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THE GREAT COMMISSION RESEARCH NETWORK

AWARDS

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MacGavran Award

"The Donald A. McGavran Award for Outstanding Leadership in Great Commission Research" is bestowed at the Annual Conference's President's Banquet to a person who has exemplified scholarship, intellect and leadership in the research and dissemination of the principles of effective disciple-making as originally developed by Donald A. McGavran.

Win Arn Award

"The Win Arn Award for Lifetime Leadership in Great Commission Research" is bestowed at the Annual Conference's President's Banquet to a person who has exemplified scholarship, intellect and leadership in the research and dissemination of the principles of effective disciple-making over their lifetime.

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McGavran Award

When warranted, the "Donald A. McGavran Award for Outstanding Leadership in Great Commission Research" is bestowed at the Annual Conference's President's Banquet to a person who has exemplified scholarship, intellect and leadership in the research and dissemination of the principles of effective disciple-making as originally developed by Donald A. McGavran.

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Donald Anderson McGavran (1897–1990) was the founder of the School of World Mission and Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena California. A third generation missionary in India, McGavran spent much of his life trying to identify and overcome social barriers to Christian conversion.

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McGavran's magnum opus, Understanding Church Growth, was voted by Christianity Today magazine as the second most influential book in the 20th century. The book substantially changed the methods by which missionaries identify and prioritize groups of persons for missionary work, and stimulated the birth of the Church Growth Movement.

McGavran developed his church growth principles after rejecting the popular view that mission was "philanthropy, education, medicine, famine relief, evangelism, and world friendship' and become convinced that good deeds – while necessary – 'must never replace the essential task of mission: discipling the peoples of the earth". (Donald A. McGavran, 'My Pilgrimage in Mission', International Bulletin of Missionary Research 10, no.2 (April 1986): 53-58, p. 54.)

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The Donald McGavran Leadership Award was originally conceived by C. Peter Wagner in 1988, to encourage and affirm outstanding contributions to the field of effective evangelism. McGavran, still living at the time, selected the first recipient—Dr. Win Arn. Since then, the Great Commission Research Network has selected individuals to receive this noteworthy award.

Former Recipients

01

  • Win Arn (1989)

  • C. Peter Wagner (1990)

  • Carl F. George (1991)

  • Wilbert S. McKinley (1992)

  • Robert Logan (1993)

  • Bill Sullivan (1994)

  • Elmer Towns (1994)

  • Flavil R. Yeakley Jr. (1995)

  • George G. Hunter III (1996)

  • Eddie Gibbs (1997)

  • Gary L. McIntosh (1998)

  • Kent R, Hunter (1999)

  • R. Daniel Reeves (2000)

  • Ray Ellis (2002)

  • John Ellas (2003)

  • Rich Warren (2004)

  • Charles Arn (2005)

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02

  • John Vaughan (2006)

  • Waldo Werning (2006)

  • Bob Whitesel (2007)

  • Bill Easum (2009)

  • Thom S. Rainer (2010)

  • Ed Stetzer (2012)

  • Nelson Searcy (2013)

  • J.D. Payne (2014)

  • Alan McMahan (2015)

  • Steve Wilkes (2016)

  • Art McPhee (2016)

  • Mike Morris (2017)

  • Bill Day (2019)

  • Warren Bird (2022)

  • Gordon Penfold (2023)

  • James Y. Cho (2024)

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Win Arn Award

In 1970, Dr. Win Arn sat in a classroom at Fuller Theological Seminary, listening to McGavran speak on his principles of church growth. Arn, a denominational executive in California, soon realized that the insights McGavran was sharing were applicable not only to India, but to Indiana...and New York, and Texas, and California. American churches could learn from the experience of churches in India, Asia, and South America. As the American Church was beginning an unprecedented decline in membership and attendance, Arn saw the need to share McGavran's strategies with struggling congregations at home.

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Dr. Arn approached McGavran with the idea of a book specifically on applying church growth principles to America. The result was How to Grow a Church, a dialogue between the two men on how local congregations could more effectively reach and disciple their communities. The book, which eventually sold over 250,000 copies, created a new awareness and sense of hope among church leaders and denominational executives. Arn would later create a 16mm film by the same name, and begin the Institute for American Church Growth, an organization devoted to the study and dissemination of church growth thinking in the U.S.

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For the next 20 years Arn would research and write about church growth strategy in the American church, including books such as: Ten Steps to Church Growth, Back to Basics, The Master's Plan for Making Disciples, The Church Growth Ratio Book, the Pastors' Church Growth Handbook (Vol. I & II), Who Cares About Love?, and Growth: A New Vision for the Sunday School.

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But, Arn introduced even more people to church growth thinking through his films and videos. HOW TO GROW A CHURCH and REACH OUT AND GROW featured interviews with McGavran and other church leaders. The popular CHUCK BRADLEY SERIES included 13 films featuring a likable layman whose cinematic adventures helped viewers gain a new perspective on themselves and their church. The genius of these films, geared toward lay audiences, was to help church members see their normal activities through "church growth eyes." Arn once said his approach to producing these visual resources was to help people "...laugh a little, cry a little, and learn a little."

 

One evening in May, 1988, at his home in California, Win suffered a stroke and was rushed to the nearby Methodist Hospital. He survived and eventually went back to his work with the help of prayer, love, and therapy. (Win was fond of saying, "Since my stroke, I can't see as well, hear very much, and my reactions have slowed way down. But, thank God I can still drive!") His experience with the stroke also stimulated Win's awareness to the large number of senior adults outside of Christ and a local church. As a result, Win spent the next ten years researching, writing, and producing films on how church growth thinking could help reach this aging demographic cohort. Win wrote four additional books, designed and led training seminars, and produced six more films on the topic of reaching older adults.

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Into his 80s, as the stroke began to take its toll, Win spent more time at home and eventually moved into a retirement community with his wife, Barbara. He sought to avoid the limelight while encouraging those who followed to carry the torch of effective evangelism into the next generation.

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Three weeks before his passing, Win was in a coma at Pomona General Hospital. But, his final moments on earth remind us of the hope that every Christian has in meeting Jesus face to face. His daughter, who had been sitting at his bedside, later wrote of her experience that evening of December 12, 2006:

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Dad had been ill off and on for a number of years and unable to move on his own for the past couple weeks. His eyes did not have much life, just a dull gray unfocused look. In the last few days, he had been breathing for 25 seconds, then not breathing for about 35 seconds. But tonight, a little while before 9:20 p.m., his breathing was continuous and very shallow.

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"I looked at dad and, to my surprise, saw his eyes completely open (something that hadn't happened for days). And, he seemed to be looking at something above him. The incredible thing was that his eyes were a brilliant crystal, deep blue (versus his normal gray color). And there was a clear, unwavering focus. He was seeing-I am sure-angels. And, as he watched what must have been a spectacular sight occur in front of him (I looked but didn't see anything)...he began smiling. His smile became more and more joyously happy".

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This lasted what seemed like about 30 seconds. Then, his face muscles relaxed and a whiteness came over him. There were no struggles or shortness of breath, just what seemed to be a warm feeling of abundant joy and happiness.

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Never again will I think of death as unknown or frightening. What I saw on my dad's face confirmed to me that Heaven is, indeed, a wonderful place!

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--Sue Arn DeGioia

Former Recipients

01

  • Eddie Gibbs (2011)

  • Elmer Towns (2012)

  • George Hunter III (2013)

  • John Vaughan (2014)

  • Gary L. McIntosh (2015)

02

  • Kent R. Hunter (2017)

  • Carl F. George (2019)

  • Charles Arn (2022)

  • Bob Whitesel (2023)

  • David R. Dunaetz (2024)

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