STATEMENT ABOUT THE ORDINATION OF WOMEN AS PRIESTS Founded in1922 as the Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society, Crosslinks holds firmly to the inspiration and authority of Scripture. The Basis of the Society states that Scripture is ‘the unerring Revelation of God, the one Rule of Faith, and the final Court of Appeal’. Our Statement of Faith speaks of ‘the God-breathed Scriptures’ as ‘wholly trustworthy and free from error in both history and doctrine’. We believe that on the matter of salvation Scripture has only one meaning and this can be clearly understood. However we also realise that on some issues not essential to salvation it is interpreted in different ways. In addition each person’s interpretation will be affected by the culture in which they live and must be related to that culture. As a missionary society working in so many different countries we are very conscious of this diversity of interpretation. Nevertheless we believe it is right that fellowship should exist among Bible-believing Christians divided over some secondary issues. In addition, we believe that our job is to concentrate on the object of Crosslinks as stated in its constitution which is ‘to preach the Gospel to every creature in fulfilment of our Lord’s command.’ Therefore, over many years, our policy has been not to take up firm positions on issues of interpretation which divide Bible-believing Christians: eg the Second Coming, Pacifism, the Charismatic Movement, etc. Aware of our indebtedness to evangelical scholarship past and present, we have allowed those associated with us carefully and prayerfully to interpret Scripture as the Lord guides them. As a Society, we intend to continue that policy. For these reasons we do not propose to take up any position on the Ordination of Women as presbyters. As far as possible, the General Council will seek to ensure that the different views on this subject are reflected within the membership of the executive staff. We trust that all of our supporters, missionaries and staff as well as the churches and Christians with whom we work in partnership in other parts of the world will continue to seek the Lord’s guidance as they interpret Scripture for their generation and culture. We pledge ourselves to continue to work in partnership with them as we seek to bring God’s Word to our needy world. This Statement was passed by General Council of Crosslinks in September 1993 (G58/93).