On Saturday, 23 May, the General Assembly of the Portuguese Evangelical Alliance (AEP) was held in Lisbon.

Dr Timóteo Cavaco was stepping down from his term as president, during which progress was made on several fronts. He presented the relevant report on developments in six areas of work, including, for example, communication, research and surveys, and Evangelical Religious Education in public schools.

He also reported on the Portuguese Evangelical Forum, which was very well attended; an event that, following its conclusion, continues to expand with activities in various areas.

All Evangelical Focus news and opinion, on your WhatsApp.

Jorge Humberto Nobre returns as president

The new president of the Portuguese Evangelical Alliance, Pastor Jorge Humberto Nobre, had previously held the post from 2008 to 2015. His ability to build bridges was one of the reasons why he was encouraged by others to resume his work at this stage.

He presented his work programme, which will build on the work carried out to date. During the assembly, the good personal relationship between the former and current presidents was evident.

Speeches

Elsewhere in the programme, there were speeches such as that by Pastor Jonathan Figueiredo, a personal friend of both the outgoing and incoming presidents, who in a heartfelt sermon urged them to always look to Jesus as the Way, to maintain a willingness to listen actively, and not to aim to stand out, but to serve.

José Vera Jardim, president of the Portuguese government’s Commission on Religious Freedom, also attended the event. He highlighted the crucial role played by the Portuguese Evangelical Alliance in the drafting of the Religious Freedom Act right at the dawn of democracy.

Convergence with the Spanish Evangelical Alliance

The Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE) was invited to the Portuguese assembly, for which Xesús Manuel Suárez, head of International Relations at the AEE, travelled to the Portuguese capital.

The two Evangelical Alliances on the Iberian Peninsula follow a similar model in their work to build learning networks based on personal relationships within their Youth ministries (known as Alianza Joven in Spain).

Both Alliances also came together at the recent Iberian Forum on Missionary Cooperation of COMIBAM.

The AEE representative met with the new president of the Portuguese evangelical organisation and other members, during which they discussed similar contexts, problems and challenges in both countries.

In his address to the Assembly, Xesús Manuel Suárez highlighted the cultural ties, but above all the spiritual identity shared by the two sister Alliances, and proposed that this fellowship be translated into concrete collaborative projects and the exchange of perspectives within the context of the European and World Evangelical Alliances.

He also invited the Portuguese Alliance to attend the events marking the 150th anniversary of the Spanish Alliance, an invitation that was received with enthusiasm.

The General Assembly of the Portuguese Evangelical Alliance was also attended by the Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain (Daniel Rodríguez) and representatives of other religious groups of Portugal.