GCI Update
Connecting Members & Friends of GCI
Header Banner

Year: 2013

Church trends

Here are some interesting church development-related trends compiled by Mission America.

Creation Views Shift

46% of Americans believe in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years. The prevalence of this view is essentially unchanged from 30 years ago when Gallup first asked the question. 32% believe humans evolved, but with God’s guidance; 15% say humans evolved, but that God had no part in the process. (ToddRhoades.com 5/15/13)

Nomads

Nomads is a term assigned by the Barna Group to 18- to 29-year-olds with a Christian background who walk away from church engagement but still consider themselves Christians. A person in this group typically has trouble identifying with a church or a particular “brand” of Christianity, but would consider themselves, broadly, a Christian. 43% of young American adults with a Christian background believe going to church and having Christian friends is optional. 25% say faith and religion just aren’t that important to them. 23% say they used to be very involved in their church, but they just don’t fit in anymore. This is the group most likely to say they love Jesus but not the church — or that they are “spiritual but not religious.” (Barna Group 5/9/13)

Prodigals

Prodigals is a term assigned by the Barna Group to 18- to 29-year-olds who have lost their faith. They used to claim a personal faith, but no longer claim any Christian belief. Many say they are as fairly certain they won’t ever return to the Christian faith. 21% of Millennials with a Christian background say Christian beliefs don’t make sense to them. 20% admit to having had a negative experience in church or with Christians. 19% say their spiritual needs cannot be met by Christianity. This group often gets lumped in with the “Nones,” even though they might not be totally opposed to faith and spirituality. (Barna Group 5/9/13)

Exiles

Exiles is a term assigned by the Barna Group to 18- to 29-year-olds who struggle with the Christian faith. They have a tough time finding a place in a church setting but choose to remain within an institutional church context. They feel “lost” somewhere between their commitments to church and their desire to stay connected with the world. They struggle to connect their faith or church with their everyday lives, and yet they continue in their Christian faith despite these hurdles. 21% remain Christian and continue to attend a church but find church to be a difficult place for them to live out their faith. 38% say they desire to follow Jesus in a way that connects with the world they live in. One-third say God is more at work outside the church than inside the church, and they want to be a part of that. 32% of American 20-somethings with a Christian background says they want to be a Christian without separating themselves from the world around them. (Barna Group 5/9/13)

Multisite Churches and Leadership Development

Two movements among Christian congregations in the U.S. today continue to gain momentum; churches with multiple locations (multisite) and leadership development (discipleship). In addition, a growing number of churches are intentionally developing a culture of generosity, an effort to help carry the gospel message outside the church, says the director of new media and technology for the Leadership Network. Todd Rhoades, of Leadership Network said, “We’re seeing new waves of innovation in the movement itself: including international campuses, online campuses, the move from big cities to rural environments, and more churches partnering to redeem facilities and struggling churches through church mergers.” (Christian Post 5/15/13)

Developing Leadership Qualities

According to a new Barna Group survey, 82% of Christian adults believe the U.S. is facing a crisis of leadership because there aren’t enough leaders. 58% of Christians in this country identify themselves as leaders (58%). The survey asked leaders what they would most like to improve about their leadership. The area where they said they want the most help is courage (27%), followed by a desire to grow in terms of discipline (17%), vision (15%) and passion for God (13%). Evangelical leaders want to grow in courage (27%), discipline (25%), passion for God (14%) and vision (9%). (Barna Research 4/18/13)

Father’s Day

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Tkach dad and son
Tkach dad and son

June 16 is Father’s Day in the USA. As it approaches, I find myself reminiscing about both my dad, Joseph Tkach, Sr. and my wife’s dad, Don Hall. I look at pictures of them as well as my grandfathers, all of whom have joined with God in eternity.

Don Hall and his wife May

Though I have visited Greece where my mother’s father was born, I have not yet visited Eastern Europe or Russia from where my dad’s folks immigrated. Doing so is on my “bucket list.” I want especially to visit the St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum to view Rembrandt’s famous painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son. This masterpiece (pictured below) is over eight and a half feet tall and six and a half feet wide. Apparently, this gives the viewer an experience similar to a Cinemax movie—you are invited into the action rather than just watching from outside. Some people spend hours looking at the painting.

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Return of the Prodigal Son, c. 1661–1669. Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
Rembrandt van Rijn, The Return of the Prodigal Son, c. 1661–1669. Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.

Rembrandt’s painting captures, in a remarkable way, the essence of Jesus’ well-known parable recorded in Luke 15. While the wayward son in the parable was “still a long way off,” his father saw him and “was filled with compassion” (verse 20). The Greek conveys the idea of an inward movement of concern and mercy. This moved the father to run to his son where he “threw his arms around him.” Rembrandt’s picture vividly portrays this warm embrace, which was extended to the son before any words of repentance could be spoken.

The God portrayed by Jesus in the parable and by Rembrandt in the painting has a heart that is quite different from that shown by many religious folk. They are like the older son in the parable who was jealous of the gracious affection showered on his returning brother.

Rembrandt depicts this “unprodigal” older son as a drab, almost ghostly figure, lurking in the background, almost out of the picture. He is upset at the extravagant outpouring of love and grace on someone who surely does not deserve it. He feels alienated, not only from his brother, but from his father too.

My dad had a favorite saying, “If you don’t feel close to God, you must ask yourself—who moved?” Our Father in heaven is one who is always working to close the distance—in fact, he runs to close the distance. This is the Father who Jesus came to reveal.

Jesus taught us to think that way. Peter, reflecting an attitude like the older son once asked Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22 NASB). This is forgiveness without limits.

God’s grace challenges our sense of righteousness and calls us all to respond, whether we think of ourselves as the repentant sinner or his (self) righteous brother. God’s incomparable, limitless grace obliterates our need to judge who is more worthy to enjoy the benefits of God’s kingdom. We all need mercy and grace rather than the justice of rewards and punishment.

Please receive this painting by Rembrandt as my Father’s Day card to you. May it help you appreciate more deeply the love between a father and his children. May it also encourage us to seek to repair any damaged relationships. In doing so, we will come to understand even more the deep love our Father in heaven has for us. All of us.

Your brother in Christ’s service,

Joseph Tkach

PS: In next week’s Update, we’ll publish the final installment in Gary Deddo’s helpful series on interpreting Scripture. I hope this series is a blessing to you. I know that many pastors make copies to share with their members.

David Dizon speech

GCI member David Dizon, son of GCI pastor Bermie and Carmelita Dizon, was named valedictorian of his class at John Muir High School in Pasadena, California. David delivered a keynote speech at his graduation (watch it below). He was trained in public speaking through speech clubs in his GCI home church and through leadership training in GCI camps and short-term missions.

http://youtu.be/2rcvvYx08wA

Floods in Europe

This prayer update is from Santiago Lange, one of GCI’s missions directors for Europe and national director in Germany.

In recent days, parts of Germany, Austria and eastern Europe have been experiencing some of the most severe flooding on record as the rivers involved have not been able to contain the rising water. In Germany the southern and eastern regions have been particularly hit hard. Significant cities like Passau and Halle have suffered considerable damage. About 26,000 people in the city of Magdeburg have been evacuated. Several German dikes have been under heavy pressure and the overall situation is still considered by experts to be quite serious. In Austria several towns and cities were partly under water. In Hungary, Budapest is in danger. According to the news there have been several casualties and the physical property damages will be in the billions of Euros.

Thankfully, at this point, we have received no reports of any church members in the flooded regions having been directly affected.

Please, do join me in praying for the victims of this natural catastrophe.

Life Clubs

Several GCI Life Clubs are now operating in various locations around the world. These clubs are similar to the Spokesman Clubs held by most GCI churches in times past. While most Spokesman Clubs were for men only, Life Clubs are designed to accommodate men, women and teens.

If you would like to start a Life Club in your congregation, you can email Geoff Sole at geoff@geoffsole.co.uk. Geoff can provide you with club manuals and other materials to help you start. Following is a report from Geoff on some of the current clubs.

Life Club ChennaiGCI’s churches in Bangalore, Chennai and Trichy, India have recently started Life Clubs. Pictured at left is the first meeting of the Chennai club. Francis Ambrose who directed the meeting said, “It was a hit among the young members.”

A recent meeting of the Watford, England Life Club included a speech by George Campbell who said he was born in 1928, the same year as Mickey Mouse! George remembers the Second World War well and talked about the faith and trust of King George VI and the National Days of Prayer.

The GCI church that meets in the south part of Cape Town, South Africa held its first Life Club in February. The club was requested by the congregation’s youth. Pictured below are some of the club members.

Life Club Cape Town

Joe Kotora

Long-time GCI elder Joe Kotora is hospitalized and needs our prayers.

Joe worked at church headquarters many years ago and more recently served GCI churches in Pennsylvania. He was hospitalized recently with intestinal bleeding related to treatment of his heart condition. He was in critical condition and had to be given seven units of blood before he was stabilized. He is quite weak and frail and having trouble with his heart, making it hard to walk and breathe.

His family reports that though he is getting tired of it all he is trying to keep in good spirits. Thanks for your prayers for Joe and for his family in this difficult time.

Cards may be sent to

Joe Kotora
7323 Appling Ridge Dr
Cordova, TN 38018

Alaska church planting

Alaska CMM 2
Randy Bloom (at left) and Rod Koop (at right) meet with GCI Alaska church leaders.

Randy Bloom, who directs GCI’s Church Multiplication Ministries (CMM), recently visited Alaska for meetings with leaders of GCI’s Kenai and Anchorage congregations (see the group picture below). The focus of the meetings was how these churches can establish a church planting network to support the planting of new GCI churches in the region.

Rod Koop from the Foursquare Church joined the discussions. Rod who formerly served as Foursquare’s US director of church planting, now is Foursquare’s mission director in Alaska. He has offered to assist GCI in recruiting, preparing and deploying GCI church planters in Alaska.

Interested in church planting in Alaska or elsewhere in the US? Email Randy.Bloom@gci.org or go to http://cmm.gci.org/.

Alaska CMM

 

NAE Update

Here are excerpts from the May 2013 Update of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE).

Building Partnerships to Eradicate Modern-day Slavery

In April, the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships released its extensive report on human trafficking. The document urges the President and his administration to elevate human trafficking on his agenda and offered ten recommendations for the President to consider. (read more)

Become a Prayer Partner for Immigration Reform

Join other NAE members in praying for our leaders as they discuss and vote on immigration reform proposals. The “Pray4Reform Prayer Challenge” will provide timely prayer requests over the next 13 weeks. For this week, pray by name for the 18 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who are now considering bipartisan immigration reform proposals. (sign up)

The Hill’s Congress Blog: Bipartisan Bill Would Ease Prison Overcrowding

Thirty years ago, the National Association of Evangelicals adopted a policy statement condemning America’s overcrowded and non-rehabilitative prisons… Looking back three decades later, it is remarkable how true our statement remains, and how little policymakers have done to improve the situation in our prisons. (read more)

NAE Supports Tax Credit for Education

The NAE joined an amici brief in support of New Hampshire’s tax credit program for businesses that wish to help students attending private schools. The program is being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. (read more)

Event Spotlight: Bread for the World’s National Gathering

Join other anti-poverty advocates in Washington, D.C., June 8-11. Bread for the World’s National Gathering will include workshops on poverty-focused development assistance, advocacy in the 21st century, moving Congress, and building community coalitions, as well as opportunities to worship, network and meet with congressional leaders. (read more)

Starting new small groups

faithtalkOne of the most effective ways for churches to multiply disciples of Jesus and disciplemaking leaders is to start new small groups—particularly ones that reach out to people not currently attending a church.

For assistance in this important area, here are two helpful resources:

– The Importance of Launching New Groups—an article by Thom Rainer at http://thomrainer.com/2013/05/15/the-importance-of-launching-new-groups

– FaithTalk Equipper—GCI’s evangelistic small group resource website at http://faithtalkgroups.blogspot.com/

GCI Update

Follow Us

Designed by PlainJoe Studios
© 2025 Grace Communion International. All rights reserved