiritual or societal needs, and the Alliance is uniquely positioned to facilitate collaboration or simply provide a platform where churches and ministries can come together. The WEA CN can help make connections with global ministries or other Alliances that can come alongside to support these efforts.
In countries where a national Alliance already has a point person or network focused on children, the WEA CN seeks to serve as an encouragement, help make connections to new partners and initiatives, and feature their stories, resources and best practices that others can learn from.