18 September 2008

Joel leaves the Alliance

As the Evangelical Alliance Council gathered for the second time in 2008 they said goodbye to Joel Edwards, after more than a decade of valued service as General Director. At this significant point in the leadership of the Alliance, it was fitting that the theme of the conference was Christian leadership.

Key thinkers on the subject of leadership, including Tom Sine, Pete Greig and Richard Tiplady, led sessions across the two days. The time was designed to encourage strategic thinking about how to develop leadership and support and encourage younger leaders.

Council discussed challenging issues such as the ever increasing rate of leadership loss and the rising average age of leaders. They also recommended a number of initiatives the Alliance could adopt to combat the problem.

On the 17th September a farewell event to give tribute to Mr Edwards was held and many of his friends, family, staff and Christian colleagues were in attendance.

Rev Mike Talbot, Chair of the Evangelical Alliance board, said: 

“Joel is a visionary. He has held the vision, cast it and encouraged others to pick it up and run with it. Joel has been both gracious and robust in his commitment to draw evangelicals together, seeking to enable us to be good news to the world around us and in the public square.

“We will be very sad to see him go, but we are excited about the opportunities that are opening up for him.”

Joel leaves the Evangelical Alliance after eleven years as General Director

Joel Edwards' new roles