Since its inception, Fellowship has had an interdependent relationship with a group of churches known as Great Commission Global Fellowship. Part of our stated vision and strategy for reaching our "region" and "the ends of the earth" involves our cooperation with this association of churches.
Our Relationship With GC Global Fellowship & GCM:
1977 - 1984 Primarily on the basis of relationships between pastors.
1984 - 1990 Transition years; beginning of more formal organization
1990 - Present Autonomous Churches, Association of Churches (GC Global Fellowship), Missions Organization (GCM)
In Practical Terms, What Does This Mean?
- Some shared goals
- Common Statement of Faith (major doctrines) & accountability to doctrinal soundness link to core values
- Organizational accountability
- Interdependent spirit; sharing of resources
- Staff program, church consulting, conferences, coordinated mission trips, church planting partnerships.
Why is this relationship important?
- It honors God by promoting unity with a larger body of Christians than our own fellowship.
- It multiplies resources: manpower, leadership, finances, knowledge, organization. (Thus: L.T., conferences, church plants, pastoral training, etc.)
- It allows us to be intimately and interdependently involved in a worldwide vision.
- It provides accountability in sound doctrine and godly conduct.
- It is a great source of networking of ideas.
- It provides encouragement as we see all God is doing around the world through people we know!!!
How does this relationship affect our missions plan?
Planting churches: A good example of a cooperative effort with Great Commission is our UNT plant. About 15 people from Fellowship Church were joined by a few others from various GC churches. These additional people have provided critical finances, manpower, and spiritual gifts. Also, an appeal for financial support from GCM brought in thousands in start-up funds for the church plant. In general, planting a church is a big undertaking and if we are to consistently be involved in every 3 to 5 years in doing so, it will necessitate cooperation with other GCAC churches. This is especially true for planting churches overseas!
Short-term missions trips: To be most effective, it seems good to send out short term teams to foreign cities where a new church is starting or is about to be started or where we have good connections with an existing church. This usually results in better preparation for the incoming team and in better follow-up of those we reach on the trip. Therefore, our first choices in sending out a short-term team would be locations where GC has an existing church or is about to plant one. Also, Fellowship Church may be interested in sending out a short-term team, but not have quite enough for a full team. By recruiting members of various GC churches, a full team of fairly like-minded members may be formed.
A strong international student outreach: Our long-term vision for international student outreach is not just the reaching of a few internationals here in the U.S., but rather to affect entire countries!!! To accomplish this, international leadership must be raised up, financial resources must be obtained, legal and cultural barriers must be understood, etc. Adding to this great challenge is the short time most international students reside in College Station. Much time is required to build relationships, see some saved, and do basic discipleship training. To raise them up to leadership, form them into a team, send them out well-trained and with proper resources is not impossible but would be extremely difficult for one church to accomplish. The difficulty of this vision requires that we network with others with a similar vision.
“Train and Send” ministry: In working with college students and young families, we realize that most will live in Bryan/College Station for just a few years and then move on. Our desire is to help saints who do leave transition to a church with a Great Commission vision (i.e. Matthew 28:19-20), one in which their lives will continue to be built in Christ and one in which they can use their gifts to the greatest benefit of Christ’s kingdom. Although there may be a number of such churches in a given city, it is nice to have a GC church to refer them to as one good possibility.
Foreign sister churches: part of our comprehensive missions plan is to support like-minded churches in other countries with finances, prayer, and any other resources they need and which we are in a position to supply. The foreign churches of GC give us a good working list for wisely giving such support.
Two existing sister church relationships we have are with the GCM church in Turing, Italy (link) and the GCAC church in Monterrey, Mexico.
Full-time workers for the gospel: At Fellowship, part of our comprehensive missions plan is to see men and women go into full-time ministry for the gospel. There are 2 primary ways we are accomplishing this: 1) elders and staff who are supported by the tithes and offerings of churches and, 2) GCM’s staff program. The staff program is very beneficial to Fellowship because of our outreach to college students, international students and foreign countries. These ministries require much funding and numerous workers, but these people groups don’t bring in near enough money (not many will tithe to the local church) to be self-supporting. Also, most people in a local church reach out to others like them and therefore “move on” from college ministry soon after graduation thus creating a leadership vacuum for such ministry. The leadership scenario for international outreach is even tougher because of a smaller “pool” from which to draw. GCM’s staff program has made it possible for men and women from Fellowship who feel called to such ministries to raise financial support and be employed as full-time workers in the gospel. It would be virtually impossible for any local church, even a very big one, to run such a missions organization. The staff program run by GCM is a key part of our vision fulfilled.
* Our cooperative labor and covenantal relationship with GC Global Fellowship and GCM is due primarily to our long-standing relationship with this association and our confidence in its doctrine, goals and godliness. Our relationship with this association is not meant to show disunity towards other organizations or churches or denominations, but is merely our “association” of first choice.