Church Network Leaves NAE
Great Commission International (GCI), a Maryland-based network of 70 evangelical
churches, last month withdrew from membership in the National Association of Evangelicals
(NAE). The NAE had postponed the renewal of GCI’s membership to investigate questions
about the group’s structure and complaints about its practices.
A review of GCI’s initial application, which was accepted in 1987, revealed that
it had joined as an organization when in fact it is a church, said NAE executive
director Billy Melvin. Great Commission officials met in February with Melvin, NAE
president John White, and Arthur Borden, president of the Evangelical Council for
Financial Accountability, to discuss the application. GCI subsequently decided
to withdraw.
Melvin emphasized his belief that GCI leaders did not intend to deceive the NAE
on its application. He blamed the discrepancy on a “misunderstanding of the definitions”
of NAE membership on the part of GCI.
Several Christian cult-watching groups have described GCI as “aberrant” and “quasi-cultic,”
citing, among other things, authoritarian leadership in some of its local churches.
Melvin said the NAE was aware of such complaints and discussed them with GCI leaders.
GCx Web Library
Resources on the Great Commission church movement
aka Great Commission Churches, Great Commission Ministries, Great Commission Association of Churches, Great Commission International, Great Commission Students, The Blitz Movement
Resources on the Great Commission church movement
aka Great Commission Churches, Great Commission Ministries, Great Commission Association of Churches, Great Commission International, Great Commission Students, The Blitz Movement
Christianity Today, April 7th, 1989