The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is a coalition of pastors, scholars, and churchmen who hold the historic creeds and confessions of the

Transcription

1 2015 Annual Report The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals is a coalition of pastors, scholars, and churchmen who hold the historic creeds and confessions of the Reformed faith and who proclaim biblical doctrine in order to foster a Reformed awakening in today s Church.

2 Looking Forward This overview of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals accomplishments is an encouraging look at how God has provided. It shares the concerns of our members regarding the Church and our responses and outcomes. But I include this short note looking forward to the work that is before us. The Alliance continues faithful Bible teaching, sharing clear, biblical doctrine through media, events, and publishing. Moving forward we seek new methods to teach and encourage others to remain strong in their faith and assist our members in fostering a Reformed awakening. The Cambridge Declaration states: Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover the historic Christian faith. The Alliance continues working to this end via a number of mediums and outlets both time-tested and newly developed. Sharing the life-changing message of the Gospel, multiple Alliance broadcasts air on stations across the country and can be downloaded or streamed online. Podcasts Mortification of Spin and Theology on the Go reach an entirely different audience with thoughtful cultural critique and important theological discussions. Events including the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology and Texas Hill Country Bible Conference, encourage and spread God s Gospel of Grace. We look forward to eleven events in 2015 a record for the Alliance! These events expose people to excellent Bible teaching leading to solid doctrine. While many look to divide and separate, Alliance Reformation Societies stand with others. They join by holding fast to the inerrancy of Scripture, the foundation of the confessions, and they transcend denominations. Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover the historic Christian faith. We fulfill our mission through hard work. But we are few and need you alongside us. The support of members like you enables the Alliance to encourage and foster the Reformed awakening our members seek. We pray you continue to stand firm, join in the work and its excitement, and share the Alliance with others.

3 Critical Issues of Alliance Members The Alliance Response Ignorance of biblical knowledge and application, especially doctrine; biblical and doctrinal ignorance; rapid decline in biblical teaching as foundation in pulpits; decline in local church Christian education; most Christians are on a first-grade Grade level in Theology. Articles and podcasts address a variety of timely topics and doctrinal truths. Doctrinal Relevance that allows the culture and the world to influence teaching, preaching, programs; entertainment in the church; compromise with the culture; dumbing down Christianity to make it relevant. Events across the nation unite people through fellowship around sound doctrine preached. Decline of the Church is far more disturbing than the decline of our culture. Our greatest concern should be the lack of deep understanding and serious thought to the Faith once for all delivered to the Saints. Publishing, both print and digital, books, booklets, and articles equip readers with the solid, biblical truth needed to stand firm in their faith. Equipping churches across the world with resources for their pastors and congregations. Lack of Authority political correctness, moral relativism, secularism in the Church and the culture; authority of God s Word and His sovereignty in our everyday life; compromise in doctrine; faithfulness to the Gospel. Denial of Absolute Truth Truth is the Truth whether you agree or disagree and choose to reject. Church seems to be more concerned with numbers and belief that we must look like the world instead of truth and substance; downgrading of God s sovereignty and power in the world Tolerance vs. intolerance Truth. Life changing Gospel messages reaching thousands daily via our radio and online broadcasts and our podcasts.

4 8 Alliance websites receiving more than 1,000,000 visitors each year Influencing Those Online The Alliance reaches millions of people each year with our online resources. Our websites are viewed by more than a million unique viewers. Mortification of Spin 194,000 average downloads per month Nearly 100 articles published per month More than 1,000,000 users in 2014: reformation21.org MatthewHenry.org MortificationofSpin.org ChristwardCollective.org PlaceforTruth.org ThinkandActBiblically.org MakingGodsWordPlain.org ReformationSocieties.org Broadcasting the Gospel Broadcasting is the best means to acquaint a wide and unfamiliar audience with the Alliance s message and goals. Listening to it requires no initial commitment, providing a risk-free way for almost anyone to be introduced to reformed theology and consider its implications. 599,151 Alliance broadcasts streamed or downloaded 283 Stations airing Alliance broadcasts 189,034 Dr. Barnhouse & the Bible podcasts streamed or downloaded 390,301 The Bible Study Hour podcasts streamed or downloaded Delivering Resources The Alliance produces a wide variety of resources across an array of mediums for maximum impact of the sound, biblical teaching found within. 390,301 The Bible Study Hour podcasts streamed or downloaded More than 6,300 orders total over 19,000 products More than 39,000 media discs shipped 189,034 Dr. Barnhouse & the Bible podcasts streamed or downloaded Reforming through Social Media 20 Different countries reached including Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Brazil, Malaysia and India 12,050 Facebook users with a reach of 50,000 viewers 11,955 Twitter Followers 2.2 Million likes of MatthewHenry.org Facebook.com/Allianceof

5 Publishing Trusted Resources The Shepherd who would be King: Lesson on Leadership from the Life of King David, Richard Phillips (Alliance Publishing) Spring 2015 God, Adam, and You, edited by Richard Phillips (P&R) Spring 2015 Words Fitly Spoken, Donald Barnhouse (Alliance Publishing) Fall 2015 The God We Worship, edited by Jonathan Master (P&R) Spring 2016 His Own Received Him Not, Donald Barnhouse (Alliance Publishing) Fall 2016 Life of Moses, James Boice (P&R) Christmas 2016 The Triune God, edited by Ron Kohl (P&R) A Christian Primer, Timothy Cross (Alliance Publishing) Precious Blood, edited by Richard Phillips (P&R) 12 Alliance Booklets published each year in print and for e-readers 35 E-booklets available Sound Doctrine Preached Alliance Events provide the person-to-person contact that our other programs cannot. They encourage Alliance members by assuring them that they are not alone and by allowing them to make contact with other conference goers and speakers. These contacts often bear unexpected fruit. Events grow each year, and we are excited to be offering more than 11 events in 2015 plus many Reformation Society gatherings. Boerne, TX Grand Rapids, MI Philadelphia, PA Oklahoma City, OK Princeton, NJ Quakertown, PA Lancaster, PA Powder Springs, GA Glen Rose, TX Indianapolis, IN Pittsburgh, PA Close to 3,000 attendees at events last year

6 The Bible Study Hour Preparing you to think and act biblically. Clear biblical preaching that serves as both a model to pastors and a stabilizing source of biblical truth for lay people featuring James Boice. TheBibleStudyHour.org Every Last Word Teaching the whole Bible to change your whole life. Providing a rich diet of expository preaching to help people grow and apply God s Word to everyday life with pastor, author, Christian college president Philip Ryken. EveryLastWord.org Mortification of Spin A casual conversation about things that count. Culturally relevant and often controversial topics taken on in funny, thoughtful, and unpredictable ways with Carl Trueman, Todd Pruitt, and Aimee Byrd. MortificationofSpin.org No Falling Word Instilling the Scriptures in an urban culture. Proclaiming and applying the Gospel from the center of one of America s largest cities, hosted by Liam Goligher. NoFallingWord.org Theology on the Go A brief conversation about an eternal truth. Pastors and theologians discuss weighty topics in a thoughtful and accessible way showing how theology is relevant today with Jonathan Master. PlaceforTruth.org Dr. Barnhouse & the Bible Making God s Word plain. Providing scholarly exposition of God s Word that is abrupt and captivating, with one of the most widely acclaimed American preachers for half a century, Donald Barnhouse. DrBarnhouse.org ReformedResources 60 Years of Reformed Resources. Thousands of audio in both CD and MP3, video, book, booklet and e-book resources from trustworthy authors and Alliance speakers at ReformedResources.org. reformation21 Encouraging biblical thinking, living, worship, ministry, and constructive cultural engagement. Providing an authoritative, Reformed perspective on historic matters and current issues to inform, inspire, and challenge Christians. reformation21.org Place for Truth Exploring the depths of what we believe. Thoughtful yet accessible biblical, systematic and practical theology, as well as church history exploring the importance and relevancy of what we believe. PlaceforTruth.org The Christward Collective Where doctrine and life meet. Like Calvin, these younger contributors wed theological study to an all-in-life experiential godliness, applying biblical truth to a very contemporary culture. ChristwardCollective.org Daily Devotionals from James Boice, Donald Barnhouse, & Matthew Henry Devotionals sent daily to compliment your time in the Word. ThinkandActBiblically.org, MakingGodsWordPlain.org, and MatthewHenry.org Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology and Regional Events The oldest, continual, national Reformed conference in North America, and regional events including theology and Bible conferences. A full listing is available at AllianceNet.org/Events. Reformation Societies Encouraging, Emboldening, Equipping. Encouraging, emboldening, and equipping pastors and church leaders for the work of Biblical reformation in the church. ReformationSocieties.org. 600 Eden Road Lancaster, Pennsylvania AllianceNet.org