The idea for Global International Church Network (GICN) was birthed during a time of worship and prayer at Summit 2011 of the Fellowship of European International Churches (FEIC). There was a sense that God was leading us to invest in creating a global network to connect international churches relationally.
In 2012, joining with the Assemblies of God World Mission, the Global International Church Network (GICN) was launched and a development team came together to establish the foundation and functionality of this network.
The language we used to define GICN and to describe who we were was crafted and expressed in this way:
“Global International Church Network (GICN) is a relational connection for a global network of international churches. Thus, we exist to inspire regional development, influence national initiatives and ultimately impact our individual international churches on a local level.
Together we celebrate our significant diversity, are committed to the strategic development of our member churches and are called to make a spiritual difference in our international communities.”
We remain committed to these things and yet we have come to realize the need to re-position GICN so that we can align ourselves with the wonderful reality of emerging regional IC development.
Here are the new priorities that we believe will best position us as a global relational network:
* We will assume a supportive role and openly advocate for the directive voice to be regionally expressed.
* We will primarily represent our collective presence, provide relational connection and create relevant communication for each region.
* We will offer an online presence where one can gain access to our extended global international church network.
As the GICN relational leader, my role is to support each regional representative and to serve our AGWM Regional Directors as desired/requested.
I believe this defines us well, distinguishes us from regional networks and directs us in a more focused manner.
Our website is undergoing a modest change in layout and content to accurately reflect this newly declared position/posture that GICN is assuming.
You will continue to see my blog on the website as well as regular features such as:
* Reports from representatives in our six regions: Africa, Asia Pacific, Eurasia, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean and Northern Asia.
* Our new column, ‘Heart to Heart with a Church Planter’, as well as news, photos and information.
* Guest blog posts featuring inspirational articles.
I believe that this new position and fresh website content approach will give us greater access than ever before and provide the long-term platform stability we need to maintain our collective capacity.
I hope you’ll continue the journey with us!
Terry Hoggard
GICN Relational Leader