The Board Just Clarified Membership Eligibility

Citygate Network’s rebranding and refocusing continues to move forward and gain momentum. In line with that, our board recently took a look at what we called the Five Models for Membership—guidelines for determining if an organization fits within our association. Each model described a type of ministry (e.g., resident addiction recovery program) and stated that a gospel component was necessary, without any suggestion as to what that might be. As ministries have gotten more and more diverse because the needs on the streets have increased, the Five Models for Membership have become somewhat outdated (not to mention, restricting).

To replace these somewhat awkward criteria, the board just approved the following three paragraphs, with a corresponding link:

Organizational membership in Citygate Network is open to missions, agencies, churches, and other ministries that fully embrace the core of the Christian gospel (as we believe is represented in the Citygate Network Statement of Faith) and are doing (or in the case of churches, specializing in) the work of moving people in desperate situations and destitute conditions from human suffering to human flourishing.

Candidates for organizational membership might be engaged in one or more of the following: feeding; sheltering; addiction recovery; abuse and trafficking deliverance; society re-entry training; refugee reception; life-necessities distribution; programs for disadvantaged youth; medical respite and dental care; mental health therapy; education and tutoring; legal assistance; career development; job placement; and temporary or permanent housing procurement.

Inherent in Citygate Network’s philosophy is that complete Christian ministry needs to include a spoken gospel message, as well as good works that are a manifestation of that message. This is the single qualifying practice that all Citygate Network members share.

Peruse the paragraphs and follow the link. We think you’ll like what you read. The board believes this gauge is fully in line with where we are going as a membership organization. Additionally, via the linked article, the concept of a “spoken gospel message” is laid out more clearly than ever before.

Action step: Be watching for information on Citygate Network’s spring membership campaign, on its way to you very shortly. Board members Andy Bales (Union Rescue Mission, Los Angeles, California), Penny Kievet (City Rescue Mission, Jacksonville, Florida), Michael Brown (Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Kalamazoo, Michigan), and Sabrina Burkiewicz (Bloomington, Illinois) are serving as advisors and co-chairs of the campaign. We think you’ll really like the material that has been prepared.