Gulf Churches Fellowship Executive Committee
The GCF executive committee, is elected at the annual meeting to interact with the other ecumenical regional councils and parent church bodies and to conduct any business of the Gulf Churches Fellowship between annual meetings as the need arises. The executive committee is made up of one representative from each of the five major church families listed above.
Country-Specific Fellowships of Churches
Due to the distinct legal and cultural contexts of each Gulf country, we recommend that the churches of each Gulf state form their own regional ecumenical country-specific fellowships, each of which could relate to a Gulf Churches Fellowship.
Each country fellowship could appoint a liaison with an ambassadorial role on behalf of the churches to liaise with local government officials to help churches build the best possible relationships with their respective governments. They could assist church leaders by briefing them and aiding them in navigating governmental structures. The liaison could operate with a mandate from those churches that form a fellowship to support such a position.
Communication with Membership
The moderator and secretary (see by-laws for descriptions) will be responsible for organizing executive committee meetings and communicating with membership to announce annual meeting dates and agenda.
Cooperation with Parent Church Bodies
Each of the delegates attending the annual meeting of the Gulf Churches Fellowship will be appointed by their parent church to participate in the GCF meeting and will represent the will of the parent church at Gulf Fellowship gatherings.
Relationship of the GCF to the Middle East Council of Churches
The Gulf Churches Fellowship acknowledges and fully affirms the high calling of the MECC to address the widest and deepest concerns of the whole region of the Middle East, including the full range of issues faced by Christians in the Gulf States. It is within this context that a Gulf Churches Fellowship has been organized to address region-specific concerns. The Gulf Churches Fellowship is fully complimentary to the MECC.
The Middle East Council of Churches has announced an interest in re-establishing its Gulf Liaison Office. It is the hope of the Gulf Churches Fellowship that the MECC Gulf liaison officer work in close cooperation with the Gulf Churches Fellowship regarding charitable and social justice ministries with migrant workers and a range of other areas.
Relationship of new Gulf Churches Fellowship to other regional councils of churches including the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) and the All African Council of Churches (AACC)
Christian ecumenism in the Gulf is global in nature. A majority (an estimated 84%) of Christians in the Gulf are from Asia (the Indian sub-continent, Southeast and East Asia). Therefore, the GCF will seek to collaborate where appropriate with the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA). Additionally, an estimated 7.5 % of Christians in the Gulf are from Africa. The GCF will also seek to collaborate where appropriate with the All African Council of Churches regarding areas of shared ministry.
Demography of Christians in the Gulf
- Indian Sub-Continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka) 69.8%
- Southeast Asian (Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Brunei, East Timor, Singapore) 13.0%
- East Asian (China, Korea, Japanese, Taiwan) 1.2%
- African 7.5%
- European 3.2%
- Middle Eastern 2.7%
- North American 1.3%
- South American 0.7%
- Australian 0.6%