Affinity is a network of

conservative evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian go ...

churches and Christian agencies throughout Britain and Ireland. It was founded in 1953 as the British Evangelical Council and in 1981 numbered over 2,000 churches.''Evangelicalism in modern Britain: a history from the 1730s to the 1980s''
David W. Bebbington, Psychology Press, 1989, p. 265. The organization stagnated in the 1980s following the death of

Martyn Lloyd-Jones David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (20 December 1899 – 1 March 1981) was a Welsh Congregationalist minister and medical doctor who was influential in the Calvinist wing of the British evangelical movement in the 20th century. For almost 30 years, he ...

. The

rebranding Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...

and relaunch happened in 2004.J.P. Thackwa
Affinity
Bible League Trust Affinity provides networking and support to

churches in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. There are currently about 1300 church congregations linked to Affinity. The organisation's subtitle is "Church-centred Partnership for Bible-centred Christianity". The British Evangelical Council focussed, in reaction to the 1967

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

conference, "to draw in churches predicated on Scriptural ecumenicity." It was opposed to the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

.Cleric Details British Religious Trends
March 22, 1974,

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig an ...

. Groups of churches linked to Affinity include the Apostolic Church, the Association of Grace Baptist Churches (South East), the Association of Grace Baptist Churches (East Anglia), the Evangelical Movement of Wales, the

Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) is a network of 661 independent evangelical churches in the United Kingdom. FIEC exists to help "Independent churches work together to reach Britain for Christ". Governance The FIEC st ...

, the Free Church of Scotland, the

Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (abbreviation: FC(C), Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Leantainneach) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination which was formed in January 2000. It claims to be the true continuation of the Free Church of ...

, the

Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches The Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches (EFCC) is an association of around 100 independent local churches in the United Kingdom, each practising congregationalist church governance. The EFCC was founded in 1967 by those evangelica ...

, the

Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales (EPCEW) is a Reformed Church, reformed and Conservative Evangelicalism in Britain, conservative evangelical Presbyterianism, Presbyterian denomination based in England and Wales with churc ...

and Ireland and the

Evangelical Connexion of the Free Church of England The Free Church of England (FCE) is an Episcopal Church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century. The doctrinal basis of the FC ...

.Corporate Partners
Affinity website Since 2016, its director has been Graham Nicholls, who is also pastor of Christ Church

Haywards Heath Haywards Heath ( ) is a town in West Sussex, England, south of London, north of Brighton, south of Gatwick Airport and northeast of the county town, Chichester. Nearby towns include Burgess Hill to the southwest, Horsham to the northwest, ...

References

External links

* Evangelical parachurch organizations Christian organisations based in the United Kingdom 1953 establishments in the United Kingdom Christian organizations established in 1953 {{Christian-org-stub

See also

References

External links