|
Does GCPN have a purpose statement?
GCPN serves the local church and its mission through training, strategy development, and services. Its aim is that all the peoples of the earth know and worship Jesus Christ and that His church multiplies.
Why are you sending missionaries from your churches when there are sending agencies and boards to serve the purpose of sending?
Churches within the network are not opposed to partnering with boards or agencies if that strategy is the BEST strategy for reaching a particular people group or country. The churches within the network have a strong sense that the Commission was given to the Church and should be lived out by the Church. Boards, agencies and denominational largess can sometimes add unnecessary baggage to strategic processes. Partnership is one of the key words in our name. But our partnership may be with indigenous believers or organizations which are already living out the Gospel in context. We want to join God where He is working. He may ask us to partner with believers we have never met. He may ask us to start something that doesn’t yet exist. We believe our churches have been equipped by God to strategize, mobilize, and care for the family members we send to the field.
Why would my church want to be a part of GCPN?
We serve a relational God who desires that we live in community. We understand the value of common causes, common giving, and a common identity. The joy of accomplishing things together has been a driving force for more than a century. We can do together much more than any one of us could do on our own. The beauty of the GCPN community is the fact that churches within the network are communal in resource while allowing each individual church to be autonomous in sending. The authority and pastoral support base for a missionary always resides within his/her local church. We have learned that not only do we need the network, but the network needs us.
How does my church join the GCPN network?
There are various levels of participation in the GCPN network. As is the case in most collaborative efforts, a church experiences the greatest benefit when it moves from being only a recipient of network resources to being a contributor within the network. Those resources may be people, experience, knowledge, connection or financial means. Your church can participate at any or all of the following levels:
COMMUNITY LEVEL
- Join in a conversational community that contributes ideas and resources through the website and blog site.
- Invite pastors and missions leaders within the network to share their experiences and expertise with you as you seek to grow your church into a missional congregation.
COLLABORATIVE LEVEL
- Contribute your mission expertise to network churches by being willing to serve as a consultant to another church.
- Seek guidance for healthy mission practices from experienced missiologists within the network.
- Contact the network office for assistance in designing a spiritual formation series for your church that will lead them to a greater understanding of God’s desire for the nations.
- Channel members of your congregation toward network mission placement and causes in their area of giftedness.
CONNECTED LEVEL
- Assist in the development of network direction by offering your service to the GCPN Board of Directors.
- Designate a portion of your church’s mission offerings toward direct support of missionaries being sent from GCPN churches.
- Utilize web-based materials for cross-cultural training within your congregation
- Contribute toward the financial support of regional networkers in 12 regions of the world to assist churches and sending organizations in strategic involvement.
What resources are currently available through the network that can assist my church in living out its missional call?
Although our greatest resource is the churches themselves, the following resources are currently available for common use:
- Assessment Team – This team of professionals offer their services to churches who are preparing to send members of their congregation into cross-cultural settings or those who have people already serving in cross-cultural settings. Utilizing testing tools in the areas of psychology, education, cultural adaptability, retention, medicine and dentistry, these committed professionals want to assist churches in caring for their missionaries.
- Web-based Learning for Cross-Cultural Workers – Network missionaries and missiologists have identified 42 areas of training and preparedness that are essential for cross-cultural workers. GCPN is currently developing a web-based learning experience and coaching guide which may be utilized by churches to prepare their people for cross-cultural service.
- Non-Profit Organizations – GCPN and several of the churches within the network have established non-profit organizations that can be utilized by churches for sending.
- Process Guidance for Churches – An evidence of good stewardship is the ability to learn from the experiences of others. GCPN churches and partners are willing to assist each other in developing the necessary elements and processes for missional living.
- Cooperative Giving – financial contributions to GCPN for missionary support can be provided to churches as needed for church-based sending. GCPN encourages churches of greater resource to assist churches of lesser financial resource or churches which sustain a large missionary force.
|
