About 200 pastors and church delegates from various countries met at the Eastern Council of Foursquare Churches (ECFC) international conference held last October 11 to 14 2016 at the ChurchLands church sanctuary in Perth, Western Australia, under the theme ”Discipling the Nations.
ECFC is a regional aggrupation of Foursquare Churches in East Asia including missions outposts in Japan, Korea, Nepal, Thailand, India, Pakistan and the Pacific. Most of the Christian missionaries belonging to the group started as missionaries from the Foursquare Missions International (FMI), based in the United States.
About 43 Philippine-born pastors and leaders are among them including a delegation of 20 from the Philippines coming from the Foursquare Church of the Philippines (FCP) headed by FCP President Pastor Val Chaves. The international conference was hosted by Church of Foursquare Australia (West) ,headed by Ps. Hardy Churleow, senior pastor of Northside Community Church in Perth, WA.
ECFC meets every two years and highlight Christian missionary work in what is called the 10-40 window of the world where new Christian churches are being planted by pastors and missionary workers. There is a prevalence of Filipino pastors and leaders in the 10-40 window, much like Overseas Filipino Workers in such places as Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, China, and even Australia.
A delegation from Church of Foursquare Australia (East) headed by Ps. Wayne Magee included Filipino-born officials of the Church of Foursquare Australia (East) Board including Vice President Ps. Nomer Velasco of Faith in Christ Fellowship of Minto, NSW and Foursquare Missions Director Ps. Ding Cantre of Come To Jesus Fellowship of Glendenning, NSW.
Foursquare District Supervisor and Senior Pastor of FCF Life Centre in Minchinbury, NSW Ps. Rudy Tan was not able to come.
ECFC which meets every two years in a nominated country is coordinated by a council of so-called national leaders of core member countries which include the Philippines and Australia. ECFC international conferences were held in 2014 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in 2012 in Negombo, Sri Lanka , in 2010 in Cebu.Philippines and this year in Perth, Australia.
ECFC is chaired by Dr. Leslie Keegel, President of Foursquare Church of Sri Lanka. Dr. Keegel who graduated many years from a Philippine bible college and married to a Filipina wife Mrs. Belen Keegel.
Dr Keegel founded the Foursquare Church of Sri Lanka and had been a speaker in many Australian and Philippine Foursquare church events.
Guest speakers during the Foursquare international conference in Perth included Dr. Glen Burris, President of the U.S. Foursquare Church Dr. Glenn Burris, Vice-President of U.S. Foursquare Dr. Jim Scott and International Foursquare Missions Director Ps. Ted Vale.
Theme of this year’s Peth conference was “Discipling the Nations.” As keynote speaker, Dr.Burris emphasized the importance of the examples in the life of founder of the Foursquare movement Ms Aimee Semple McPherson who herself started her Christian missionary ministry in China and the famous American civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King.
Aimee Semple McPherson was a tent era evangelist in U.S. who also founded the Angelus Temple in Los Angeles, USA.
The next ECFC international conference will be held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2018. Next year, however an intervening Foursquare international ladies conference will be held also in Kuala Lumpur.