VirtueOnline: ANGLICAN MISSION IN THE AMERICA'S TAKES WINGS AND FLIES

Yet another article about the AMiA: ANGLICAN MISSION IN THE AMERICA'S TAKES WINGS AND FLIES. They have apparently changed their name to reflect their ministry to all of North America. They are now the Anglican Mission in the Americas. This mission is fully are part of the Anglican Province of Rwanda and NOT a new or separate denomination here in North America. They are considered a mission of Rwanda. One interesting thing to note is their new twist on structure. Typically each province is broken up into "dioceses" which are regional groups of churches under a bishop. The AMiA does not have tradition dioceses but "networks". Here is a snippet from a Q&A with David Virtue and Bishop Chuck Murphy explaining the difference: VOL: A year ago you had seven networks now you have 14 networks. What exactly is a Network and how does that differ from a diocese? MURPHY: All networks are being overseen by missionary bishops. Networks are simply clusters of congregations and leaders that are committed to strengthening the mission through new church plants. We are committed to building a team of pastoral leaders, strategic mission leadership, coaching, credentialing, etc. We are not setting up dioceses, we are leaving behind networks to grow. We are, above all a mission, not a denomination. We have 14 networks that embrace the U.S. and Canada. Murphy is comments on the AMiA's phenomenal growth: MURPHY: We have 14 networks growing 108 congregations with 64 new congregations in the pipeline. Some 35 of the new congregations have been birthed out of the Networks - half of the total has bubbled up out of the Networks. We hope to be 20 networks in a year. He says they are planting a new church every three weeks. We must remember that the success of new churches is not just about contemporary style and music. This is a prayer book movement growing rapidly.