What’s So Special About GNU? – Eliezer Gonzalez

Dec 31, 2015 1902

DandylionI am often asked questions that deal with the issue of what is unique about Good News Unlimited in a world that is cluttered with different churches, denominations and Christian ministries. After all, practically all of them would say that they exist to share the Gospel, in some shape or form. There are a number of reasons why Good News Unlimited is unique.

Good News Unlimited is a Christian ministry that exists to directly share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who have not heard it, without having a specific church or denominational focus. Good News Unlimited receives no financial or organisational support from any church or denomination.

There is no one church that can rightly claim to have a monopoly on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This doesn’t mean that Good News Unlimited is “non-demoninational.” Instead, it recognises that the Gospel of Jesus Christ transcends all earthly churches, denominations, and organisations. There is no one church that can rightly claim to have a monopoly on the Gospel of Jesus.

Furthermore, Good News Unlimited recognises that the various churches and denominations have contributed much to the cause of Christianity in different ways because of their differing emphases. Good News Unlimited encourages people to find a local church in ther area where the Gospel is preached, and to support it.

Good News Unlimited is not necessarily ecumenical, in the sense that we do not believe that every church is essentially the same as the next one. We urge people to study the Word of God for themselves, and to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and in this way to find a church in their local area where the Gospel is preached, and to support it. However it is not the role of Good News Unlimited to define what church people should belong to.

Neither is Good News Unlimited trying to set up another “church.” In fact, the opposite is true: wherever we go we try to work with local churches of differing confessions to share the Good News. In different parts of the world we are often under pressure to start our own “church.” But Jesus doesn’t need more denominations; He needs more followers. The suspicions of existing churches about why a ministry not of their denomination would want to help them share the gospel for no reward is a frequent challenge that we have to overcome.

Good News Unlimited is for Christians everywhere!

We go out of our way to cooperate with other churches and ministries, rather than compete against them. While Good News Unlimited does support the establishment of Gospel Fellowships everywhere, these are not meant as an alternative to other churches, but instead as a way in which people from different confessions can get together and rejoice and grow in the life-transforming power of the gospel, and share it with their friends.

Ultimately, Good News Unlimited believes in the “church universal” that is found throughout the multi-coloured world of Christendom. We are sure that God has his faithful people everywhere – people who love the Gospel and who want help is Spread Fast. After all, when Christ gave the command to spread the Gospel to the whole world, it was in a time where none of the specific churches and denominations of today existed. For that reason, it is for all of them, and it is for us. Good News Unlimited takes that Gospel commission seriously – it doesn’t belong to a specific church; it’s for Christians everywhere!

Good News Unlimited only focuses on the essentials of the Gospel. This means that we provide a platform upon which followers of Jesus everywhere, who love the gospel, can unite and help to ensure that others receive the gift of eternal life as well.

You can be confident that every dollar is turned into a direct Gospel message

The people who do the work in Good News Unlimited come from a very wide range of Christian churches. We know that we are God’s church, regardless of where we may go to church. And because Good News Unlimited is not a “church” in the organisational sense of the world, we don’t have to fund expensive buildings, schools, hospitals, Sunday schools, different levels of beaurocracy, and those kinds of things. That’s fine for traditional churches; they have to provide a holistic ministry to their members. But that’s not us. When you support Good News Unlimited you can be confident that every dollar is turned into a direct Gospel message.

Good News Unlimited exists solely to share the Gospel quickly with those who haven’t heard it. We don’t get involved in other things that end up being expensive.. Good News Unlimited shares the Gospel through a network of volunteers, Christian ministries/churches, and Gospel Fellowships around the world. We only have one full-time employee (that’s me), and all of our other “suppliers” are either volunteers or contractors, as we need them. This allows Good News Unlimited to remain flexible in order to respond to the needs of the work of the Gospel. That means that although we are primarily a media ministry, we do a lot of other things as well, always with a focus on directly sharing the Gospel.

The only man we want Good News Unlimited to be about is the Man of Nazareth.

Furthermore, Good News Unlimited is not a ministry that centres on a “person.” We are a ministry that focuses only on a message – the most important message every given to humanity. That’s why, beside our founder, Dr Desmond Ford, we have a wide range of presenters and writers who share the message of the Gospel through our ministry. The only man that we want Good News Unlimited to be about is the Man of Nazareth.

Our “lean and mean” structure also allows Good News Unlimited to “punch way above our weight” for the sake of the Gospel. By partnering with Christian churches and ministries everywhere, we can leverage the power of the Body of Christ for the spreading of the Gospel.

As a ministry, Good News Unlimited doesn’t get involved in theological arguments either – whether these be general theological debates, or arguments within specific churches. We don’t criticise other Christians or pull them down. Instead, we try to be simply humble servants of the Gospel. We refuse to do anything that will detract from our mission of providing the positive, life-giving message of the Gospel to perishing souls.

We praise God for the many Christians who love the Gospel. We praise God for the many Christian churches and ministries that preach the Gospel, help feed the poor, clothe the naked, provide medical treatment and health education, help bring people to God through music, and a myriad other forms of ministry.

Still, we think there’s something unique about Good News Unlimited in this world – something that a lot of people are getting excited about.

– Eliezer Gonzalez

 

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