By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

Don Francisco wrote a song a few years ago called, “I Gotta Tell Somebody!” Well, I just gotta tell somebody about developments in my denomination, the Charismatic Episcopal Church. (CEC).

According to Canon James Nicholas, 1999 has been a banner year for the International Development Agency (IDA), the overseas development arm of the CEC. During a recent interview for Sursum Corda, Canon Nicholas shared some of the significant highlights of developments in the CEC.

At the end of 1998, there were 366 congregations of the CEC under the jurisdiction of the International Development Agency. (The oversight of the IDA does not include churches within the United States, Southeast Asia, or the Filipino Confederation.) As of Sept. 30, 1999, there were 604 congregations with 150,000-plus communicants under the IDA umbrella.

Each area of ministry has seen significant changes and improvements during 1999. In Kenya, Africa, there are now more than 350 CEC congregations, resulting in our denomination having a “substantial presence” in that nation.

The Church in Uganda has experienced a “breakthrough year,” according to Nicholas. In 1998, Bishop John Obokech was able to report that 42 churches had been established, nearly all of them “new church plants.” In less than one year, that number has mushroomed to over 220 congregations.

In Europe, the path is more difficult. “There seems to be a `spiritual pall' over the whole of Europe,” Canon Nicholas related. “Inroads into Europe will be won with determination, persistence, and spiritual warfare.” In England, less that 3 percent of the citizens will be in church on a given Sunday and the rest of the continent records similar results. At present, the work of CEC churches in Europe continues with much foundational work being done. “This is a time for strengthening the church, stabilizing the congregations, training the clergy, and building an infrastructure. The best days of Europe are ahead of us,” Nicholas explained.

With the recent planting of two congregations, Canada finally has a CEC presence. With a strong Anglican tradition and a recent, well-documented, “charismatic renewal”, Canada seems to be fertile ground for future CEC missions efforts.

Fr. Guillermo Cordoba, an early member of the Spanish-speaking congregation of Jacksonville's Church of the Messiah, has established the first CEC church in Latin America with a new congregation in San Jose, Costa Rica, while, in the nation of Pakistan, Bishop-elect Prakash Yuhanna, who had his throat cut by Muslim fundamentalists and was thrown into a lake to die, has founded 10 churches in that Muslim stronghold. Even though all of the Pakistani churches meet in homes, a “house church” in Pakistan might well exceed 100 in attendance.

Currently, the CEC is quietly working in other nations and expects, before the year's end, to see other significant gains. Canon Nicholas expects four to five CEC churches to be established in Brazil within the next few months, and work continues in the African nations of Burundi, Zaire, and Tanzania with existing churches desirous of a relationship with the CEC. Indeed, Nicholas expects up to 40 new CEC churches to be present in these three nations shortly. Elsewhere in Africa, a CEC presence is expected within the next six to 12 months in the nations of Nigeria and the Congo.

The significant thing is that the Charismatic Episcopal Church is only seven years old and began with just three congregations! Much good is happening in the Christian Church in our day in many denominations. Please forgive me but, like a proud father, I just felt that I had to tell somebody what's happening in our young family!

[Canon David Epps is canon to the ordinary of the diocese of the armed forces and rector of Christ the King CEC in the south metro area of Atlanta. He may be contacted at CTKCEC@aol.com or at P. O. Box 2192, Peachtree City, GA 30269.

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