Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

IFFEC began this year with the second “Joining Hands for Mission in Europe” Conference in Rehe, Germany, March 28 – April 1, 2011. The dream realized by the conference was a great time together exploring a spiritual revival movement in Europe. Audio and the PowerPoints from the Conference are available by clicking here. The Missions Committee will be working on the next Conference scheduled in the Spring of 2015.

The Executive Committee of IFFEC met following the “Joining Hands” Conference. Following are some of the highlights of that meeting.

A newly constructed IFFEC website was authorized. It has been completed and the beta phase is now live. The new website contains archival information and resources from recent IFFEC meetings, including the 2010 General Assembly and the 2011 Joining Hands for Mission in Europe. Please send us your comments and suggestions on its content and format.

Prayer Requests. Our new Prayer page is a place where prayer requests from IFFEC member churches will be posted. Please forward your prayer requests to Tricia Cisneros at tricia.cisneros(at)covchurch.org.

We received reports from members of the IFFEC Executive Committee who attended Cape Town 2010. It was suggested that “The Cape Town Commitment” be considered as preparation reading for discussion at our next General Assembly. You can find “The Cape Town Commitment” and other Lausanne resources by clicking here.

SAVE THE DATE!!! Dr. John Phelan, chair of the Theology Committee, reported that the next Theology Conference will be held in Athens, Greece from September 17-22, 2012. The Theology Conference is a meeting for teachers, students and leaders to reflect biblically and theologically within the context of the Free Church tradition on critical issues facing the church. The theme for the conference will be “Global Church and the Challenge of Diversity.” Soon there will be more information on the new IFFEC website.

There was also discussion of the future of regionalization of the networking and mutual support provided by IFFEC. Just as there was a missions conference in Europe might there also be contextualized networking and conference opportunities in other parts of the world? Francisco Portillo is working on a template for regionalization for Latin America as a model for other parts of the world.

A letter of prayer and support was written by the Executive Committee to the Covenant Church of Japan and the Evangelical Free Church of Japan and delivered in person by Bertil Svensson.

Communications – Our new website is a part of the response of the Executive Committee to the strong desire expressed for more frequent communications about the work of IFFEC. This Summer Update is also a part of that response. We hope to get out communications regarding IFFEC on a regular basis.

If there are persons you would like to add to our e-mail list for these communications please forward them to tricia.cisneros(at)covchurch.org.

The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be by conference call on March 15, 2012. If you have any questions or concerns to be considered at that meeting please forward them to Donn Engebretson or Francisco Portillo.

The Apostle Paul in writing to the church in Corinth reminds us, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” We pray for all of you the deep strength and encouragement you need in your ministry. We also pray that you are receiving rest and restoration in this summer season.

Donn Engebretson
President of IFFEC
donn.engebretson(at)covchurch.org

Francisco Portillo
General Secretary of IFFEC
francisco.portillo(at)fieide.org