HISTORY OF GREAT COMMISSION CHURCHES

(Taken from the GCC website at time of dissolution)

GCC was formed to serve a relational network of churches that began on college campuses in 1970. The goal of those churches was to bring the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to the world. An example of how one of the early leaders was challenged with this vision is told in the following story. In 1969, Herschel Martindale, a Plymouth Brethren pastor, in Houston, Texas, went to a conference hosted by Campus Crusade for Christ, where he heard Bill Bright speaking on reaching the world for Christ in this generation. This experience so stirred Herschel that he decided to dedicate his life to fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. (Click on to the video below to hear Herschel tell his story.)

This kind of passion to reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ through local churches characterized affiliated churches throughout GCC’s history. The following is the history of GCC. 

GCC'S EARLY FORMATION

Jesus Christ, the Lord of His church, has been building His church throughout the world for the last two thousand years. He is also the One who has built the churches affiliated with GCC. No one man or group of men can take credit for what has happened in GCC. Jesus Christ alone gets the glory.

In the formative years, leaders in Great Commission churches were inspired by two other groups: Plymouth Brethren with its emphasis on the New Testament church and the churches and ministries affiliated with the Lausanne Movement and Call2All with their focus on reaching every person in the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thus the vision of GCC: Great Commission Churches, New Testament Christianity in Action Today.

GREAT COMMISSION CHURCHES IN THE 1970'S: EVERY MEMBER A MINISTER

In the summer of 1970, a group of college-age young people got on an old school bus and shared the gospel of Jesus Christ on five college campuses throughout the southwestern U.S. Through their efforts, many people received the gift of eternal life and several fellowships were formed over the next few years.

These young people had a passion for God, a commitment to His Word, and a zeal to share Christ wherever they went. From the beginning, they believed, practiced, and taught the biblical truth that "every member is a minister." They believed that since all believers are priests, a person need not be a clergyman to baptize or serve the Lord's Supper. The campus fellowships that were started considered themselves churches, baptized new believers, and observed communion. Their structure was very simple, usually meeting in homes or in campus buildings.

In the 1970s, they had no national organization, no national structure, and no central leader. Jesus Christ was exalted as the Leader of His church. There was no doctrinal statement or agreed upon articles of association; the Bible alone was the guide. Yet, there was a unity based upon four factors: a common love for Christ and the Scriptures; a zeal to fulfill the Great Commission through the New Testament Church; a devotion to a covenant love and unity that went beyond the local church; and a commitment to meet together nationally and regionally as pastors and as churches at conferences.

The early leaders believed that the church, modeled after the pattern in the New Testament, was to be the primary vehicle for fulfilling the Great Commission. They emphasized the church should be governed by a plurality of elders, also called "overseers" and "pastors" (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Peter 5:1). Elders were trained within the church and were appointed based upon the character qualities described in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

Some of the pastors/elders in the early years were Herschel Martindale, an effective Bible teacher, Jim McCotter, a visionary leader and fruitful evangelist, and Dennis Clark, a gifted musician and former staff member with Campus Crusade. (Jim was the primary catalyst in the beginning years and he had the highest profile nationally from 1970 until he left Great Commission in 1986 to pursue business ventures. For an explanation of GCC's historical relationship with Jim McCotter, click here.)

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREAT COMMISSION CHURCHES

In 1983, leaders from various fellowships around the country moved to the Washington D.C. area to seek the Lord as to how He might want them to organize nationally. These men recognized that during New Testament times, as well as throughout all of church history, God has raised up men to minister regionally, nationally, and internationally by starting churches and providing continued guidance and support to those churches. As a result, Great Commission International (GCI) was formed in 1983. In 1990, a denominational organization was formed: Great Commission Association of Churches. Later the shortened name “Great Commission Churches” was used in public communications.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, GCC experienced another period of growth. The majority of the new churches were planted in U.S. communities, rather than college campuses. The community churches were started mostly with college graduates in cities that were near campus locations.

Also during this time, a significant change was made by GCC leaders in their approach to leadership. Although they had always promoted the importance of humility and leaders being servants, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, GCC leaders put a greater emphasis on servant leadership, personal and organizational accountability, unity with the body of Christ, and responding humbly to criticisms. During this time GCC pastors pursued reconciliation with former members through Project Care and wrote the Errors and Weaknesses paper in 1991, in which wrong practices and imbalanced teachings from the past were acknowledged. This chapter in Great Commission Churches' history is another example that shows that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is far greater than the sins, failures, and weaknesses of men. 

In the early 1990s, Great Commission pastors developed the Articles of Association, which were formally approved in 1994. According to the Articles, local churches had final authority over their affairs under the Lord Jesus Christ, and were voluntary members of the association. Although each church was autonomously governed with pastors appointed and employed by the local church, each church cooperated with the other churches in the association and with other ministries in advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In 2002, Great Commission Association of Churches was accepted into the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. In 2007, Great Commission Churches joined the National Association of Evangelicals. GCC was a member of both organizations until the GCC organization dissolved in 2020.

INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY

Each Great Commission church developed an "Acts 1:8 Plan," designed to proclaim the gospel in its city, state, nation, and the world. This included partnering with other like-minded churches in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

Churches were started in Asia,  primarily through sending teams of international students from U.S. colleges back to their home countries. Churches were started in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, India, and Philippines. The European ministry began in 1991 with an outreach to Dortmund, Germany. Churches were started in Germany, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland, as well as ministries in other European countries. Also, Great Commission Europe was formed to mobilize and support missionaries to plant churches in new countries in Europe. Great Commission Latin America was formed to start and support churches in Latin America. Also, because many churches began on college campuses, a major focus was on reaching international students who live in the United States.

GCC DISSOLUTION

In 2020, GCC was dissolved as an association. You can read the statement by the board here.