Our High Calling in Jesus
President Update (June 2025) 

As GCI President, I wish that I could visit every nation and congregation where GCI has a presence. By God’s grace, I have been to dozens, and I come away encouraged and excited for how the kingdom of God is being demonstrated in each unique group of people. 

In some of my recent visits, I was thinking about highlights that I saw and experienced, points worth sharing. 

In two locations, there had been circumstances where the lead pastor needed to spend a significant amount of time away for either sickness or personal reasons. In both cases, the leadership team rose to the occasion to serve the congregation and to keep the rhythm of the Faith, Hope, and Love Avenues alive and moving forward. This is what REAL Teams do. 

GCI’s ministry tools found on our website you can find support material for REAL Teams. Let me remind you what this acronym stands for. 

• R – Relationally Connected: Genuine teammates who respect one another and share good chemistry. 

• E – Enthusiastically Engaged: A team with a clear focus, a can-do spirit, and passionate determination. 

• A – Affirming: A team that faces challenges together and are for one another. 

• L – Liberating Leaders: Teams that aren’t afraid to risk engaging, equipping, and empowering others. Teams that multiply. 

I encountered such teams in my recent travels, and it is my prayer to see this become the new normal for GCI. 

A second observation I made was by seeing our congregations engaging the tools supplied by our Home Office Media Team — such things as the video sermon bumpers, short scripts for offertories, Revised Common Lectionary sermon outlines, tracking with GCI’s worship calendar, and so on. It was encouraging to witness how each congregation contextualized these tools to take local ownership. This is exactly what our Media Team has in mind. 

The third observation was seeing and experiencing the tangible love of Jesus. Of course, our church members are so kind to welcome me as the denominational president, and they especially enjoy the occasions when Susan can be with me. The warm hugs and the kind words lift my spirit. But then seeing how they care for one another and any person who comes through their doors that day. I was especially moved when members would tell me background stories about a fellow member, and stories that build up rather than tear down. The challenge that we face is how will we integrate new people to find the same level of connection and belonging? 

Another challenge is taking this connecting and bonding love of Jesus outside the church walls. I have often thought that if a non-GCI person could spend even a short amount of time engaging with our members, that the non-GCI person would want to join in.  

Church, we need to be outside of the walls more frequently and intentionally. Then whatever activities or events that we sponsor, they must be crafted to engage with people and have in mind a “come back” event so that the relational engagement continues. 

In conclusion, I want to say that I am pleased that our Team Based – Pastor Led model of congregational management is working well. It allows for the participation of all the saints. The ministry tools from our Media Team are adding life and vibrancy to our Sunday worship services, and staying centered in Jesus is key. Intentionality in the Love Avenue is a growth area for us. If we simply direct the love we have received from Jesus with our neighbors, I believe good things will happen.  

Let’s keep pressing forward into the mark of the high calling in Jesus. He is our King, and he will keep working with us and in us to grow and expand his kingdom. Amen!