Global Great Commission Network -  Network Update

Global Great Commission Network Update
January 2020  Newsletter # 27
Greetings  

Ten years ago some of us were making preparations to attend the Tokyo 2010 Global Mission Consultation held May 11-14, 2010.  We can rejoice for the Great Commission progress in the last 10 years.  We also recognize that much work remains.

One of the major trends in missions is the recognition of the need for global collaboration.  The current edition of EMQ (Evangelical Missions Quarterly) just declared "the 2020's as the "Decade of Collaboration."    As a follow-up to Tokyo 2010, the Global Great Commission Network has been working to help facilitate collaboration and cooperation in several ways, including at a grassroots level.  In this newsletter we share part 4 of 4 of Dr. Marvin Newell's review of the Tokyo Declaration .  His article starts with this reminder:

"Making disciples of every people in our generation is too large a task to accomplish alone, and too important not to do together."  

He further reminds us that the Tokyo Declaration was not be be agreed on in 2010 and then shelved and forgotten.  "It is a living document crafted and endorsed nearly 10 years ago with ongoing significance today.  It is the basis of our going forward together in cooperative efforts to 'make disciples of every people in our generation.'

This newsletter also completes our 4 part series on GGCN Values.  The value of Unity in Diversity begins with the statement "We acknowledge our diversity and value the differences in the church."

Revisiting the Tokyo Declaration:  Part 4 of 4
by Marvin Newell, GGCN Steering Committee Member and Tokyo Declaration Principle Author
 
Making disciples of every people in our generation is too large a task to accomplish alone, and too important not to do together. Those who attended the Tokyo Consultation recognized this reality. Therefore they took action. They joined together in promise as follows::
           
We pledge to obey the Great Commission. We covenant together to use all that God has entrusted to us in this obedience. We will seek to know where people are unreached, overlooked, ignored, or forgotten. We will pray for the Holy Spirit to give strength and guidance as we join others in changing that neglect, to love and make disciples in the way of the Cross.
 
Accordingly, the final paragraph of the Tokyo Declaration remains significant. It recognized the cooperative effort needed to finish the task. Here is how the Declaration concludes:
 
Finally, we recognize that finishing the task will demand effective cooperative efforts of the entire global body of believers. To facilitate cooperation and on-going coordination between mission structures worldwide, we agree to the necessity of a global network of mission structures. With this in mind, we leave Tokyo pledging cooperation with one another, and all others of like faith, with the singular goal of "making disciples of every people in our generation."
 
On the final day of the Tokyo Consultation, representatives from thirty networks and mission agencies from around the globe signed the Declaration. In so doing, they pledged their full support to cooperate together in the task of making disciples globally until the task is completed. A list of networks and structures that signed the Declaration is found at its end.
 
However, it is the hope of the Global Great Commission Network that many more will sign the document. All are invited to do so. Opportunity is provided for additional individuals and mission structures/organizations, including agencies, associations, churches, networks, and other ministries pursuing Great Commission activities to sign the Tokyo Declaration. If you have yet to put your signature to it, we encourage you to do so. It is easily accessed by going to  https://www.ggcn.org/tokyo-declaration/.
 
In closing, this series of revisits to the Tokyo Declaration has been intended to show that the Document was not to be agreed on and then shelved and forgotten. It is a living document, crafted and endorsed nearly 10 years ago with ongoing significance today. It is the basis of our going forward together in cooperative efforts to "make disciples of every people in our generation."

Global Great Commission Network Core Value Number 6 :
 
Unity in Diversity

We acknowledge our diversity and value the differences in the Church. We conclude that, "The present day mission task is so large and complex that no one church, agency, national missions movement, or regional mission block can take it on alone or independently." It is imperative that we commit ourselves to intentionally forming strategic relationships, not only with those to whom we are similar, but with those who represent the diverse activities associated with mission. We exist to encourage these relationships and to foster them whenever possible.
Closing

As per Dr. Newell's encouragement, if you haven't "signed" the Tokyo Declaration for yourself or your organization, you can do that here.  Join with the hundreds of others around the world who have pledged themselves in cooperative efforts to 'finish the task'.   That is the starting point for partnership with GGCN and provides opportunities to connect both with the global church and to local, grassroots expressions of GGCN that are emerging around the world. 

To partner with GGCN, we need to hear from you.  The Africa coordinator can be reached at [email protected].  The Asia/India coordinator can be reached at [email protected].  Or write us at [email protected] for other areas or register and participate online on  Connect , our online, secure, collaborative platform.  You are needed to join with others in creative and committed ways to be part of what God wants to do through our working together.  

Many Blessings!

David Hupp, for the GGCN Global Steering Team
Global Great Commission Network | [email protected] | www.ggcn.org
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