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August 2015
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Newsletter #14
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Dear Co-Laborer in Christ:
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Several years ago, Dr. Ralph Winter, stopped me one morning at his breakfast table at a missions conference we were attending. He asked, "David, what are we going to do about a global missions network?" In response, I probably just stood there with my mouth agape wondering, "What do you mean we?" While the vision of a global network was certainly of personal interest, to be involved with him strategizing about a global missions network was simply beyond my comprehension.
As most of you are aware, Dr. Ralph Winter was a well-known missiologist, founded the U.S. Center for World Mission (USCWM), and was instrumental in many mission initiatives over his influential life. He was recognized by Time Magazine in 2005 as one of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America. Before his death on May 20, 2009, a significant part of Dr. Winter's focus in his last years was on the need for a global-level cooperative association focused on how to best finish the global task of missions. In 2006 and 2007 Dr. Winter presented the vision for a 2010 meeting in the pattern and celebration of Edinburgh 1910, and a planning committee was established for the Global Mission Consultation and Celebration - From Edinburgh to Tokyo. Dr. Winter did not live to see the fulfillment of this vision, but Tokyo 2010 was successfully held in May 2010 attended by 1000 international delegates and a total attendance of 2000.
From the beginning, the Tokyo 2010 Global Mission Consultation was not intended to be an end in itself, but the beginning of a movement and network to see all peoples discipled in our generation. With this vision, the planning committee took steps to create the Global Great Commission Network - Carrying Tokyo 2010 Forward. It is with this background that the Global Great Commission Network (GGCN) continues to develop as a grassroots, cooperative movement.
Since 2011, a GGCN coordinating team has been working steadily and seeking the Lord about how to best pursue this vision of a global, cooperative effort focused on least reached peoples. Significant progress has been made, with initial efforts focused on providing collaborative, online tools that can be freely provided and used at the grassroots level by associations, agencies, churches, individuals, networks and other ministries globally. These include a secure missions collaboration tool, GCnetwork, an online Discipleship Survey, and a third tool designed to facilitate cooperation around the remaining unreached people groups. We are also encouraged that a national expression of GGCN is now functioning in India and GGCN coordinating teams are in the process of being formed in various other nations. The vision and purpose statements of the network have recently been updated, and are shown in the following article.
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GGCN - Updated Vision Statement
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VISION STATEMENT
Our vision is to see every people group reached and in the process of being discipled, in our generation
PURPOSE STATEMENT
The Global Great Commission Network exists for the purpose of:
- Enhancing the effectiveness of Great Commission endeavors around the globe.
- Serving associations, agencies, churches, individuals, networks and other ministries globally who share in our vision.
- Providing a place for like-minded Great Commission endeavors to connect, communicate and collaborate.
- Developing and freely providing tools and training, including online collaborative platforms that facilitate cooperative efforts.
- Encouraging resources, ideas, tools and strategies to be shared widely, especially those resources that are digital, versatile, free and broadly available.
- Stimulating worldwide mission efforts by encouraging broad collaboration, not to compete with, but to serve and support Great Commission endeavors.
We have combined the Vision and Purpose Statements with sections covering Network Description, Network Ethos, and Network Service, with much of the Network Description and Network Ethos sections adapted from the Tokyo Declaration. The full document is available at www.ggcn.org/aboutus/ or downloaded as a pdf file. |
| From the Global Coordinating Team |
You may have your own story of Dr. Winter's passion for a global network and/or his influence on your life. If so, we'd love to hear those stories from you as an encouragement to us and to others. Contact us at [email protected] or on Facebook. Much is currently happening in GGCN, including work on an updated web site, steps to take our collaborative online resources to a new level, and expansion of regional or national expressions of GGCN. Please pray with us that we will hear clearly from the Lord His vision for global collaborative mission efforts. In you have any questions about GGCN or would like to be part of this global network in any way, please let us know.
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David Hupp
Global Great Commission Network - Coordinating Team
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