OUR COMMENDATION PROCESS
The use of a letter to introduce a Christian worker to a church was a well established practice in New testament times. A ‘Letter of Commendation’ was a way of expressing confidence in a person as they travelled and embarked in mission and enabled the receiving church or ministry to accept them with confidence.
Fast-forward to today’s world where communication methods are vastly different. With the click of a button we can connect with people anywhere in an instant, but even so at GC3 we believe a Letter of Commendation is still important as it provides assurance of spiritual character and competence.
While this does sound and is rather formal, it is important that a church follows a robust process with the commendation of their people. This guide outlines the biblical basis of commendation and provides other general considerations around how commendation might work. The second half of this guide is a checklist containing topics for discussion between the sending church elders and the candidate. It lists topics, conversation starters and appropriate questions to be covered.
As we offer our GC3 services to people based on the outcomes of this process, we require two letters.
The first is a copy of the Letter of Commendation, addressed to the church or ministry where the mission partner will be serving. The other is what we term ‘The Accompanying Letter’. This one should be addressed to GC3 and state that all the topics in the checklist have been covered to the satisfaction of the elders. It is on the basis of this letter that we can consider giving the mission partner access to our services.
Templates for these letters with suggested wording can be found on pages 9 and 10. From the outset, we acknowledge that there needs to be flexibility in this process as each person and every situation is different. Please contact us at an early point when you are involved in the process of commendation as we would love to be of assistance.
Michael Hanson
Executive Director