INTERNATIONALIZATION of the CHURCH of GOD

INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE CHURCH (1980)
WHEREAS communication, industrialization and expanding tech-nology make it obvious that peoples of our world are drawing closer together; and

WHEREAS this church has experienced phenomenal growth, especially in other nations and among other cultures of our world; and

WHEREAS there seems an obvious need for strengthening ties between the Church of God, U.S.A., and those congregations, missions, and fellow laborers in more than one hundred nations of our world; and

WHEREAS it has never been the will or the intent of this church to segment or in any way differentiate between bodies of believers since Jesus Christ taught and emphasized the brotherhood of all believers through divine grace;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that this General Assembly recog-nizes and accepts its responsibility for promoting the inter-nationalization of the Church of God and that we herewith dedicate ourselves anew to the designing of programs and to the initiating of steps which will accomplish this purpose; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that our department heads and those who set policies and give emphasis to our education programs be encouraged to promote this concept; and that henceforth in all our publications and in all our official and private correspondence, we endeavor to recognize and to emphasize the international character of the Church of God as opposed to any national, regional, or sectional image (58th A., 1980, p. 50)

MULTI-CULTURAL MINISTRY (2010)
WHEREAS God has called us to be a mosaic of God’s creation that enables us to embrace racial,
cultural, and linguistic differences; and,

WHEREAS Scripture explicitly states that there is no distinction between Greek and Jew,
circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and freeman, but Christ is all,
and in all (Colossians 3:11); and,

WHEREAS God’s people are ultimately not citizens of any one nation or country but of a king–
Jesus and a kingdom—the Kingdom of God; and,

WHEREAS the word of God embraces and encourages racial reconciliation and the healing and
forgiveness of past sins and hurts; and,

WHEREAS the promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was to all flesh, all races, and all
ages; and,

WHEREAS the Pentecostal experience introduced possibilities for the formation of a new
community that was to be multi-racial, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual; and,

WHEREAS every part of the body of Christ is just as important as the other parts and are
ordained by God to have a place at the table, a voice in the conversation, and a hand in
the action; and,

WHEREAS the Church of God has experienced phenomenal growth in other nations and among
other cultures both inside and outside of the United;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT we commit ourselves globally to continue to
intentionally build cross cultural relationships and continue to seek and embrace inter-
racial inclusiveness; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT we manifest multi-cultural awareness and unity in
concrete policies and behaviors that seek to provide ecclesiastical structures that reflect
multi-cultural leadership and provide multi-cultural, multi-language resources, so that the
body of Christ can participate in and be enriched by the contributions of each cultural and
ministry group.