Complex Challenges Necessitate Collaboration
There are 8 billion people alive today. Of those, approximately 2.5 billion claim to follow Jesus, while the remaining 5.5 billion do not identify with the Christian faith. Despite all our missional activity, the percentage of the global population that follows Christ has remained the same for 123 years. The total number of people living without God is greater than at any time in history: 5.5 billion! There have never been more people in need of the Gospel than now!
This presents the body of Christ with great opportunities and great challenges. The former need to be inspired and mobilized to effectively engage the latter with the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is a massive, complex task ahead of us. No single organization can tackle this challenge alone. We must work together. GACX (a global alliance for church multiplication) inspires and facilitates the international collaboration needed to establish a church for every 1,000 people on Earth.
Here are a few benefits of GACX membership:
We love Christ’s church! We are an alliance of organizations committed to the shared vision of a healthy, multiplying, and sustainable church for every 1,000 people on Earth. These churches will be located in every relational network – every village, neighborhood, high-rise, or digital space. The unique niche of GACX is our emphasis on facilitating organizational collaboration for church multiplication among all peoples of all generations who do not follow Christ. The GACX network brings together organizational implementers and accelerators to accomplish this mission.
GACX is a collaborative platform that connects organizations involved in church multiplication with each other, with national alliances for church multiplication, and with the resources they need to accelerate church multiplication in every relational network of the world. Our members-only online portal (coming in Sept 2023) allows organizations to search for members according to region, ministry activity, organizational category (accelerator, implementer, network, national alliance, etc.), and resources. Through the portal, GACX members can connect with the GACX contact for member organizations and national alliances, with upcoming events of member organizations, and with current articles and videos on church multiplication.
GACX is NATO (No Action Talk Only). We have a bias for action! Through the GACX platform, organizations connect for practical collaboration in specific locations and around specific projects worldwide. In addition to operational partnership in priority locations, the collaboration includes sharing lessons learned, sharing data and research, minimizing duplication, measuring progress, and supporting one another. Stories of collaboration are continually emerging throughout the alliance as members discover new ways to use their complementary skills to work together for church multiplication. GACX members can access these stories through the member portal.
Through GACX, organizations with complementary ministries connect! When our relationship with God is restored by faith in Jesus Christ, the first thing that happens is that God connects us to his family. That family of God stretches around the world and throughout time. This is the clear teaching of Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and John 17. In his grace, God intentionally gives every Christian a different gift for “doing certain things well” (NLT, Romans 12:6) so that the whole body can thrive. Every Christian is called to use their God-given gifts to serve Christ’s church and strengthen her witness to the world (Romans 12:4-8; 1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 4:4-16; 1 Corinthians 12:7). Every Christian and every Christian ministry has a valuable and unique role in God’s mission.
The annual GACX Forum is a unique space for organizations engaged in church multiplication to come together and connect relationally, share lessons learned, catalyze collaborative partnerships, and celebrate what God is doing to build his church worldwide. During the annual Forum, we bring together leaders in church multiplication to share the latest research, present case studies in collaboration, and facilitate workshops on topics vital to current issues in church multiplication. GACX also convenes learning cohorts and webinars to catalyze constructive conversations on complex issues in church multiplication. We are a learning community and embrace the opportunity to learn from each other humbly.
GACX catalyzes the development of new national alliances. When a national alliance for church multiplication does not exist, GACX works with national leaders and GACX member organizations to catalyze the development of a national alliance for church multiplication in that country that is nationally led, funded, and identified with a name reflecting the unique national character of that alliance.
GACX regional coaches support, resource, and connect national alliances for church multiplication worldwide. They do this by connecting national alliances with each other and with GACX member organizations. They connect national alliances to resources offered by GACX accelerators, including training and tools for DMM, CPM, and theological training. Regional coaches also provide national alliances a toolbox of tested practices and principles, including the Biblical and missiological basis for a collaborative attitude; case studies and best practices for establishing and developing a national alliance; training in holding conference/alliance meetings; and training in utilizing research and tracking tools to identify where churches exist and where new churches need to be established.
GACX measures outcomes, not activity. Every year GACX members report their progress in church planting and building partnerships. This provides an overview of progress in church multiplication around the world. GACX also connects GACX members with mapping tools to identify where the church exists and where it doesn’t. GACX works closely with the Coalition of the Willing (COTW) to encourage members to map the regions where they are working and to share that data with one another. This information is used to strategically mobilize collaborative church planting partnerships in specific locations where the church does not exist.
Membership in GACX communicates a commitment to partnership in missions and church multiplication. Membership in ECFA and Charity Navigator indicates an organizational commitment to fiscal responsibility. The ECFA logo on the bottom of a missions organization’s website is a trusted symbol indicating fiscal responsibility. In the same way, membership in GACX is a recognizable and trusted statement that an organization is committed to collaboration for church multiplication.
GACX provides a space where organizations committed to the same vision and means of accomplishing that vision can find support, ideas, and community. We are on God’s mission together. When we gather, we celebrate what God is doing to build his church all over the world through the collaborative efforts of his people. It is a joy to join hands on His mission and celebrate his goodness together.
