Charis Europe content (2): history matters

21 people from 6 countries* met in Stuttgart, Germany for 3 days to pray and peer into the future.

The question to which we sought an answer was, “Might God have a collective vision for us?” (Us being 12 European churches, 25 embryonic spiritual communities, European and American church planters serving side by side.) If so, what strategies need we develop to propel us into concerted action?


To arrive at answers to those questions, our agenda consisted of questions:
Why are we here? How did we get here? Who are we? What should we do? What are our resources? What might our objectives and benchmarks be?

Our Portuguese brother, Afredo addressed the question, « Why are we here? » His conviction is that, for those who embrace Charis Europe values is it time to gather to pray and dream toward common vision, strategies and action.

Charis Europe values challenge us to:

• live community,
• live sustainable family lives,
• share material resources,
• do good in Jesus’ name,
• pray in faith,
• live in love and hope.

All of this in a way that will cause people to ask the question to which Jesus is the answer.

To move us toward a vision that leads to action, Florent Varak — the first president of Charis International — brought the delegates up to speed by reviewing the 300 years of Brethren history by answering the question, « How did we get here? »

Florent rightly went all the way back to Jesus through Pierre Waldo, John Hus, Savonarole… Alexander Mack, Jacob Cassel, Alva McClain. To summarize, the Grace Brethren heritage includes:

• a call to personal conversion
• personal conversion and believer’s baptism
• the Bible only, Christ only, grace only
• local church autonomy
• pacifism and freedom of conscience
• being heavenly minded people = peaceful
• being God centered people = pietistic
• being bible based people = biblicist
• being church oriented people = relationship & accountability

Florent then shared the history of Charis International:

1994, Chateau of St. Albain: Charis International was formed to create bonds and share resources between sister churches.
1996, Toronto: Charis was defined as a multinational fellowship of church planters & developers. A key component of Charis is communication.
1999, Argentina: Charis sought to develop and implement scenarios of cooperation.

Florent concluded, with a borrowed quote from Jacob Cassel, saying that after 300 years… "surely the outlook is altogether hopeful!"

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