World Evangelical Alliance dedicates 'Philadelphia House' at New York Evangelical Center
The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), representing more than 600 million evangelicals in 143 nations, is celebrating the importance of brotherly love among the body of Christ with a new office building at the Evangelical Center in New York.
The new "Philadelphia House" is based on the 3,300-acre property belonging to World Olivet Assembly and Olivet University, located about 70 miles north of New York City.
Inaugurated in 2016, the Evangelical Center has provided space for WEA offices, meetings and trainings.
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While the WEA has had offices in London and Singapore, the Philadelphia House marks the first time in this century that it has its own building not shared with other institutions, according to WEA Secretary General Bishop Dr. Thomas Schirrmacher.
Preaching about the letter to the church in Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-10, Schirrmacher delivered a message Monday at the building's dedication ceremony. He spoke of the importance of believing in Jesus Christ and revealing one's faith in the deeds of everyday life that follow God's Word.
Schirrmacher told The Christian Post via email that the Philadelphia House is more than simply a building.
"Philadelphia House is the symbol of a growing focus of WEA on helping its members, the national evangelical alliances, which needs a growing number of staff people to reach out to them with our many different ministries," said Schirrmacher.
A number of departments will be housed in the Philadelphia House, including WEA's communications and financial departments and fundraising efforts for national and regional ministries.
The dedication service for the WEA's new office space this week coincided with a visit by the Communion of Churches in Korea (CCIK), WEA's national member body in South Korea, to discuss closer cooperation between the Korean Church and the global body of evangelicals.
Schirrmacher met with the Rev. Joseph Kim, the first president of CCIK; current CCIK President Rev. Taeseop Song and CCIK General Secretary Rev. Kwisoo Choi to discuss strengthening ties between the churches in Korea and the global evangelical family.
"As the WEA, we are very pleased to have CCIK as our national member body that seeks to fulfill the same purpose that the WEA was founded for in 1846: to unite evangelicals across different denominations for prayer, sharing the gospel, standing up for religious freedom for all, and responding to the needs in society," Schirrmacher said.
Since 2016, the WEA Evangelical Center has served its 600 million evangelical constituents, joining the Vatican in Rome and the Ecumenical Center in Geneva as one of three main centers for Christianity in the world.
Featuring a chapel, residential halls, office buildings, classrooms, auditoriums and a cafeteria, the Evangelical Center replaced WEA's former Evangelical Center that opened in Binghamton, New York, in 2010.
