What Will Not Change in the CCCC
by Ron Hamilton, Conference Minister
The wind of change is blowing in the CCCC as we have been called to align our ministry to
God’s call for us to live in obedience to Jesus as we…
| – | • | – | Love God. |
| – | • | Love others. | |
| • | As we go, make disciples. |
As the leadership of the Conference grapples with the issue of change, it is important to dialogue about some things that won’t change in the CCCC as we remain fully committed to Biblical Congregationalism in our generation. Rather, God is calling us to fulfill our purpose in new and exciting ways. The statement of our purpose is clearly articulated in Article II of our Constitution:
Article II – Purpose
| _ | 1. | _ | To promote the worship of God in our churches. |
| 2. | To deepen and extend the fellowship of our churches. | ||
| 3. | To encourage a steadfast, Biblical witness by our churches. | ||
| 4. | To facilitate cooperation and counsel among our churches with regard to evangelism, edification, Christian education, stewardship, missions, church extension, Christian action, women’s and men’s fellowships, youth activities, the pastoral ministry, and other related concerns. | ||
| 5. | To preserve and promote the Scriptural principles of the autonomy of the local church and the freedom of the believer in Christ. |
This purpose fully aligns with the vision that has emerged in our midst. We encourage one another to love God as we promote the worship of God in our churches. We strengthen our love of others as we deepen and extend the fellowship of our churches. We call people to make disciples as we encourage a steadfast, Biblical witness in our churches. We live out shared life and shared mission as we facilitate cooperation and counsel among our churches. While there is a new movement of church multiplication in the Conference, we have always been committed to church extension. We speak to the issues of healthy pastors and healthy churches as we preserve and promote the principles of our congregational heritage. Our Guiding Values simply give us a new way to express our purpose and work together on living it out to the fullest extent.
This is a time to welcome change. These are days to invite God to work in our midst to renew our commitment to the values that brought us together sixty-five years ago. The theme of our 2013 annual conference is “Being Changed.” The theme verse is 2 Corinthians 3:18:
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Please join me in praying that God will continue to move among us as we open our lives, our churches and our Conference to God’s transforming work.
