Relay Trust Becomes a Mission Partner of the GSFA
The Relay Trust is honoured to have been accepted as a Mission Partner organisation by the GSFA (The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches). The GSFA was formed in 1994 in Limuru, Kenya, as an officially recognised body of the Anglican Communion, reflecting the massive growth of Anglican Churches in the global South, especially in Africa. This trend has accelerated over the past thirty years as global South Churches have continued to grow while most Churches of the global North, including the ‘Mother’ Church of England, have compromised with an aggressively secular culture and are in precipitous decline.
For both demographic and doctrinal reasons, the GSFA is therefore set to be recognised as the natural focus of leadership for the Anglican Communion in the twenty-first century, as became clear with the courageous leadership of the GSFA’s Chairman, Archbishop Justin Badi of South Sudan, at last year’s Lambeth Conference. The GSFA robustly resisted attempts by the conference organisers to move the Anglican Communion away from its commitment to the authority of Scripture and biblical teaching about human sexuality.
The GSFA has been described as a ‘new wineskin’ and we believe that this is the only global Anglican structure which can secure the long-term flourishing of our work. Relay Trust currently serves nearly one hundred African dioceses, including some of the most impoverished and unstable regions of the continent, but these are also areas where the Churches are growing rapidly. Through funding and personal consultancy we seek to enable the formation of growing disciples of Jesus through well trained grassroots leaders who can teach the bible faithfully and effectively.
But there is a threat to this crucial work. The counterfeit faith of the revisionist Provinces is contagious, especially when coupled, as it often is, with the attraction of money and prestige. The GSFA is therefore a key partner for the Relay Trust as we seek to guard the investment we are making in the life of some of Africa’s most vulnerable Anglican Churches. We see the GSFA’s Covenantal structure as a way of restoring health and good order to the Communion, ensuring its integrity for generations to come. We also look forward to supporting the GSFA in its commitment to global mission and training, especially through participation in its Discipleship and Ministerial Formation Track.
