Mandate of the GOSPEL sub-committee in the CRCA

A Mission Partnership Organisation in India.

PREAMBLE
God has richly blessed us in the CRCA with a clear Gospel heritage and Biblical foundations. In recent years the CRCA has adopted the Fourfold Task, one of which is to multiply ministries locally and oversees to reach more people with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The G.O.S.P.E.L. subcommittee seeks to make a strong contribution to this. God has given us a wonderful opportunity to partner with Indian evangelists who are planting churches in Gujarat and surrounding regions in central India.
Christ’s mandate to go into the whole world is urgent. That mandate includes our own nation as well as those who live in Asia. India is still open to Gospel proclamation. India is in great spiritual darkness. India is densely populated. A large part of India’s population is very poor. 

CONTEXT
The G.O.S.P.E.L. subcommittee is a part of the GROW Committee. It shares synergies with several other overseas committees focussed on Word and Deed outreach including Solomon Islands Mission, Bethesda Disability Support and the World Transform committee. What G.O.S.P.E.L. seeks to do overseas the Church Planting Taskforce seeks to do here in Australia, and it is good to be able to compare strategies and stories.

THE STRATEGY AND WORK
G.O.S.P.E.L. will identify, train and support gifted local, indigenous, Indian Christians to be missionaries to their own people. The acronym G.O.S.P.E.L. stands for Gujarat (and surrounds) Outreach Support; Planting churches; Economic development and Literacy training. As the acronym suggests, the preaching of the “Word” is foremost, but the work also involves the “Deed”. G.O.S.P.E.L. evaluates the training provided and continues to look at ways to improve this.
G.O.S.P.E.L. functions in the CRCA as a mission partnership organisation for local congregations.
The G.O.S.P.E.L. subcommittee will receive and administer the offerings and contributions from CRCA and non CRCA churches individuals and corporations.

• In the field in India, G.O.S.P.E.L. partners with Christian Reformed Fellowship of India (CRFI). CRFI functions as a “reformed” mission organisation in India. CRFI seeks to foster true Gospel unity and cooperation in India.
• In the field, G.O.S.P.E.L.’s support and partnership seeks to assist the newly planted churches to become independent, self governing churches as soon as possible.

G.O.S.P.E.L. will continue to investigate, evaluate and suggest projects where further partnerships can be fruitful.
G.O.S.P.E.L. is part of GROW and will seek to interact and learn from the other workgroups in GROW to ensure the work in enhanced.

THE FUNDS
G.O.S.P.E.L. is to keep clear records of all gifts and donations received and funds allocated. Administration costs are to be kept to a minimum. The financial records are to be audited annually. 

THE COMMITTEE
Subcommittee members should be professing members in the CRCA. GROW is to authorize all members of the committee. There should be at least 3 members in the committee who fill the task of a chairman, a secretary and a treasurer.
G.O.S.P.E.L. shall meet at least four times per year. When necessary, additional meetings may be convened. A quorum at all meetings shall consist of a simple majority of the committee. 

PROMOTION
G.O.S.P.E.L. promotes its projects and shares news of its field activities among the churches and members of the CRCA churches.

DISSOLUTION
In the event of the dissolution of G.O.S.P.E.L., whether voluntary, by force of circumstance, or by decree of law, the Synod of the CRCA on the advice of GROW, shall – after discharging all debts and obligations – distribute all available funds, assets and properties to organisations whose use thereof will be in conformity to the principles of operation of G.O.S.P.E.L.

Approved at the May 2015 Synod of the CRCA.​​​​

The Christian reformed fellowship of india

A Mission Partnership Organisation in India.

The MISSION STATEMENT of CRFI is that we seek that all persons will:

• Be reconciled and restored to an intimate relationship with God the Father, through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and by believing only in the finished work of Jesus Christ as the ground of their acceptance with God.
• LOVE GOD. Worship and serve the true God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength.
• LOVE MAN. Be taught to become disciples of Jesus Christ, equipped to serve the church, the kingdom and their fellow man through personal witness for Jesus Christ and acts of love for him.

WE AFFIRM THIS STATEMENT OF FAITH (and adopt the following three ecumenical creeds: The Apostles’ Creed, the Athanasian Creed and the Nicene Creed.)

• We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, without error; the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men and the Divine and final authority for all Christian faith and life.
• We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. He arose bodily from the dead, and He is now at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
• We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is His work to convict men, regenerate the sinner, and indwell and empower the believer for Godly living and service.
• We believe that man was created in the image of God but fell into sin and is therefore lost, and only through regeneration can salvation and eternal life can be attained.
• We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe and only those who receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and thus become children of God.
• We believe in the personal and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ and that this coming has an important bearing on the personal life of the believer.
• We believe in the bodily resurrection of the believer to everlasting fellowship and joy with the Lord, and of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment.

WE UPHOLD the system of doctrine taught in these four confessional standards: The Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Confession of Faith.
WE STAND BY the central truths of the Reformation summarised in the five Latin phrases:

• sola scriptura (The Bible is the only measure and ultimate authority for all matters of faith and life);
• sola Christus (Jesus Christ is the only Mediator between God and man);
• sola gratia (Grace is the only method of divine salvation – we cannot save ourselves);
• sola fide (Faith is the only means by which the righteousness of Christ is imputed);
• soli Deo gloria (God’s Glory is the chief end of and motivation for living).

WE UNDERSTAND that Christ has clearly commanded the practice of water baptism as a sign of washing away of the sins of a believer. As there are differences in how Christians view the timing and mode of baptism, we do not intend that the timing and mode of baptism should be barriers between fellowships and therefore allow for such different views to be held in CRFI.​​

CRFI Purpose, Aims and Objectives

• To proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to promote the principles and teachings of the Holy Bible as interpreted by the statement of faith in India.

• To fulfil the scriptural mandate enunciated by our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19 to go into all the world and preach the gospel by actively supporting and promoting Christian missionary work in India.

• To teach and train the members of the congregations to love and glorify the Lord our God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and to be witnesses for the gospel.

• To prayerfully seek to know and accomplish the will of God as He has revealed it by His Spirit and His Word and to teach the members of the congregation to do the same.

• To promote and provide regular opportunities for the worship of God, for prayer, for Christian fellowship, for mutual sharing, for bible study, for accountability and other activities for Christian growth and discipleship.

• To explore Reformed perspectives on contemporary Christian worship in the context of India.

• To realize that there needs to be unity and accept that there will also be diversity in Christian communities and we will seek to achieve this by committing to open discussion of issues and problems in an atmosphere of prayer, love and unity.

• To organize meetings, and courses of lectures, arrange for seminars and to start institutions to train pastors, missionaries and leaders regarding the the whole counsel of God and as taught in the historic Reformed standards.

• To encourage every congregation to carry out its mission to its local community.

• To present a Reformed testimony to India directly and/or through Churches, Fellowship and missionary movements in India.

• To express and promote the unity of faith among churches and fellowship of reformed faith by encouraging ecclesiastical fellowship, cooperation for the fulfilment of the missionary and other mandates, studying the common problems and issues relating to differences of opinion and to aim for recommendations with respect to these matters.

• To promote friendly relations with other Protestant Churches on the basis of the supreme authority of Holy Scripture as God’s Revelation of His will for Churches subject to reformed belief as set out in the statement of faith.

• To receive funds from outside India and/or through offerings in congregations and congregation for the support of the ecclesiastical and other activities, functions and programs.

• To encourage and promote financial support for the work of and the advancement of God’s kingdom.

• To support God’s global mission by reaching out to neighbouring countries and taking up partnership with like minded missions, fellowship and churches in other countries.

• To print, publish, sell and to distribute books, booklets, leaflets, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or newspapers, magazines, or other periodicals, calculated to advance the objects set forth above.

The CRFI Board