About Gafcon

Gafcon is a Bible-based movement which submits to the authority of the Scripture.

The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that: ‘All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.’ Paul was making it clear to his young protégé that although written by men, the words in Scripture were originally breathed out through God’s lips into the writers’ hearts and the Bible is therefore God’s written Word. And because God is sovereign and incapable of error, so is his Word. It contains the key principles and teaching for mankind to be fully ‘equipped’ to live the way God wants. As well as the Bible, God has given humans reason and the historical witness of the church to discern matters of faith but Gafcon believe that Scripture is the higher authority.  It is the final court of appeal for doctrine because it is His revealed will.  All the foundational documents of Anglicanism, the Thirty-Nine Articles, The Book of Common Prayer and the Homilies all insist on this supreme authority. Sadly, there are those within the Anglican Communion, including whole Provinces, who have rejected the authority of God’s written Word and have put their trust in their own reason.  This has been most evident in the area of sexual ethics and human sexuality.  And it is for this reason that Gafcon was formed; to restore the Bible to heart of the Communion so that the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ might not be compromised.

Gafcon is steadfastly orthodox. We stand by the founding principles and doctrines of the church which are rooted in Scripture as affirmed in the Jerusalem Statement and Declaration which states: “The doctrine of the Church is grounded in the Holy Scriptures and in such teachings of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular, such doctrine is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordinal.” Revisionists within the Communion would have the church move away from its Bible-based orthodox roots. They have ignored Paul’s warning not “not conform to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2) and have allowed western secularism to dominate their world view. Gafcon is here to gather faithful Anglicans around the world to contend for the truth as passed down from the apostles.

The Lord Jesus commands us to: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’ Gafcon believes, therefore, that our first priority must be to make disciples. This means the movement is committed to:

1. Evangelism

Gafcon is passionate about bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to areas of the world where it has been obscured or lost, as well as to unreached peoples. We are particularly concerned to bring the gospel to children and young people and to develop leaders for the future. This was a key theme of the third Gafcon conference in 2018: ‘Proclaiming Christ faithfully to the nations.” At the fourth Gafcon conference in Dubai, known as G19, the theme was “Serving Christ faithfully in the nations” and the talks were tailored to Christians in ‘restricted situations’.

2. Supporting gospel initiatives

In those instances where existing structures constrain gospel proclamation, Gafcon seeks to intervene to provide or to facilitate orthodox oversight. This was perhaps most evident in the pastoral guidance of Gafcon Primates and their provinces in the creation of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) which is now recognised as the orthodox province in the Unites States, Canada and Mexico. AMiE (the Anglican Mission in England) is a mission society established by Gafcon to multiply and strengthen healthy Anglican churches in England. AMiE provides authentic Anglican oversight for both new church plants outside the Church of England and established fellowships within. Indeed, church planting was another key theme of the 2018 conference and a global Church Planting Network was established to coordinate learning and practice throughout the movement.

3. Guarding the gospel

Gafcon undertakes to expose false gospels that aren’t consistent with apostolic teaching and to proclaim the true gospel throughout the world. To achieve that Gafcon is committed to ensuring church leaders are thoroughly equipped to guard the truth. In September 2016 Gafcon held its inaugural Bishops Training Institute. Since then Gafcon has held four more BTIs, and now the bishops’ wives join the training as well.