FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Oxford, UK) — The International Executive Committee (IEC) of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) is pleased to announce that Dr. Daniel Bourdanné has been appointed to succeed Lindsay Brown as General Secretary in mid 2007. Daniel currently serves as IFES Regional Secretary for Francophone Africa.
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is one of the original founding members of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. The IFES consists of student Christian movements in approximately 150 countries.
The process followed
After an extensive assessment of candidates, the IEC undertook a prayerful and thorough process to select a new General Secretary at the June 2006 IEC meeting in India. Over a period of three days, which included candidate interviews and presentations, the IEC focused on the priorities for the future of the Fellowship and the desired profile of the next General Secretary. There was constant prayer for wisdom and God’s guidance in evaluating the candidates.
At the completion of this process, and after prayerful consideration, the IEC warmly endorsed Daniel to serve as the next General Secretary. He will begin his term in mid 2007 after confirmation by the IFES General Committee at World Assembly in Canada in July.
The IEC is thankful to those in the wider Fellowship who have upheld this selection process in prayer. Having prayed in faith for God’s guidance and insight, we are grateful to God for His provision of an outstanding new leader for IFES and continue to look to God’s guidance throughout the upcoming transition.
We continue to seek the prayers of the wider Fellowship for Lindsay as he leads the Fellowship over the coming months through to World Assembly 2007. Pray also for Daniel and Lindsay during the transition period and for Lindsay to experience God’s clear guidance regarding his future ministry.
Introducing Daniel Bourdanne
Daniel (46) was born in Chad. He is married to Halimatou who comes originally from Niger. They currently live in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. They have four children, including one adopted Togolese daughter and three children who were born in Côte d’Ivoire.
Daniel studied in Chad, Cameroon, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire and France. He has a PhD from the University of Abidjan in animal ecology and is a member of the International Society of Myriapodologists – in other words he is a specialist in millipedes.
He has served IFES in Francophone Africa since 1990, firstly as traveling secretary in West Africa, then as Literature Secretary and since 1995 he has been the Regional Secretary, responsible to oversee IFES ministry throughout the region which encompasses 20 French-speaking countries.
Daniel has served on the boards of a number of Christian organizations in Africa, and is currently an International Deputy Director of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Over the past few years he has led a number of significant training initiatives including the ‘Forum de Théologie pour l’Eglise’ designed to bring theological academics and local churches together, the ‘Centre Africain du Christianisme Contemporain’ – an IFES Leadership Training Centre for Francophone Africa, and the ‘Tyranus’ biblical preaching initiative.
Please uphold Daniel and his family in prayer as they look forward to this new phase of ministry.
For More Information:
Deborah Lake
Advancement Director
International Fellowship of Evangelical Students
Deborah@ifesworld.org
+44 (0)1865 292555
