Draft:Churches in Communites International

Churches in Communities International (CIC), also known as CIC International, is a UK-based accreditation and accountability organisation for independent evangelical churches  , chaplains and ministries. CIC’s membership is predominantly, though not exclusively, from Pentecostal and Charismatic backgrounds. CIC is a member denomination of the Free Churches Group, Churches Together in England and a member organisation of the Evangelical Alliance.

Their headquarters are based in Bromley, South East London. Churches in Communites International describes itself as a ‘member-led organisation’ which adopts a form of congregationalist polity rather than a hierarchical system of leadership often associated with the British New Church Movement. CIC's polity has been described as similar to the early Assemblies of God structure of 1924 in their use of member councils. In 2022, CIC accredited approximately 316 Christian ministers throughout the UK.

History
Churches in Communities International (CIC) was founded by Rev. Dr Hugh Osgood in Bromley, South East London in 1997. The forming of CIC was said to be in response to independent ministers seeking formal accountability, safeguards and ministerial accreditation without joining the historic denominations. On the 16 November 2010, CIC International was registered as a charitable company with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. On the 3 March 2023, CIC was registered as a charity by the Scottish Charity Regulator.

Churches in Communities International had 180 member ministers by the end of 2017. By their annual members report in 2022, CIC was said to endorse 316 accredited ministers, 117 member churches and 86 chaplains throughout the United Kingdom.

As well as being an endorsing authority for the Royal Army Chaplains' Department and other branches of the UK armed forces  , CIC has chaplains in HM Prison Service  , the National Health Service , emergency services and education. Waverley Abbey College, founded by Selwyn Hughes, offers certificate courses in chaplaincy as a route to CIC accreditation.

The Rev. Jonathan Woodhouse, Convenor of the United Navy, Army and Air Force Board, said in 2015, “it was a ground-breaking decision for Armed Forces Chaplaincy to approve the application of CIC International to become the equivalent of a UK Sending Church allowing suitably called and qualified ministers to bring their gifts and skills to the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force as Chaplains”.