The controversial part of the commitment is the recognition that there will be times when pioneering new congregations will on occasion mean operating without Diocesan approval, and the Anglican Mission in England (AMiE) is the mechanism to enable this. As we heard in various case studies during the day and a half together, there are various scenarios where new congregations have emerged wanting to be Anglican, or where growing parishes have felt the need to establish another presence, a daughter congregation, in a large area of population where the existing parish church is of a totally different churchmanship and is making little impression. Rather than welcome such fresh expressions of Christian life and growth, and eagerly own it as part of the Diocese, many in the official leadership structures block such moves, often through prejudice against conservative evangelical theology. It was emphasised at the conference that in such cases, the aim is not to be “gung-ho” and deliberately rebellious, but rather, after respectful negotiation sometimes over many months, if it becomes impossible to reach agreement, the furtherance of the Gospel must take precedence over niceties of protocol. Such new congregations wanting to maintain an Anglican identity can do so with oversight from AMiE, their panel of Bishops, and their oversight from the GAFCON Primates.
