From Politics to Mission
George Whitefield is one of the most famous evangelists of all time. He preached 18,000 sermons during his life, to tens of thousands at a time. A priest in the Church of England, he was instrumental in both the First Great Awakening in America and in the founding of Methodism. Whitefield got his start at Christ Church in Savannah, Georgia. Established in 1733 as the Mother Church of the colony of Georgia, Christ Church had previously been pastored by another famous Anglican priest, John Wesley.
Whitefield died on September 30, 1770. It would be 13 years before The Episcopal Church came together in the wake of the American Revolution; it would be 53 before Christ Church, Savannah joined with two other parishes to organize the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.
Fast-forward 237 years from Whitefield’s death, to September 30, 2007. By now The Episcopal Church has federated with the Church of England’s other colonial and missionary descendents to form the Anglican Communion, the third-largest branch of Christianity. But recently The Episcopal Church has strained this Communion to the breaking point with its attempts to remain culturally relevant at the expense of its Christian identity. September 30, 2007, was the final deadline set by the leaders of the global Communion for The Episcopal Church to give an answer: Is it part of the Christian family or not? The sad answer was a clear “No.” In consequence, The Episcopal Church has now forced hundreds of parishes to choose between loyalty to itself and loyalty to Christ.
For Christ Church, at least, such a choice was simple. On September 30, 2007, the parish’s vestry unanimously voted to temporarily associate itself with the Anglican Province of Uganda until a new church structure is formed in North America. Christ Church is now under the oversight of Bishop John Guernsey, and a part of the Network’s International Conference. The congregation as a whole affirmed this decision by an 87% majority.
But while the choice for Christ Church was straightforward, it has not been easy. Christ Church co-created the Diocese of Georgia, and it helped found The Episcopal Church itself. To now watch those institutions depart from global Christianity is painful indeed.
But even with a storied past and a painful present, Christ Church is looking ahead. Days after the vestry announced their decision, the Network’s Evangelism Initiative arrived in town for a previously-scheduled Sharing Our Faith conference. Network Evangelism coordinator Jenny Noyes tells the story of how another British evangelist (this time, the Rev. Dr. Michael Green) took the pulpit of Christ Church, Savannah, to preach the Gospel. Once again, this historic parish is playing a lead role in a revival that, if the Lord wills, will far outlast the politics of the moment.