{"id":22892,"date":"2018-10-19T20:45:49","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T20:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icocco-op.org\/?p=2299"},"modified":"2018-10-19T20:45:49","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T20:45:49","slug":"forward-by-faith-2018-icoc-delegates-conference-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/forward-by-faith-2018-icoc-delegates-conference-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Forward by Faith \u2013 2018 ICOC Delegates Conference Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus,\u00a0the pioneer\u00a0and perfecter of faith”<\/em> \u2013 Hebrews 12:2<\/h3>\n

On behalf of all the\u00a0Regional Delegates<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0ICOC Service Team<\/a>\u00a0members, we would like to thank every member of the ICOC worldwide for your ongoing prayers, encouragement and support in the strengthening and building of our global fellowship. The recent\u00a02018 ICOC Delegates Conference<\/b>\u00a0(Oct 1-2) and the\u00a0International Leaders Conference (ILC<\/b>) (Oct 3-5) in Panama City, Panama marked the conclusion of our most recent series of discussions regarding our global and regional organization. The Delegates Conference had 245 attendees made up of 117 Delegates, 32 Regional Family Chairmen, Service Teams, and observers. The ILC had 630 in attendance from 49 countries. (A report on the 2018 ILC is coming soon). Many thanks to the disciples of our Panama and Central America churches who served as caring and thoughtful hosts throughout the conference and also spent many long hours in preparation. Also, a very special \u201cthank you\u201d to Josue and Veronica Ortega for their oversight, vision and organizational expertise in coordinating and hosting these events.<\/p>\n

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As most are aware, the ICOC went through a significant reorganizational phase from 2003 to 2006 that culminated in the publication of the\u00a0Plan for United Cooperation<\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b>(March 2006) and its acceptance and ratification by 96% of the ICOC congregations. This proposal identified\u00a0Regional Families of Churches<\/a>, established a\u00a0delegate system<\/a>\u00a0for approving global proposals and established the formation of global\u00a0Service Teams<\/a>\u00a0to coordinate efforts and build unity in ministry practices and overall church building strategies. These developments had significant impact and by 2010 most Regional Families were cooperating well internally and most of the mission efforts were being funded and supported by incorporated Mission Societies. In 2015, because of slow growth in our churches and a lack of engagement among the delegates, the chairmen of all the various Service Teams (aka, the Chairmen\u2019s Service Team), initiated an \u201cICOC 3.0\u201d discussion to assess effectiveness as well as to explore new ideas regarding the current organizational model. Dealing with a wide range of topics, the most common factor in these questions was whether or not the ICOC churches felt the need for a stronger executive global component or would prefer to leave these issues at a regional or continental (i.e., groupings of Regional Families) level. In 2016-2017 two Leadership Surveys were sent out. The encouraging results were the nearly unanimous agreement that we wanted to continue to be a global fellowship and we remained committed to the Great Commission of Jesus.<\/p>\n