From 28 September to 3 October, delegates from Free Evangelical federations around the world gather at Brackenhurst, Kenya, under a three-word theme: Follow Jesus.
The road north-west from Nairobi climbs into the tea country of Kiambu County. Near Limuru, the Brackenhurst Conference and Retreat Centre this week hosts the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches (IFFEC) for its Worldwide 2026 gathering. It is the first time the federation has met on the African continent.
The organisers describe the theme, Follow Jesus, as a lifelong journey that is both personal and communal and that takes different forms in different cultures. That last point has particular weight in Kenya, where a federation drawn from Europe, the Americas and Asia will meet in a country where Christian faith is lived in Swahili, Kikuyu and dozens of other languages. A preliminary programme has been published. Speakers have not been announced.
Why Kenya matters
Recent Worldwide gatherings have been held in Pune, India (2018), Greece (2022) and Medellín, Colombia (2024). Kenya adds a fourth continent. The choice stands out because none of IFFEC's 31 member federations is African, although, as Connexion has reported, many of them have planted or partnered with churches across Africa over the past century. Meeting in Kenya may signal a wish to hear from those churches directly rather than only about them.
A network, not a denomination
Founded in Bern, Switzerland, in 1948, IFFEC calls itself not an organisation but a network of federations that share historical, theological and spiritual roots. It does not govern its members' churches. Today it links 31 member federations, one associate member and a regional association of seven national churches, with congregations in more than 60 countries. Members range from the Evangelical Covenant Church in the United States, with more than 900 congregations, to a single congregation in Beirut. The basis of membership is personal faith in Jesus Christ. (See our guide, What Is IFFEC?)
A leadership year
The Worldwide gatherings also host IFFEC's General Assembly, which elects leaders every four years. President John Nielsen of Denmark and General Secretary Øyvind Haraldseid of Norway have served since 2022, so this assembly falls at the natural point for a leadership decision. IFFEC has not published the assembly agenda. The executive committee has eleven members from nine countries, and sub-committees cover mission, theology and youth.
The gathering comes weeks after the death of Rev. Curt Peterson, IFFEC's general secretary from 2018 to 2022.
Participation is open to member federations and their representatives. Enquiries go to the IFFEC secretariat at oyvind.haraldseid@iffec.org. Details are on the IFFEC events page.
African voices in the room
Several African church leaders will attend as observers, among them pastors from networks connected to Worldwide Evangelical Seminary (WWES), which publishes Connexion. They come from Liberia, where a Free Evangelical fellowship was formed this month; from Uganda, where pastors are seeking training ahead of possible new regulation of churches; and from Tanzania.
Engagement with these leaders, and with the many other African churches that share Free Evangelical convictions, may be the conference's most lasting contribution. Beyond that, observers will watch whether the assembly changes the federation's leadership, and whether a theme as simple as Follow Jesus can become a shared practice across cultures that rarely meet.
Details are from IFFEC's website and events page and from Connexion's earlier reporting. Connexion is published by Worldwide Evangelical Seminary, some of whose African partners are attending as observers.
