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The Great Commission Association of Churches (GCAC) is an evangelical Christian association of churches with headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Formalized as a movement in 1970, GCAC has grown (both in number of associated churches and local church membership) through its focus on church planting in the United States, and more recently, internationally. Particularly between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, newspapers quoted various sources who criticized GCAC, alleging authoritarian practices and a high degree of control over members (see Criticism). GCAC acknowledged some specific weaknesses in a 1991 statement, while claiming other allegations were untrue. GCAC is currently a member of the National Association of Evangelicals and various other evangelical groups (see Partnerships).

History

The Great Commission Association of Churches (GCAC) is the current name of an Evangelical Christian association of churches that started as a movement in 1965, though not generally recognized as a movement until 1970. The movement at first avoided any denominational affiliation, becoming known in the early 1970s as "The Blitz" or "The Blitz Movement," then as Great Commission International (GCI) when leaders formed a formal organization in 1983. In 1989, GCI became GCAC ("Great Commission Association of Churches"), and the campus and international mission agency for GCAC became known as Great Commission Ministries (GCM); the campus ministry prior to this was known as Great Commission Students (GCS), although GCS did not employ full-time missionaries or do international work. Today, the "right hand of fellowship" ministry to international churches and ministries is known as the Great Commission Association (GCA). GCAC generally refers to itself as Great Commission Churches (GCC) in public communications.

Background

Roots

In 1965, a 20-year-old Jim McCotter (James Douglas McCotter) left his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado and moved to Greeley, Colorado in an attempt to recreate the New Testament Church, a church model he believed no existing Christian denomination was emulating fully.

McCotter, whose family's religious background was with the Plymouth Brethren, has stated that his desire to form the movement stemmed from his belief that God had shown him in the Bible's Book of Acts a strategy instructing Christians on how God wanted to use church planting to "reach the world for Christ" within one generation. This strategy came to be known as the "Heavenly Vision," and was a cornerstone belief of the early movement. McCotter also believed that the Bible was instructing every Christian to emulate the actions of the Apostle Paul's life as he imitated Christ and that this was the model life for all Christians to imitate based upon Paul's exhortation in 1 Corinthians 11:1.

Early members believed they were returning to the lost lifestyle of the first century Christians. This lifestyle included a devotion to discipleship which has been criticized and compared to the "Shepherding Movement."

After arriving in Greeley, McCotter attended and began sharing his faith at the University of Northern Colorado campus. According to McCotter, by the end of the first year 12 people had joined him, after 1966 there were thirty, and in the following years it "doubled and tripled." The movement eventually spread to other cities in Colorado, as well as Las Cruces, New Mexico, in the form of missions or "works".

McCotter dropped out of college to focus on ministry full-time, and was planning to move down to Pueblo, Colorado to continue his efforts; however, in 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War, he was drafted into the United States Army. During basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, McCotter met Dennis Clark and on McCotter's return from Vietnam in 1970 he met Herschel Martindale. Clark and Martindale would become two of the founders of the movement in the summer of 1970.

"Blitz Movement" Begins

In 1970, under the leadership of Jim McCotter, Dennis Clark, Herschel Martindale, and others, approximately 30 college-age Christians embarked on a summer-long evangelical outreach known as "The Blitz" to several university campuses in the Southwestern United States. "The Blitz" was named after the Blitzkrieg military offensive of World War 2. These 2 or 3 day events used singing, tract distribution, and sidewalk canvassing to draw crowds and spread the word.

As the movement expanded, additional mission outreaches and training conferences took place. In the summer of 1973, nearly 1,000 people attended the movement's national conference. The conference was followed by the "blitzing" of fifteen new campuses and by the end of 1973, about 15 "works" had been established.

In the late 1970s, selected newspapers, former members, and select watchdog groups began to publicly criticize the movement's practices. This continued into the 1980s and early 1990s. (See the Criticism section for more information.)

Great Commission International

In 1983, Great Commission International (GCI) was formed. Led by Jim McCotter and Dennis Clark, it was formed to provide services such as publishing and fund raising for the developing association.

In 1983, GCI launched the first summer Leadership Training conference which attracted college students for a summer of intensive training in evangelism and discipleship. The LT program continues today under the leadership of Great Commission Ministries.

In 1985, GCI undertook a mass outreach and expansion effort called Invasion '85. During this effort, teams were sent to 50 college campuses with a goal of starting new campus ministries. While many "works" were successfully established during Invasion '85, most of them did not continue. According to GCAC, "team members were not properly trained nor were they given adequate support."

GCI continued to be scrutinized in some newspapers and by former members of the movement, and in 1985 several conferences were held with the purpose of helping former members of churches that were part of GCI "recover from the emotional and psychological damage they'd experienced" while in the movement. Shortly thereafter, Wellspring Retreat and Recovery Center, the world's first accredited cult and abusive religion recovery center, was formed by several ex-members of the movement.

In late 1986, founder Jim McCotter announced his resignation from GCI, stating a desire to utilize his entrepreneurial abilities in an attempt to influence secular media for Christ. Two years later, Jim moved to Florida and has not since attended a church affiliated with the movement, with the exception of the 2003 Faithwalkers conference.

At this point in GCAC history, its churches claimed approximately 5,000 members.

Maryland political controversy

In 1986, 12 members of a GCI church ran for state office in Maryland, prompting attention from the national media, and speculation from Maryland political leaders that it was a concerted effort by GCI to enter the political arena. None of the GCI church members running for office were thought to have had prior political aspirations, yet many filed papers to run on the same day, June 30. In a Washington Post article, GCI leaders denied formal involvement, stating that each person's decision to run was made independent of GCI leadership. Former and current members were quoted in the article as saying that GCI took an active interest in politics, was heavily involved in member's personal decisions, and had instructed members of GCI churches during a two-month training seminar to distribute campaign literature for church member candidates, with canvassers being advised to "cover religious bumper stickers on their vehicles with political ones." On August 30, at a news conference held by Republican and Democratic Party leaders, a "shouting match" broke out as the GCI candidates rebuked Democratic and Republican leaders for "raising religion as an issue in the election and labeling their beliefs as 'cults.'" Republican Chairman Albert Bullock accused GCI candidates of practicing "deceptive campaign tactics," and said: "If this (campaign) isn't orchestrated, then this is an incredible coincidence." On September 11, 1986, The Montgomery County Sentinel reported that none of the candidates won election.

GCAC and GCM formed

In 1989, Great Commission International changed its name to the Great Commission Association of Churches (GCAC), and is known today as Great Commission Churches (GCC). Also in 1989, Great Commission Ministries (GCM), under the initial leadership of Dave Bovenmyer, was formed. Its aim was to "mobilize people into campus ministry by training them to raise financial support and by equipping them for campus ministry."

In 1996, the Internal Revenue Service selected GCM as a test case to eliminate the common practice known as "deputation," (allows non-profit mission organizations to raise funds for its activities, while allowing contributors to claim income tax deduction) "setting off alarm bells throughout the Christian parachurch community." The IRS reaffirmed GCM's non-profit status.

Today

Approximately 60 churches in the United States are affiliated with GCA, and approximately a dozen internationally in Europe, Asia and Latin America. Together these churches claimed over 43,000 members in 2005. According to a 2001 Ivy Jungle report as cited by John Schmalzbauer of Missouri State University, there were 6,900 college students involved in GCM. GCA maintains an administrative support staff in Columbus, Ohio. As part of the GCC affiliation, GCC churches give a tenth of its budget to the association.

GCC publishes the periodical "Daylights" and other doctrinal papers, written principally by pastors within the movement. Regional and national conferences are attended by both leaders and members of churches in the movement. Conferences include Faithwalkers, High School Leadership Training (HSLT), and National Pastor's Conferences.

Beliefs and Values

Statement of Faith and Core Values

GCC's Statement of Faith can be found on their website. GCC also maintains a Core Values Statement.

Other beliefs

Women and authority

GCC does not believe women should have authority over men in the church, or be in a position where they would teach men in the church. GCAC Executive Director John Hopler explained this belief in a September 23, 2004 GCC publication:

(the Apostle) Paul is clear: Women shouldn't be in an authority position over men in the church. Nor should women teach in a way that places themselves in authority over men. One argues, "This makes women second-rate citizens in the church." Scripture is clear: A person's value is in Christ, not their position.

In its GCLI materials, GCC reproduces a part of John Piper and Wayne Grudem book "Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood" and endorses the Danvers Statement , an attempt at a consensus among Evangelical leaders representing the complementarian view in 1988, now advocated by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

Authority of local leaders and church government beliefs

According to GCC, its churches are "independent under the Lordship of Jesus Christ," cooperating within the association in conferences, mission efforts and for accountability in doctrine and ethical practices. Being part of the association requires that a church agree to Biblical and ethical standards set by the association. Final authority rests with the pastors of each local church.

Leadership education

GCAC states that it places great emphasis on raising leaders from within its congregation, based on the character qualities detailed in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. This is contrary to the more common practice among Christian denominations of hiring pastors from other churches/cities. It is not required that GCAC pastors have formal seminary training. However, a number of GCC pastors and staff have received training from specific Bible Schools and Seminaries. Certain schools are listed as partners on the Great Commission website (See Partners list for specifics). GCC also founded the Great Commission Leadership Institute (GCLI) in 1999 to support the development of pastors within the local churches. The GCLI program includes teaching materials written by pastors and leaders from across GCC as well as regional "Going Deeper" conferences for discussion of doctrine and values.

Partnerships

GCAC, and its associated bodies, is a member of several evangelical organizations including the National Association of Evangelicals, Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, Evangelical Fellowship of Missions Agencies and the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association.

GCAC works with a number of organizations that share its aims including Samaritan's Purse, Global Pastors Network , Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, Wycliffe Bible Translators and Reformed Theological Seminary.

GCM maintains a Council of Reference . These members do not run or have a say in the management of GCM, but affirm their support for the ministry.

GCC/GCM work with notable people including Dr. Rick Warren, Dr. Howard Hendricks and Tom Short.

Chi Alpha, the campus ministry of the Assemblies of God, suggests parents check out GCM, among eight others, if there is no Chi Alpha on their students' campus.

Subsidiary organizations

Great Commission Ministries

Great Commission Ministries (GCM) is the campus and international mission agency for Great Commission Association of Churches.

In 2004, Boundless webzine (associated with Focus on the Family published an article listing GCM as one of the "ten top college ministries across the U.S.", saying that their strategy of "seeking to incorporate students into the starting of a church based campus ministry" "has been effective to attract and involve thousands of students." The article also stated that "Their outstanding Board of Directors and dedicated staff are committed to world missions and leadership development and thus supplying the church around the world with a fresh supply of equipped laborers.'

From 2002 through 2007, New Life Church received much media attention for its building project at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. According to the Michigan Daily, New Life moved into its new building and had its first service on February 11, 2007. New Life purchased an abandoned Delta Zeta sorority house in 2002. GCM had approved the building project in 1999 and had helped New Life raise funds for the $2.3 million dollar project. The first site plan developed by New Life was rejected by the Ann Arbor Planning Commission in mid-2004, prompting them to file a federal lawsuit under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. In April, 2005, a settlement was signed after three months of negotiations between the two parties.

Hurricane Katrina Relief

Several GCM churches sent teams to the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurrican Katrina. H20, a GCM church in Bowling Green, OH sent three of its staff immediately to New Orleans, where they found three families, bought a minivan, drove them back to Ohio, and took care of them for several months.

Virginia Tech Massacre

Following the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre, GCM's Virginia Tech campus church New Life Christian Fellowship (NLCF) received widespread media coverage. NLCF pastor Jim Pace was a guest on Larry King Live and Good Morning America, CNN created a video of their memorial service. Several newspapers, magazines, and radio shows carried quotes from NLCF pastors. On Larry King Live the night of the massacre, Dr. Phil McGraw applauded Jim Pace's comments and efforts, saying "God bless Pastor Pace for being on site and stepping up and providing a place for people to go to share their thoughts, share their feelings" after Pace told Larry King the church was "just trying to focus on giving some people a variety of different ways they can deal with this. We have some larger group things for people that want to process this with lots of people. And then we've got some smaller things for people that want to hole up in their -- in their dorm or in their apartment and just kind of try to sort this out with a few friends. We're just trying to be as many places as we can. We're helping out with what the university is doing, as well, and just trying to lend our support there." On Good Morning America the morning after the shooting, Pace responded to a request for a single comforting sentence by saying that "any sentence would probably just sound fairly trite." He also pointed to free will as part of the cause of the incident and encouraged people to draw closer to God. Christianity Today reported that two NLCF members died in the massacre and ten others were somehow connected to the church in a feature article on the church. The Washington Post reported Pace as saying "We learned evil is real and evil can hurt us, but God's love is real.". Matt Rogers, another NLCF pastor, was interviewed on NPR's Morning Edition, encouraging people to "overcome evil with good."

Other subsidiaries

Great Commission Latin America is a Latin American outgrowth of Great Commission Ministries founded and directed by Nelson Guerra , a native Honduran and former president of the Honduran National Association of Evangelicals. As of 2007 it consisted of 25 member churches .

Great Commission Churches (GCC) is a fellowship of churches in the Great Commission Association, which helps coordinate ministry activities in the U.S., including Great Commission Leadership Institute (GCLI), GCLI "Going Deeper" Regional conferences, Faithwalkers National Conferences, and national GCA Pastor's Conferences.

Great Commission Northwest (GCNW) is a regional association of North American GCA churches, spanning from Chicago to Seattle.

GCC has several regional subsidiaries as well, including GCC Regional Ministries (GCC-RM) and Great Commission Northlands (GCN) (which coordinates church planting, leadership training, and church coaching in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin).

Past Ministries and Organizations

During the 1980s, a number of ministries and organizations were formed and then discontinued by the late 1980s in an attempt to "penetrate key centers of influence," including: Americans for Biblical Government, Great Commission Academy, Alpha Capital, THEOS (The Higher Education Opportunity Service), Communication Forum, and Students for Origins Research.

A campus ministry like the current Great Commission Ministries (GCM) existed prior to 1989 under the name of Great Commission Students (GCS).

Publications

Under the direction of Jim McCotter in the 1970s and 1980s, the movement started several magazines and newspapers, including The Cause, America Today, Today's Student, U.S. Press, Potential, and the Life Herald. These projects were short-lived or were discontinued in the late 1980s.

Several Relevant Magazine articles have also been written by GCM staff and members.

Exodus International's website republished an article by Greg Van Nada from the GCM Connect Newsletter in 2005.

Funding

Since 2002, GCC has been financially accountable to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, complying with the Standards of Responsible Stewardship of that organization .

The largest financial supporters of Great Commission Ministries are individual donors. In 2002, 92% of GCM's income came from contributions of this nature. Its missionaries are required to raise 100% of their support goal, which includes their base salary, benefits, and ministry expenses. 12% of all funds raised goes toward administrative overhead. GCM has been a member of the ECFA since 1992.

Criticism

In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, some newspapers published articles critical of the movement, often suggesting the movement exhibited authoritarian qualities sometimes attributed to cults. Others newspapers quoted former members and cult researchers who accused the movement's leaders of "brainwashing" and mind-control techniques.

There are two research papers critical of the movement, published in 1988 and 1991.

The movement was also specifically cited in four books on abusive Christian groups -- Dr. Ronald Enroth's Churches That Abuse, his subsequent follow-up book, Recovering From Churches That Abuse, Michael D. Langone's Recovery from Cults: Help for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse, and Dr. Paul Martin's Cult-Proofing Your Kids.

Practices Criticized as Abusive

In a 1992 Group Magazine article by Ronald Enroth, titled "How to Spot an Abusive Church," one ex-member described the movement as fostering a "learned helplessness" in members.

In the book Churches That Abuse, also by Ronald Enroth, GCI was criticized for using coercion to keep members from leaving their churches.

Cult and "Aberrant" labels

Beginning in the 1980s, the movement was classified as a cult by the American Family Foundation, the (pre-Scientology) Cult Awareness Network , and the Council on Mind Abuse but, according to one newspaper, "Christian cult-watchers stop short of calling GCI a cult because of its apparent doctrinal orthodoxy."

The AFF, today known as the ICSA, does not currently maintain any information on the group . The Council on Mind Abuse ceased its existence in 1992, while the CAN was taken over by Scientologists in 1996 after years of legal issues.

The movement was classified as an "aberrant Christian group" by Martin J. Butz in his 1991 research paper and by Paul Martin, a former leader of GCI, in 1993. In 2002, ex-member Larry Pile said he would not refer to GCI as a cult but instead as a "Totalist Aberrant Christian Organization". Pile believed the movement was "Christian because they hold orthodox beliefs," and yet "aberrant on secondary issues"

Deprogrammings

Several former members of the movement have stated that they were only able to leave the movement after family members intervened and hired a professional "deprogrammer." The parents of Suzann Ogland, a 21-year-old junior from the University of Northern Iowa, lured their daughter to another town under the guise that they were going on a "family vacation," where she was talked to by multiple deprogrammers. Suzann claims the "turning point" came when she was asked the question, "Does Jesus need mind control to get people to believe in him?" In another well-publicized case, a 22-year-old Jean Liverman spent 8 days with a deprogrammer hired by her parents before she was freed "from the influence of the group," after which she checked into a rehabilitation center. In other cases, former members attended the deprogrammings to share their testimonies and assist with the transition out of the group. A voluntary process known as "exit counseling" was also sometimes employed rather than a "deprogramming."

Excommunications

An unknown number of people were excommunicated and shunned between 1976 and 1986, some for reasons the movement later admitted were "not, according to scrip­tural standards, sufficient to merit it." One graduate researcher estimated the number of people excommunicated during this time period to be 500, based upon interviews conducted with 274 former and current members. Paul Martin wrote that, "critics were expelled for questioning or challenging this vision of the leadership. GCI was highly authoritarian, and demanded strict commitment from all followers."

The practice of excommunicating those who questioned leaders seems to have stopped after Jim McCotter's resignation in 1986.

Banned from the University of Guelph

In 1989, officials at the University of Guelph banned the movement from its campus following a three-month investigation. This was the first time a religious organization had been banned from the campus in its 25-year history. Robert Tucker, director of the Toronto-based Council on Mind Abuse, assisted the university in its investigation, and said that he had seen "a constant, steady stream of casualties" from the evangelical movement, criticized the "degree of surrender of autonomy, critical judgment and the powers of individual thought" that he believed members of the movement underwent, and also stated that, "When people leave, they’re often suicidal."

Responses to criticism

Tom Short, 'Setting Great Commission's record straight'

On April 21, 1988, "The Diamondback" published an article by GCI's National Student Director, Tom Short, in which he defended the movement against an article written by Denny Gulick, professor of Mathematics at the University of Maryland, which charged that the movement was a "destructive cult." He also defended the movement against charges from the Cult Awareness Network that the movement was a cult. In part, he wrote:

Anyone who believes that a person can have a genuine, life-changing experience with God becomes the avowed enemy of CAN (The Cult Awareness Network). ... I’ve been a member of Great Commission for more than 14 years. When I joined my mom didn’t understand my conversion and deep interest in the Bible. She feared I was in a cult and would only serve to make the leaders rich. Now that I’m a leader she knows better! As she has gotten to know dozens of people in GCI, her fears have subsided and she thinks the world of our church. Could it be that Dr. Gulick would feel the same way if he took the time to look into GCI with an open mind?

1991 GCC Statement of Church Error

According to GCC, "During the late 1980s and early 1990s a concerted effort was made to reach out to people who felt that they had been hurt by GCI and GCI churches. At the initial urging of Tom Short, the GCI leaders and pastors published a paper as part of a plan to follow the Biblical standard of humility and reconciliation in relationships. This effort towards reconciliation, formally called Project CARE, was led by Dave Bovenmyer and was instrumental in building unity with Christians within and outside of Great Commission."

In 1991, GCAC released a public statement acknowledging church error and weakness.

In the statement, GCC clarified its position on many issues, and admitted responsibility for mistakes grouped into two categories; problems resulting from a "prideful attitude," and problems as "a result of a misapplication or misin­terpreta­tion of Scripture." Issues discussed in the statement include:

• Failing to distin­guish between a command, and principle, and preference.
• Authoritarian and insensitive leadership.
• An "elitist attitude" towards other Christian organizations.
• Excessive and unbiblical church discipline.
• Improper response to criticism.
• Lack of emphasis on formal education.
• A belief that every man should become an elder.
• Treating dating as a sin.

The statement also listed steps taken, or to be taken, to correct these issues. No specific people or incidents were named in the statement, other than Secretary David Bovenmyer, whose signature was printed at the end of it. Their statement in its entirety is available here: .

References

1. "Great Commission Churches". Retrieved 3-2-2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
2. ^ Jim McCotter (1984). "Church History" (Tapes 1-4). Jim McCotter: "I had one suitcase and- over a hangup bag, and $400 dollars in my pocket, and that was all I started with back in 1965."
3. "Great Commission Association". Retrieved 12-3-2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
4. ^ Pile, Lawrence (2002). MARCHING TO ZION: A Personal History and Analysis of the "Blitz Movement" aka Great Commission Association of Churches (2nd ed.). Albany, Ohio: Christians United to Remedy Error (CURE).
5. ^ "History of GCC 2006" (PDF). 2006. Retrieved 2007-3-5. The Great Commission church movement began in 1970 with a focus on planting and building churches that are devoted to Jesus Christ and to fulfilling the command given by Jesus to "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28: 19, 20). ... In 1989 GCI changed its name to "Great Commission Association of Churches." (Today, the shortened name "Great Commission Churches" is used in public communications, in order to promote the central and historical vision of this movement.) ... In 2006 Great Commission Churches was clarified to be a membership association for US based churches and ministries only. The Great Commission Association (www.gcachurches.org) is a "right hand of fellowship" ministry to international churches and ministries which are united with Great Commission Churches in beliefs, values and in the mission of reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
6. "Locations". Retrieved 2007-3-5. GCM is a member ministry of the Great Commission Association of Churches (GCAC) based in Columbus, Ohio, and acts as the international missions organization of GCAC. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
7. ^ "...And beware of Great Commission". The Diamondback. As someone who has experienced the Great Commission Students (GCS) from the inside, it pleased me to read Sue Ferrera's column warning against cults. {{cite news}}: Text "1986-9-22" ignored (help)
8. John L. Guerra (1986-2-6). "James McCotter: How he brought GCI to Silver Spring". The Montgomery County Sentinel. the "Blitz," as it was known before being renamed "Great Commission International," was started when McCotter and William Taylor, a high school friend of McCotter's, began evangelizing on the University of Northern Colorado campus in the mid-1960s. ... McCotter preached that a goal of the church was to have the gospel heard throughout the world within a generation. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
9. ^ "Controversies in Iowa Christianity". Des Moines Sunday Register. 1980-3-16. Taylor said when he and McCotter began evangelizing and proselyting at the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley in the mid 1960s, McCotter left Northern Colorado after two years. McCotter, in an earlier interview, said he also spent time at the University of Southern Colorado at Pueblo and at the University of Maryland. ... In 1970 and 1971, according to some of McCotter's associates of the time, there was enough of a group to begin a "blitz movement," traveling in a school bus from campus to campus in the South and Midwest speaking and proselytizing. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
10. "Controversies in Iowa Christianity: The rise of a fundamentalist". Des Moines Sunday Register. 1980-3-16. "They're all locked into what Jim calls 'the vision.' Whether it's official or not, he's the one most of them look to for leadership," Schooler said. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
11. Pile, Lawrence (2002). MARCHING TO ZION: A Personal History and Analysis of the "Blitz Movement" aka Great Commission Association of Churches (2nd ed.). Albany, Ohio: Christians United to Remedy Error (CURE). Underlying even this basic fallacy of the "team church" was another more basic error, namely the "strategy" or "heavenly vision." ... A similar thing had happened within Great Commission International. In many of the churches associated with GCI the primary focus had been shifted off the full gospel of Jesus Christ and onto the "strategy" propagated first by founder Jim McCotter, and then by his disciples, the current board of directors of the movement, and the pastors of local GCI churches.
12. ^ GCAC Executive Director John Hopler. "GCLI Document, Church History: Great Commission". Columbus, OH. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
13. Maria Agrelo (late July/early August 1973). "Have Bible-will travel". Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State Lantern. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
14. ^ MacDonald, Jerry (1988). "Reject the Wicked Man: Coercive Persuasion and Deviance Production: A Study of Conflict Management". Cultic Studies Journal. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
15. John Hopler (Herschel Martindale, guest speaker) (12/30/2006). Church planting and the 'ordinary' Christian (Speech). central Missouri. Retrieved 2007-03-21. {{cite speech}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
16. ^ "Wellspring Journal Vol 3, No. 1, Spring 1992". Retrieved 12-3-2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
17. ^ Martin, Ph. D, Paul (1993). Cult-Proofing Your Kids. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House. ISBN 0-310-53761-4.
18. Rick Whitney. "Letter To Dads "On The Wall"". And Jim and Barb McCotter and their family were a surprise, late addition. It was good to talk with them. Jim wrote, 'How my heart was blessed to hear each of you share what God put on your hearts this last week. I felt so unworthy... and so humbled... and at the same time so overjoyed.' {{cite web}}: Text "date 1-2004" ignored (help)
19. ^ "Parties Warn of 'Fringe Candidates': Montgomery News Conference Breaks Into a Shouting Match". The Washington Post. 1986-8-30. A bipartisan Montgomery County news conference held yesterday to discuss "fringe candidates" in the Sept. 9 primary erupted into a shouting match when a handful of candidates rebuked the Democratic and Republican leaders for raising religion as an issue in the election and labeling their beliefs as "cults." ... Bernstein also invited a representative of the Cult Awareness Network, a nonprofit group that monitors what it considers cults, to speak. Nancy Howell, president of a chapter of the group, charged that LaRouche's National Labor Caucus and Great Commission International, a nonprofit religious organization with a congregation in Silver Springs, are groups that have "cultic" natures. ... Tom Short, a member of the board of trustees of the Great Commission congregation, said he believed his church had been unfairly "labeled as a cult by innuendo. In reality, all of the allegations . . . are untrue." {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
20. "Ex-Members Say Md. Church Active in Converative Politics". The Washington Post. 1986-9-7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. "Great Commission gets into politics". The Washington Post. 1986-9-7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. "The End Of The Trail: How the pols partied when the polls closed". The Montgomery County Sentinel. 1986-9-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
23. "Gilchrist concerned over ballots of church candidates". The Montgomery County Sentinel. 1986-9-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
24. "Owens out, blames sample ballots (church candidates)". The Montgomery County Sentinel. 1986-9-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
25. "Who is Fellowship Church". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
26. "Great Commission Ministries : History". Retrieved 2006-11-29.
27. "Daylights Online". Great Commission Churches. Retrieved 2007-2-6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
28. "Faithwalkers 2006". Great Commission Churches. Retrieved 2007-2-6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
29. "High School Leadership Training". Great Commission Churches. Retrieved 2007-2-6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
30. "2006 Pastors' And Leaders' Conference". Great Commission Churches. Retrieved 2007-2-6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
31. The Great Commission Story. Faithwalkers 2004. 12/2004. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |speakers= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location (link)
32. "GCC : About : Relationships". Retrieved 11-28-2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
33. "GCNW: About". Retrieved 2006-11-28.
34. ^ "Great Commission Churches - Regional Ministries". Retrieved 11-29-2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
35. Richard Harvey (1986). The Cause And Effect: A Closer Look. Christians United to Remedy Error (CURE).
36. "Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability : GCC". Retrieved 11-28-2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
37. "Evangelicals arise on campus". Des Moines Sunday Register. 1978-11-26.
38. "Ex-Bible Study member says the group ostracized her". Ames Daily Tribune. 1979-12-10.
39. "Controversies in Iowa Christianity". Des Moines Sunday Register. 1980-3-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
40. "Ex-members say religious group controls, intimidates its followers". Columbus (Ohio) Lantern. 1982-10-11.
41. ^ "Iowan tells cult experience". Des Moines (Iowa) Register. 1985-01-12.
42. "Silver Spring Fundamentalists: Church or 'Cult'?". Silver Spring (Md.) Montgomery County Sentinel. 1985-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
43. ^ "New Life policies scrutinized". Towson (Md.) Towerlight. 1985-05-09.
44. "ISU Bible Study group: 'Wonderful' or 'a cult'?". Des Moines (Iowa) Register. 1980-03-13.
45. "Ex-members label GCI a coercive environment". Wheaton, IL: The Sunday Journal (Wheaton, IL edition). November 6th, 1988. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
46. ^ "Cult label follows new church". Wheaton, Illinois: The Sunday Journal (Wheaton, IL edition). 1988-11-6. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "CultLabelFollows" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
47. ^ "Bible club evicted from U of Guelph campus: Group accused of authoritarianism, cult-like control over members". Toronto Globe and Mail. 1989-09-27.
48. ^ "Students tell story of cult involvement: Officials work to limit influence". The Gamecock. {{cite news}}: Text "University of S. Carolina" ignored (help)
49. "Cult Corner: Student survivor of one sect's manipulation and coercion tells her story in support group to help others escape cult clutches". Baltimore, MD: The Sun. 1992-2-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
50. ^ Cite error: The named reference JeansStory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
51. "'I think I was brainwashed': Religious group criticized as cult-like is now at KSU". Manhattan (Kan.) Daily Kent Stater. 1982-12-03. ..some members he knew while in the group had nervous breakdowns as a result of the pressure, while others completely turned their backs on religion.
52. Cite error: The named reference BrainwashedKS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
53. ^ Martin J. Butz (1991). "An inquiry into the paradox of aberrant Christian churches: orthodoxy without orthopraxy". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
54. Enroth, Ronald (1992). Churches That Abuse. Zondervan Publishing House. ISBN 0-310-53290-6.
55. Michael D. Langone. "Recovery from Cults: Help for Victims of Psychological and Spiritual Abuse". W. W. Norton & Company; New Ed edition (June 1995). ISBN 0-393-31321-2.
56. ^ Enroth, Ronald (1994). Recovering From Churches That Abuse. Zondervan Publishing House. ISBN 0-310-39870-3.
57. "How to Spot an Abusive Church". Group Magazine. 1992-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
58. Enroth, Ronald (1992). Churches That Abuse. Zondervan Publishing House. ISBN 0-310-53290-6.
59. Kaade Roberts (April 1992). "Divine Deception". The Touchstone. GCI along with its subsidiary, Great Commission Students, has been classified as a cult by the Cult-Awareness Network (CAN) and the American Family Foundation. Since the mid-seventies there have been complaints of GCI's authoritarian forms of mind control leaving members at the point of suicide or in psychiatric wards. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
60. ^ "(EXTREMIST FUNDAMENTALIST GROUPS MAKE INROADS ON CANADIAN UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES)". The Canadian Press. September 1989. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
61. ""Just Who Is Jim McCotter?" North & South". New Zealand. April 2002. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
62. ^ Great Commission Association of Churches (July 1991). "A Statement Recognizing Early Errors And Weaknesses In The Development Of The Great Commission Association Of Churches" (PDF). Great Commission Association of Churches. Retrieved 02-09-2007. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
63. Tom Short (1988-4-21). "Setting Great Commission's record straight". The Diamondback (University of Maryland). {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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