Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches

Organisation linking independent, evangelical churches in the United Kingdom

For the Australian body, see Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (Australia).

Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches

Classification| Protestant
Theology| Evangelical
Polity| Independent
Associations| Affinity[1]
Region| United Kingdom
Founder| Rev Edward Joshua Poole-Connor[2]
Origin| 1922 as A Fellowship of Undenominational and Unattached Churches and Missions
Congregations| 639
Members| 50,000
Official website| fiec.org.uk

The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) is a network of 638[3] independent evangelical churches in the United Kingdom. FIEC exists to help "Independent churches work together to reach Britain for Christ".[4]

## Governance

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The FIEC staff team is ultimately accountable to its affiliated churches. A 12-member Trust Board acts on behalf of the churches in making policy, safeguarding the Fellowship’s integrity, and in meeting - as its trustees \- FIEC’s legal responsibilities. They are also responsible for ensuring the FIEC staff team serve the churches and fulfil FIEC’s vision. Trust Board members are voted into office by representatives from the churches and they serve in office for three years before re-election.[5]

## History

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FIEC was formed in 1922 under the name A Fellowship of Undenominational and Unattached Churches and Missions.[2] It was later renamed The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches. The Fellowship brought together many independent churches and mission halls, which had been somewhat isolated.[6] By February 2021, FIEC had come to include 639 churches across Great Britain and the Channel Islands,[7] and 50,000 members.[8]

## Beliefs

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All FIEC churches unite around the truths of historic, biblical Christianity found in FIEC's Doctrinal Basis.[9] Member churches also agree to abide with three accepted Ethos Statements. These are intended to bring clarity to life and ministry as a Fellowship.[10] FIEC is in the Independent Evangelical tradition.[11] According to the National Director of FIEC, "An ‘Independent’ church is self-governing. Each individual local church has ultimate control over its own affairs. It does not belong to any external body or institution which has control over it."[12] The FIEC leadership claims it exercises 'something comparable to the sub-apostolic' ministry of Timothy and Titus.[13] Some trace the routes of Independency to separatists, such as Robert Browne in the time of Elizabeth I and James I of England, but "separatism" may be an unhelpful term to use in the present day to describe FIEC, because although a church has to be autonomous and self-governing to affiliate to the FIEC, one of the main purposes of FIEC is that local churches should work together to share resources as they seek to advance the Christian Faith. A number of churches joined FIEC when they separated from a denomination that moved away from what they considered to be historic orthodox biblical Christianity. For example, Westminster Chapel, a leading church in the Independent tradition, joined FIEC when the Congregational Union merged with the English Presbyterian Church to form the United Reformed Church denomination (URC). Many Independent churches within FIEC are Baptist churches but FIEC is open both to churches that only baptise adults and also to churches that baptise the children of believers.[14]

## Roles of men and women in the church

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FIEC believes the classical Complementarian view which recognises that the distinctive calling to be a pastor or elder in the local church is a calling for men. It also recognises and encourages a wide calling of ministries within the church for women and men. [15]

## Relations with other churches

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FIEC is the largest corporate partner of Affinity, which was previously called the British Evangelical Council.[1] They also believe that Ecumenism in the form of Churches Together is not a positive move, citing various reasons including the liberal stance of other churches.[16]

## References

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1. ^ a b Affinity. "The FIEC is the largest constituent member body of those which make up Affinity." Archived 2006-08-22 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ a b Fountain, David (22 March 2005). Contending for the Faith: E. J. Poole-Connor – A Prophet Amidst the Sweeping Changes in English Evangelicalism. London: Wakeman Trust. p. 174\. ISBN 978-1-870855-32-7.
3. ^ "FIEC Churches A–Z".
4. ^ "Who We Are, FIEC".
5. ^ "Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, Trustees and Governance". FIEC. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
6. ^ Tola Mbakwe, Network of churches FIEC marks 100th anniversary with 100 gospel initiatives, premierchristian.news, UK, 27 Nov 2022
7. ^ "Welcome to the Family (February 2021)". FIEC. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
8. ^ Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, Who we are, fiec.org.uk, UK, retrieved November 5, 2022
9. ^ "Beliefs". FIEC. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
10. ^ "Beliefs". FIEC. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
11. ^ "Beliefs".
12. ^ "Independent but not alone | Strand Blog | What we do | Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches". www.fiec.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2013-07-16.
13. ^ Stevens, John (1 November 2014). Independent Church. 10P Publishing. p. 315\. ISBN 978-1-909611-65-8.
14. ^ "All in the Family". FIEC. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
15. ^ "Women in Ministry Ethos Statement". FIEC. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
16. ^ "FIEC's Gospel Unity Ethos Statement". FIEC statement on Gospel Unity, official website. Retrieved 2024-03-27.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
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Christianity in the United Kingdom

History of Christianity in Britain

England

| Eastern Christianity|

| Eastern Orthodox|

* Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe
* Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland (Antioch)
* Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain (Constantinople)
* Russian Orthodox Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe (ROCOR)
* Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh (Moscow)
* Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Britain and Scandinavia

|

Oriental Orthodox|

* Armenian Apostolic Church
* British Orthodox Church[a]
* Coptic Orthodox Church
* Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

Catholic|

* Syro-Malabar Church
* Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Western Christianity|

| Catholic|

* Anglican Catholic Ordinariate
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|

Proto-Protestant|

| Hussite|

* Moravian Church

|

Protestant|

| Lutheran|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of England
* Lutheran Church in Great Britain[b]

|

Reformed|

| United|

* United Reformed Church

|

Presbyterian
(Main article)|

* Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales
* International Presbyterian Church

Congregationalist|

* Congregational Federation
* Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches
* Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches

Calvinistic Methodists|

* Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion

Anglican|

| Communion|

* Church of England[b]

|

Continuing|

* Diocese of the United Kingdom (ACC)
* Church of England (Continuing)

Realignment|

* Anglican Mission in England

Other|

* Free Church of England
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Anabaptist|

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Unitarian|

* General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

Baptist|

* Association of Grace Baptist Churches
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Methodist|

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Plymouth
Brethren|

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Adventist|

* Seventh-day Adventist Church

Pentecostal|

| Holiness|

* Calvary Church of God in Christ
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|

Finished
Work|

* Apostolic Church
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Neo-charismatic|

* Calvary Chapel United Kingdom
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Other|

* Quakers

Restorationism|

| Stone–Campbell|

* Churches of Christ
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|

Latter Day Saint/
Mormon|

* The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England

Irvingism|

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1. ^ Not in communion with the other Oriental Orthodox Churches
2. ^ a b Part of the Porvoo Communion

Scotland

| Eastern Christianity|

| Eastern Orthodox|

* Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe
* Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain (Constantinople)
* Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh (Moscow)

|

Oriental Orthodox|

* British Orthodox Church[a]
* Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

Catholic|

* Syro-Malabar Church
* Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Western Christianity|

| Catholic|

* Anglican Catholic Ordinariate
* Roman Catholic Church

|

Protestant|

| Lutheran|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of England
* Lutheran Church in Great Britain[b]

|

Calvinist|

| United|

* United Reformed Church

|

Presbyterian|

* Associated Presbyterian Churches
* Church of Scotland
* Free Church of Scotland
* Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)
* Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland
* International Presbyterian Church
* Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland
* United Free Church of Scotland

Congregationalist|

* Congregational Federation
* Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches

Anglican|

* Scottish Episcopal Church[b]

Unitarian|

* General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

Baptist|

* Baptist Union of Scotland

Methodist|

* Church of the Nazarene
* Methodist Church of Great Britain
* Salvation Army
* Wesleyan Reform Union

Plymouth
Brethren|

* Exclusive Brethren
* Open Brethren
* Plymouth Brethren Christian Church
* Needed Truth Brethren

Adventist|

* Seventh-day Adventist Church

Pentecostal|

| Holiness|

* Redeemed Christian Church of God

|

Finished
Work|

* Apostolic Church
* Assemblies of God
* Elim Pentecostal Church

Neo-charismatic|

* Calvary Chapel United Kingdom
* Catch the Fire World
* Newfrontiers
* Vineyard

Other|

* Quakers

Restorationism|

| Stone–Campbell|

* Churches of Christ
* International Churches of Christ

|

Latter Day Saint/
Mormon|

* The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Scotland

Irvingism|

* Catholic Apostolic Church
* New Apostolic Church

1. ^ Not in communion with the other Oriental Orthodox Churches
2. ^ a b Part of the Porvoo Communion

Northern Ireland

| Eastern Christianity|

| Eastern Orthodox|

* Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of the British Isles and Ireland (Antioch)
* Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Ireland (Constantinople)
* Russian Orthodox Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe (ROCOR)
* Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh (Moscow)

|

Western Christianity|

| Catholic|

* Roman Catholic Church

|

Proto-Protestant|

| Hussite|

* Moravian Church

|

Protestant|

| Lutheran|

* Lutheran Church in Ireland

|

Calvinist|

| Presbyterian|

* Evangelical Presbyterian Church
* Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster
* Presbyterian Church in Ireland
* Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland

|

Congregationalist|

* Congregational Union of Ireland

Anglican|

* Church of Ireland[a]

Baptist|

* Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland

Methodist|

* Church of the Nazarene
* Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches
* Methodist Church in Ireland
* Salvation Army

Plymouth
Brethren|

* Exclusive Brethren
* Open Brethren
* Plymouth Brethren Christian Church
* Needed Truth Brethren

Adventist|

* Seventh-day Adventist Church

Pentecostal|

* Christian Churches Ireland
* Elim Pentecostal Church

Neo-charismatic|

* Vineyard

Other|

* Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland
* Quakers

Restorationism|

| Stone–Campbell|

* Churches of Christ
* International Churches of Christ

|

Latter Day Saint/
Mormon|

* The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Northern Ireland

Irvingism|

* New Apostolic Church

1. ^ Part of the Porvoo Communion

Wales

| Eastern Christianity|

| Eastern Orthodox|

* Archdiocese of Russian Orthodox Churches in Western Europe
* Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain (Constantinople)
* Russian Orthodox Diocese of Great Britain and Western Europe (ROCOR)
* Russian Orthodox Diocese of Sourozh (Moscow)

|

Oriental Orthodox|

* British Orthodox Church[a]
* Coptic Orthodox Church
* Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church

Catholic|

* Syro-Malabar Church
* Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Western Christianity|

| Catholic|

* Anglican Catholic Ordinariate
* Roman Catholic Church

|

Protestant|

| Lutheran|

* Evangelical Lutheran Church of England

|

Calvinist|

| Presbyterian|

* Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales

|

Congregationalist|

* Congregational Federation
* Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches
* Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches
* Union of Welsh Independents

Methodist|

* Presbyterian Church of Wales

Anglican|

* Church in Wales[b]

Unitarian|

* General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches

Baptist|

* Baptists Together
* Baptist Union of Wales
* Old Baptist Union

Methodist|

* Methodist Church of Great Britain
* Salvation Army

Plymouth
Brethren|

* Exclusive Brethren
* Open Brethren
* Plymouth Brethren Christian Church
* Needed Truth Brethren

Adventist|

* Seventh-day Adventist Church

Pentecostal|

* Assemblies of God
* Elim Pentecostal Church

Other|

* Newfrontiers
* Quakers

Restorationism|

| Stone–Campbell|

* Churches of Christ
* International Churches of Christ

|

Latter Day Saint/
Mormon|

* The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Wales

Irvingism|

* New Apostolic Church

1. ^ Not in communion with the other Oriental Orthodox Churches
2. ^ Part of the Porvoo Communion

Authority control databases

International|

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National|

* United States

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