NCMI

New Covenant Ministries International

NCMI is a translocal, apostolic/prophetic team linked relationally to churches through their pastors and leaders. These are from many different backgrounds but hold to a common ministry of mutual integrity and non-exclusive friendship. This allows ministry to be received and reciprocated.

NCMI is not a denomination, mission, movement or parachurch organization. It has no headquarters nor does it have a common constitution, membership committee or system of imposed authority. Its dynamic, momentum and administration are facilitated by groupings of friends. They work together in team around the world, motivated by a love for Jesus Christ and a desire to 'speed his coming'.

The NCMI international team acknowledges that it is only one of many similar groupings being used by God throughout the world today, and quite openly confesses that what is being achieved is more 'despite' us than because of us.
Vision

The vision is essentially two-fold.

Firstly:

* To see healthy eldership-led local churches established and nurtured.
* To see the priesthood of all believers exercised.
* To see believers trained, equipped, and released to grow to their full potential and maturity in God.
* To nurture elders to be skillful shepherds, ministering with integrity of heart.

Secondly:

* To facilitate the vision and command of Jesus to disciple the nations of the world. This is done by providing and encouraging leadership and church planting training. There are also practical opportunities to participate in short or long term church planting projects.

Values

The foundation value is that not only is the Bible held to be the inspired and authoritative word of God, but also the accepted standard for life, ministry and conduct in the church. This effects the way in which relating pastors direct their lives, and are accountable to one another and their churches. This is to see God's truth established in their lives and on Earth. The relating pastors and leaders recognize and respect the Biblical authority of each local church eldership. Therefore, ministry into the local church by other leaders is by invitation only as friendships develop and giftings in God are recognized and accepted.
A Brief History

NCMI had its beginnings in South Africa during the early 1980's. Dudley Daniel, who was pastoring a large church in Johannesburg, began to meet each week with other pastors for relaxed discussion around God's word. 'Iron sharpened iron' and friendships grew. So too did a concern for the church in South Africa during a momentous time in its history. Along with a growing common vision and purpose, came recognition and respect for each other's gifting in God, in the mold of Ephesians 4 ministries. Labels or titles have never been claimed or used but only sober recognition and acceptance of who each person is in God.

This informal group began to share each other' s pulpits and experienced great blessing as their churches were strengthened by the variety of ministry. The group were soon invited to minister in churches across the nation, sharing the simplicity of their New Testament Biblical vision and common values. They sensed a Godly direction and prophetic purpose in a nation where churches were undergoing a mighty move of God in the challenged society of the late apartheid era. At this time, there was a great call for unity of heart across the church. Soon, several similar groupings began to meet and pray together. This interaction would later be used by the Lord in turning the hearts of many political leaders to Himself in the deepening crisis in the nation.

It was out of this background that Dudley Daniel and a small 'team' began to meet twice a year with interested pastors and the eldership of churches all across South Africa. They met as friends to seek God's purposes, pray, worship, share Bible teaching and fellowship. By the late 1980s, this group grew to about 70 relating church pastors from various backgrounds.

God began to birth a great passion in their hearts, not just for South Africa, but for the nations of the world. This was especially true for Dudley, who had tried for some time to dissuade people from leaving the country. In January 1990, he felt led to relocate to Adelaide in South Australia. This was to establish the first church base from which to resource the church planting mission into Asia. This goal was successfully achieved, and in turn released a wave of church planting missions. Initially, these were from South Africa but later from Australia and other countries. The wave continues.

Since 1990, churches from more than 80 countries around the world have begun to embrace this model and participate in the various opportunities for envisioning, encouraging, training and church planting. There is a deep passion and commitment in the hearts of many relating leaders to see all nations discipled for Christ in fulfillment of the great commission. There has been a virtual revolution in thinking about missions - this commission is not only for mission agencies, large denominations or the super-spiritual, but for every willing and equipped believer. God wants unreached peoples, tribes and nations discipled through the Gospel. But He also wants His church around the world to be challenged and re-invigorated with a sense of Christ's prophetic purpose in these last days.

This is the vision - to serve the purposes of God in our generation.
Relationship with the Team

Tyrone Daniel, son of Dudley Daniel is presently based in Adelaide, Australia, and functions as the international team leader of NCMI. He is supported by an invited team of leaders with recognised Ephesians 4 giftings. Most of these pastors lead their own local churches which have agreed to release and support them for periodic ministry around the world. Dudley is one of those supported by the gifts and a common 'ministry fund' which receives voluntary contributions from churches. This fund also facilitates ministry by team members into areas and churches which are unable to fund a request for ministry. In addition to the international team, regional and national teams are now being established in different parts of the world to better serve the needs of the churches and to release new ministry.

In order for a church to become involved with NCMI it is not necessary to 'join'. The connection is more of a partnership in the Gospel. True friendship is seen in sharing interests and beliefs, and a trust and commitment to one another which grows with time. Relationships with other ministries and church groupings are encouraged.

All of the associated elders and emerging leaders in the church of a relating pastor are invited to attend any of the events which are arranged around the world during the year. In many countries, there are weekly or bimonthly get-togethers of pastors, periodic training seminars, mini-retreats and city celebrations. These are all open to anyone. National week-long Leadership Training Times are arranged each year. Presently, these are in South Africa, Australia, Holland, Malawi, London, India, Kenya, Zimbabwe and the USA. Different team members (and others) lead the sessions. Much time is given to relax with each other between sessions, and at the end of the day over a shared evening meal.
What We Require (How to ‘Join’)

A frequent response to inquirers is: 'You cannot join NCMI'. But far from giving people the brush-off, this statement reinforces some of our basic convictions about the Church:

* You cannot 'join our denomination' because we are not one.
* If you are a believer, we are already joined to you and you to us. We take the position that Scripture does not support man-made divisions in the Church and that the Body of Christ should be recognised and defined as one. This does not imply a rejection of those who have chosen to express the Church through denomination, only a difference in our ecclesiology.
* We can easily be misunderstood by being charged with claiming 'We all need to be one, and we are the one!' We humbly recognise we are but a part.
* We are opposed to setting up the extra-Biblical institutions of headquarters, hierarchies, executives, superintendents and the like, which would merely perpetuate and increase the many that already exist.
* We believe that ultimately there will be a gradual narrowing of our differences, leading to the 'unity of the faith...' and the attaining of 'the full measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ'. (Ephesians 4 :13)

New Covenant Ministries International is simply a ministry team of Ephesians 4 gift ministries. It functions and flows with like-minded churches and helps facilitate, train and mature the Body of Christ. Not everyone will agree with this ecclesiology, but those who do see it, and wish to embrace it because of its faithfulness to the Scriptures, are welcome to be a part together with us. How then can leaders become a part of what we’re doing? Be sure that you embrace similar vision and values to that of the NCMI team. Let us know you wish to. Come and do it with us.
What does this entail?

If the differences between us and others were what attracted you, then you need to follow through with your convictions. If an alternative motive is your reason for linking - such as our perceived success, the strength of an individual team member's ministry, the hope of us being able to increase your profile, or how your local church can be benefited - it is sadly deficient and you will likely become quickly disillusioned.

We are relating churches with a strong corporate vision and a strong conviction with which we back that vision. We believe in team and team effort to fulfill Christ's call to disciple the nations. What we do in your city, region and internationally will enable us all to accomplish more. By our corporate involvement, we will be flowing together in unity. We will be pooling our manpower and resources and speeding up the completion of our mandate and call.

Our corporate vision, with discipling the nations as our primary thrust, requires funding. Through our relationships with each other, we become both givers and receivers. The apostolic input, inspiration and adjustment is something which needs to be experienced to be appreciated. In all this we encourage, 'freely you have received, freely give'.

Funding for what we are doing can variously take the form of supporting ministries in the poorer third world countries to supporting efforts in the more sophisticated first world. Travel, leadership training, celebration and conferences are activities which involve substantial expenses.

Because of insecurity, feeling threatened, and a lack of faith, many leaders hold on to, stunt and smother their people. Releasing and sowing out is Biblical and clearly God's way of getting the job done. God intends us to 'let His people go'.

Expressing the 'priesthood of the believer' is vital to attaining of God's evangelistic purposes for His world. By doing these things together, we afford people an opportunity that the limitations of a local church would not permit. People grow by extending their faith for something greater. Your people are a vital cog in the 'bringing in' of the kingdom.