“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then…I will know that you stand firm in one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.” – Philippians 1:27

The Philippian church and even the city of Philippi was built on an exceptional experience of grace. Responding to that grace, this Macedonian church became a benchmark for unity, trust, and support to other churches. That same grace fuels us now as we cooperate and collaborate in a great exercise of collective self-evaluation. Together, we strive to better conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of grace. And together we strive to firm up our unity, trust, and support for all 690 churches throughout 148 countries in our fellowship.

After receiving input from over 2500 leaders around the world, five global Task Forces have been working on proposals that comprise the ICOC 3.0 initiative in the focus of communications, missions, conflict resolution, structure, and finances. The ICOC Delegates gave tremendous input and direction last October at their Chicago Meeting. During the Spring Leadership Meeting in Orlando in April, the Task Forces received helpful feedback from 32 regional chairmen and the service team chairmen as well as from the elders, evangelists, teachers, and women service teams. The proposals were distributed widely and took shape for general feedback. And now, as of July 1, the task forces have integrated all relevant feedback to publish final proposals. These proposals can be found here: ICOC 3.0 Proposals.

We encourage all church leaderships to fully engage, discuss, deliberate, and even fast and pray about these proposals and communicate your thoughts to your respective delegates. On October 2-3, 2018, the Delegates cast votes at our Panama meeting. The results of the voting will then determine the direction and timelines to move us all “forward by faith.”

These final proposals represent the distillation of countless hours of prayer, fasting, surveys, deliberations, dreams, discussions, and conferences. The process has strengthened our unity, our love, and our respect for one another. The proposals are not panaceas. But they do address real opportunities to better conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. Please pray for God’s grace and God’s will to guide us.

Ed Anton (Teachers Service Team Chair)

Walter Evans (Elders Service Team Chair)

Doug Arthur (Evangelists Team Chair)

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