What is GCM’s relationship to Great Commission Churches?
GCM was founded in 1989 by Great Commission Churches (GCC) to serve as the missions sending organization of the Great Commission movement. GCC is a non-denominational movement of 80 evangelical churches that was started in the 1960’s and 70’s. Great Commission Churches believe in local church autonomy and are usually governed by a board of elders. However, churches often partner together for mentoring, mediation, coaching, etc.
Today, GCM is an integrated auxiliary of GCM Churches. As a non-denominational mission organization, GCM has its own independent governing board of directors, and there is no requirement for board members or the executive director of GCM to be members in a Great Commission Church. GCM continues to serve and partner with GCC and the rest of the Great Commission movement through its missionary staff program.
How is GCM tied to other organizations with the name “Great Commission”?
Church groups such as GCM Churches, Great Commission Europe, Great Commission Latin America, etc. maintain their own, distinct board of elders for governance. We have representatives from some of these church groups on GCM’s board, to represent their constituencies, but any new church group that begins to partner with GCM and reaches a representative size would also be considered for a seat on the GCM board of directors.
What does it mean that GCM believes in local church autonomy?
GCM, as a mission organization, is not the spiritual head of any individual church or group of churches. Nearly all the churches that have used GCM to mobilize missionaries believe in local church leadership by pastors/elders. The National Association of Evangelicals, which GCM is a member of, affirms the validity of this biblical model of local church leadership. GCM, then, relies on local church leaders to evaluate and provide spiritual leadership to its missionaries.
What if a GCM missionary was engaged in questionable practices?
All GCM employees must adhere to our statement of faith and standards of conduct. Should we ever learn of a situation where a GCM employee’s actions were brought into question, we would work purposefully and deliberately towards investigation. If wrongdoing were then uncovered, we would act in accordance with our standards and policies including, but not limited to, terminating employment from GCM.
I have read some criticisms of the Great Commission movement online.
There is a group of online detractors of the Great Commission movement. They typically identify their complaints with GCM, but their concerns are actually with churches associated with the historic Great Commission movement or with GCM Churches—not with GCM as a mission organization. They misrepresent GCM when they label any church associated with the Great Commission movement as a “GCM church.” As a mission agency and distinct 501c3, GCM is not under the spiritual authority of any one group of churches. We would direct those who desire more information to Great Commission Churches’ website or ask them to contact us directly.
Our desire is to be open to criticism and concerns and to receive them well. If you have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us here. All communication will be held in the strictest confidence.