The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is seeking to appoint the next Secretary General/CEO, commencing early 2021.

This what the body representing 600 million evangelical Christians through 130 national and regional alliances, task forces and commissions, announced on May 28.

The process to find the person that will substitute Bishop Efraim Tendero is now open. “Nominations and applications will be received until August 31, 2020 with the anticipation to identify and confirm a successor by November, which will allow for a period of transition”, the WEA said in a statement. Both nominations and applications can be sent online here.

Goodwill Shana, Chair of the International Council of the WEA and member of the Search Committee, “thanked Efraim Tendero for his faithful service in leading the global body of evangelicals”.

Bishop Ef ends six years of WEA leadership

Filipino Efraim Tendero - better known as Bishop Ef - started as Secretary General in 2015, and accepted to extend his five-year term an extra year to help make a smooth transition to the next CEO.

The WEA held its last General Assembly in Jakarta (Indonesia) in 2019, where representatives of 92 national Evangelical Alliances gathered to emphasise the local and global aspects of mission under the theme “Your Kingdom Come”. Evangelical churches, it was said, needed to have a holistic approach to disciple-making and inter-generational leadership.

WEA Secretary General Efraim Tendero meets with UN Secretary General António Guterres in September 2018. / Photo: WEA

In the last years, Tendero visited countries such as Italy, Kosovo, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, among others. He met with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres to discuss issues like the refugee crisis, as well as with former UN leader Ban Ki-moon to address religious freedom.

When he started in the role in early 2015, Efraim Tendero spoke about his vision for the WEA in answers to Evangelical Focus. “The Good News must be able to interact with our socio-political arena in order to bring the transformative values of the Gospel that we proclaim and live out”, he said.

Global shifts and challenges for the church

The WEA expects major changes around the world and hopes the global evangelical body will be ready to face these. “The next decade is promising to be dimensionally different and unprecedented in the number of global shifts that the world might experience. We have already begun to experience the global impact of the current corona virus pandemic on world trends and how that impacts the Church,” said Goodwill Shana.

He asked “all members, associates, partners, staff and stakeholders to take time to pray that this process will be blessed of the Lord and that the person of the Lord‘s choosing would be found and selected to lead WEA into the future”.