Great Commission Association of Churches History
The Beginnings
In the late '60s, a whole new generation of young people rebelled against the values and lifestyles of the day while
they searched for new meaning in life. In the midst of the disenchantment with the Vietnam War and the values of the
"establishment," youth turned to new forms of music, drugs and religions. America's younger generation hungered to
find real meaning in life, instead of the materialistic values that seemed to dominate America.
At the same time relatively new Christian organizations, such as Campus Crusade for Christ, the Navigators and
Operation Mobilization (an international missionary organization) were meeting college student's yearnings for
spiritual reality by bringing them the good news of Jesus Christ in a relevant way. Their emphasis on commitment,
sacrifice, maturity and evangelism was an example to the whole Christian church in America of what many
congregations seemed to lack strong personal interrelationships, solid Biblical training and a commitment to reaching
the world with the gospel.
As leaders such as Bill Bright (Campus Crusade), the late Dawson Trotman (Navigators) and George Verwer
(Operation Mobilization) spoke and wrote to Christians across the nation of the needs of the church in general and of
youth specifically, many Christian young people were inspired to give themselves to the task of reaching their needy
world with the gospel. This vision inspired fresh enthusiasm, a zealous heart for the gospel, and a commitment to
helping every believer to reach full maturity.
In 1968 and 1969, several Christians, affected by these men and their ideas, began to spend time together to discuss
how to practice these principles in the church. They were from different backgrounds, but all had the same heartbeat
to build churches that would reach the world with the gospel in their generation. Men such as Dennis Clark, who had
been a staff member with Campus Crusade; Jim McCotter, whose background was with the Plymouth Brethren
assemblies (a loose affiliation of Bible churches that began in the early 19th century in the British Isles); and Herschel
Martindale, who had been pastoring a Brethren assembly in Houston for several years. These men and others began
to dream how they, too, could start churches that would help every believer to become a mature witness, churches
that would affect whole cities and states and send gospel workers into every nation.
In the summer of 1970, these men decided, along with approximately 50 college-age Christians, to embark on a
summer evangelistic outreach at several Southwest university campuses. During the summer, many students
responded to the message of Christ's love. So it was decided to start churches in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Tucson,
Arizona; and Houston, Texas to take care of the many people whose lives had been affected. Several of the leaders
involved in the outreach chose to set aside their previous responsibilities and devote themselves to the development
of these churches. Some of those leaders went to Colorado to form a team that could travel to campuses to
strengthen those churches and start new ones. It would be years before they would be called the Great Commission
Association of Churches, but these were the beginnings.
The Campus Churches Begin to Grow
The first Great Commission churches focused on reaching college students with the gospel and training young
Christians for a future of reaching others across the nation and world. In these campus churches, many lives were
changed through the message of God's love as students discovered and grew excited about a new relationship with
God.
Drawing from the various backgrounds of the leaders of the churches, some of the distinctives that characterized this
loose association of campus churches were:
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An emphasis on the training of leadership within the context of the local church,
An emphasis on each Christian's responsibility to study the Bible and to obey its commands,
A family atmosphere with strong, caring relationships between the Christians in the church,
Each local church was self-governing, a standard of a plurality of leaders governing a church, and the desire
to be a part of reaching the entire world with the gospel in their generation.
Much of the teaching and doctrine for these young churches was based on that of evangelical groups such as
Crusade, Navigators and the Plymouth Brethren assemblies. Some of the teachings included: salvation by grace
alone through faith, eternal security of the believer, a literal interpretation of Scripture, baptism by immersion, and a
conviction that direct revelation and sign gifts (such as tongues) had ceased after the first century.
In these young churches, worship was informal and participatory, with much prayer and singing. There was a strong
expectation of the soon return of the Lord, and an aggressive emphasis on evangelism. These churches had no
formal relationship or common name, but unity and cooperation resulted from the close friendships between the
various leaders of the churches.
During summer, Christmas and spring breaks, many of the students took the opportunity to join in evangelistic
outreaches to reach out to other college campuses.
For example, during the semester break in January 1972, students and leaders from Kansas and Texas united as a
team to reach out at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. When many students turned to Christ, one of the largest
and most successful Great Commission campus churches was begun.
Young people from across the country came together in the summer of 1973 for a two-week training conference in
Knoxville, Tennessee. At the end of the conference, the participants split into teams and went to 14 campuses across
the nation for six weeks to share the message of Christ's love with students. Most of the teams had tremendous
success, with many students won to Christ.
In the fall, the teams returned to their home cities to resume their studies or jobs. However, 14 people from the team
that had been in Columbus, Ohio, returned to help establish a fellowship at Ohio State University. This church was to
become instrumental in establishing many other churches in the Midwest. By the end of 1973, there were about 15
student fellowships.
Moving Into the Community
During the ''80s, the churches focused more and more toward reaching out to and meeting the needs of those in the
community as students in the Great Commission churches graduated and began careers and families.
These churches began to learn to adapt and adjust their activities and meetings to be more appropriate for the needs
of families and singles in communities across the country. Many churches adapted their Sunday meetings with music
and teaching that were more effective in reaching those in the community, and developed small groups and ministries
that gave everyone a chance for involvement.
Community-oriented churches were started in the late '80s and early '90s in many metropolitan areas, including
Albuquerque, Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Indianapolis, San Antonio, and St. Louis. Many existing
campus churches developed strong programs for those in the community as well.
Members of these community churches began to learn how to reach out to the needs in their community - building
friendships and sharing Christ with co-workers, meeting physical and emotional needs among people in the
community, and helping families with the challenges of strengthening their marriages and raising their children
successfully. Many of the churches are now developing high school ministries as well, to help young people through
the difficult challenges of high school.
In the early '80s, after 10 years of rapid growth, some of the churches' leaders began to recognize the need for a
more formal association between the fellowships. Several of those church leaders moved to the Washington, D.C.
area in 1983 to provide leadership to the whole association of churches, which was then named Great Commission
International.
Most of those leaders are now involved in leadership of various regions of the country. The name of the association
was changed to the Great Commission Association of Churches in 1990.
Our Churches Move into the World
From the beginning, Great Commission churches have had a vision to be involved in reaching the world for Christ in
this generation.
That vision has captured the hearts of many of the church members and has shaped their plans and desires. Many in
the churches have an ardent desire to actually go to other countries to proclaim Christ and help believers in those
countries reach their nation with the gospel.
Our desire has been to learn here in the U.S., the skills that would be needed in reaching other countries - learning
how to win people to Christ and how to help those who become Christians to grow to maturity and confidence in their
faith. And as leaders have developed and become effective in this country, the association is starting to reach out in
other countries as well.
One way this is happening is through international students who have come to Christ here in the U.S. and have gone
back to establish churches in their own countries. For example, teams made up of international students and some
Americans went to Singapore and Hong Kong to establish churches in 1985.
Each year, conferences for international students have brought together students from dozens of countries. These
students get to know other students from their own and other countries, grow stronger in their relationship with God
and begin to build a vision for reaching their home countries. Friendships begun at these conferences have been
instrumental in the beginning of churches in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
In 1976, leaders of Great Commission began to work closely with a church in Honduras, helping the church to grow
and start new churches in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Great Commission has also sponsored summer international mission's projects in several countries to train students
and others interested in missions work and to lay the foundations for new churches in those countries. In this way,
churches are beginning in such countries as Venezuela, the Philippines and Germany.
Whenever possible, efforts have been made to work together with other Christians in reaching out to other countries.
For example, in Germany, Herschel Martindale, Great Commission's international missions director, worked closely
with an evangelical Bible Center near Hagen to plan both the 1990 and 1991 summer outreach teams and the
beginning of a new church led by a pastor from the U.S.
The Great Commission Association of Churches Today
On the campus, in the community and in other countries, the Great Commission Association of Churches looks
forward to doing its part of bringing to the world God's message of love and forgiveness.
Today, students are encouraged to strive for excellence in their academic studies, to pursue strong relationships with
their parents and to be a vital part of their churches. Campus organizations continue to affect students through small
groups, summer conferences and training seminars, and through solid Biblical teaching.
Since 1989, the college campus ministry has been reinforced by Great Commission's campus staff program. The
program helps individuals interested in full-time campus ministry learn how to develop a team of ministry partners to
support their work financially.
As a result, more and more full-time staff members are working to establish and continue strong campus
organizations. There are two training conferences a year for those interested in joining the program, which is flexible
to include staff interested in other opportunities for ministry as well, such as overseas.
In the community, Great Commission Churches are working with singles and families to help them learn how to
influence others at work and in their neighborhoods, how to raise strong families that honor God, and how to maintain
a strong devotional walk with God in the midst of today's complicated lifestyles.
Within the churches, leaders are trained not just in a knowledge of the Bible, but also in the godly character that is
necessary for them to love and serve others faithfully. These leaders are learning how to communicate effectively the
life changing principles of the Bible, how to experience God working in their lives through faith and prayer, and how to
influence others with the message of the gospel.
Great Commission churches are working with and learning from other Christian leaders and organizations so that
together we can win people to Christ and build strong churches to do God's will.
The organizational structure of the churches has evolved over the first 20 years in response to the needs of the
churches and the increased understanding of the leaders. Presently, each church is governed by a local board of
elders. On a national/ international level, the association is led by a board of directors consisting of men from different
regions of the country and the world. These national leaders work together with the local churches to help them make
progress and realize their goals.
In 1990, the name of the association of churches was changed from Great Commission International to Great
Commission Association of Churches. Also in 1990, a ministry organization was founded, called Great Commission
Ministries (GCM), to oversee and support the growing campus ministry staff support program.
In 1990, there were approximately 70 Great Commission churches in the United States and 11 churches
internationally.
Leaders of the Great Commission Association of Churches expectantly look forward to being a part of what God is
doing in reaching this world for Christ. As a part of GCAC, we are, of course, an evangelical church that believes in all
the fundamental teachings found in the Bible.