Evangelical Association Will Relocate to Azusa

The board of the National Assn. of Evangelicals has voted to move the organization’s headquarters from Carol Stream, Ill., to Azusa.

“We had 50 board members vote and 75% voted for giving the new president the authority to move ahead with a move,” said the Rev. Richard Cizik, Washington director of the organization.

President Kevin Mannoia intends to rent a facility in Azusa until a decision can be made about a permanent location in the Los Angeles area, Cizik said.

“The vision which Kevin Mannoia has cast makes it easier to be implemented in a . . . multicultural and ethnic community such as the L.A. base,” he said.

One of Mannoia’s goals is to help the predominantly white leadership of the association reach out to Latino and African American communities.

Cizik said some former officials opposed the move, but others thought it should be done without delay.

“We are not driven by facility needs or bricks and mortar,” said Cizik. “We’re driven by vision.”

About half a dozen staff members are in the Chicago suburb of Carol Stream, along with about 50 staffers of World Relief, the group’s international assistance arm, and five staffers of the World Evangelical Fellowship, a group that encompasses 107 national umbrella groups of evangelicals across the globe.

World Relief has decided to merge its international headquarters staff in Carol Stream with the 27-member national ministries staff in Nyack, N.Y., said Linda Keys, director of public information for World Relief. It has not yet determined whether the joint staff will be located in the Chicago or New York areas or a third location.

World Evangelical Fellowship has not yet determined how it will respond to the move, said Kathi Graham, the fellowship’s development manager. Its international council will discuss the matter at a meeting next week.