The African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance (ACEA) regrets to announce that it is suspending operations after 25 years of serving the African and Caribbean church community, due to a shortage of funds compounded by the recession.

Membership donations have fallen in recent months, with the current financial crisis causing churches and organisations to prioritise their giving to local ministries. Other sources of funding have also diminished due to the recession.

It is with deep regret that ACEA trustees have to terminate the contract of the charity’s staff and suspend further operations at this time.

ACEA Chair of Trustees, the Reverend Pedro Okoro said: “ACEA has dedicated the past 25 years to providing a unique voice for African and Caribbean churches in the UK, so this has been a very painful decision.

“Operations are now suspended pending a planned review and consultation with our constituency as to how we can best continue to respond to the Black Church’s need for representation.

“The patrons and trustees are committed to ensuring that the views of members of the Black Majority Churches continue to be heard and the trustees will continue to meet to explore an appropriate way forward for the organisation.”

He added that membership of ACEA also includes membership to the Evangelical Alliance UK, which still stands.

ACEA was established in 1984 as a national umbrella organisation for Black Majority Churches and organisations in the UK, providing an authentic voice and identity for its constituents, focusing on their specific needs, tackling inequalities and representing them to government, statutory agencies and the church nationally and internationally. ACEA is also a lead partner in the publication of the Black Majority Churches directory which is now online, and is a registered umbrella organisation with Criminal Records Bureau (CRB).

The many initiatives it has launched include the Watato Project for mentoring Black youth, the Theological Study Group articulating the theological needs and concerns of black Christians in the UK, the Safe and Sound child protection conference and, with the Centre for Youth Ministry, an accredited youth work ministry course specifically for people working in or with Black communities.

ACEA has engaged with the government and worked in partnership with other agencies on numerous occasions, one of the most recent being the Olympic initiative More Than Gold.

ACEA hosted the groundbreaking Faith in the Future Conference in 2000 and went on to contribute to a number of collaborative governance initiatives such as the Aiming for Excellence conference in 2007, and the development of new model trust deeds for independent churches.

It has provided a public voice for the Black Majority Church on many issues, notably the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, the murder of Damilola Taylor, giving evidence at the Victoria Climbie inquiry, and the appointment of Paul Boateng, the first black Cabinet minister.

In 2007, ACEA was involved in several events marking the bicentenary of the abolition of slave trade legislation, including representing Black Christians at the national service at Westminster Abbey. ACEA played a key role in the walk for peace following the shootings in Peckham and Brixton in the same year and has been a supporter of Global Day of Prayer (London) from the outset.