Evangelical Ministries to New Religions

Evangelical Ministries to New Religions

Abbreviation	EMNR
Founder	Gordon Lewis, Walter Martin, James Bjornstad, Ronald Enroth
Type	Christian countercult group
Purpose	Evangelize to members of new religious movements (NRMs)
President	L.L. (Don) Veinot, Jr
Subsidiaries	Watchman Fellowship New England Institute of Religious Research Midwest Christian Outreach Institute for Religious Research Apologetics Evangelism - NAMB/SBC Apologetics Resource Center Apologia ARMOR Biola University Christian Apologetics Program BRIDGE CANA/Christian Answers for the New Age Centers for Apologetics Research Christian Perspectives International Christian Research and Counsel Current Issues in Alternative Medicine Evidence Ministries Gospel Truth Ministries Families Against Cults of Indiana Fire Escape Ministries Freedom In Truth Outreach Haven Ministries Discernment Ministries International Jesus Christ Saves Ministries Life Assurance Ministries Mormonism Research Ministry Naming the Grace Refuge Ministries Religious Information Center Resource Center for Theological Research Rooftop Ministries Stormwatch Ministries Spiritwatch Ministries True Light Educational Ministry Word for the Weary
Website	www.emnr.org
Formerly called	Evangelical Ministries to Cultists

Evangelical Ministries to New Religions, often abbreviated as EMNR, is a coalition of Christian countercult organizations.

The organization brings together groups and individuals who evangelize to members of new religious movements (NRMs) and seeks legitimacy and accountability for the countercult movement. Gordon Lewis, one of the group's founders, defines a cult as a "religious group which claims authorization by Christ and the Bible, but neglects or distorts the gospel". EMNR aims to consolidate much of the scattered countercult movement and establish a standard for evangelizing to those movements they see as non-Christian or threatening to traditional Protestant Christianity.

EMNR holds conferences about pertinent issues, publishes relevant materials, encourages networking between member groups, and makes recommendations of helpful agencies and materials that meet its standards.

EMNR's National Conference for 2009 will be held in Kansas City, Missouri the first week of March. Its current president is L.L. (Don) Veinot, Jr., who also serves as president of the evangelical support group Midwest Christian Outreach. A full list of the organization's current members can be found here.

The countercult movement has long been divided over its goals and the tactics it should use to achieve those goals, which left the movement lacking cohesiveness. The participants in a 1982 Christian conference on cults and new religious movements voted to form a permanent anticult coalition, which they named Evangelical Ministries to Cultists. This coalition was coordinated by Gordon Lewis, a well-known figure within the countercult community. Other founders include Walter Martin, James Bjornstad, and Ronald Enroth.

The group was designed to carry out the directives established by the 1974 Lausanne Covenant, a Christian manifesto adopted by the International Congress on World Evangelization that explains and promotes active global evangelism.

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