walked us back... to the gospel we had so sadly sent to the bookends of our convictions. After 25 years of pastoral ministry I had to admit to a wonderful community that I had erred." Church planting Church planting is a major component of NCMI's understanding of the local church and church growth. NCMI founder Dudley Daniel wrote, "an apostolic church has a mandate to see the church advancing in its witness to the world by fulfilling the Great Commission (), by planting churches in every town and village, making disciples of all nations." (Emphasis added.) History Origins (1982–1990) NCMI started in South Africa, around 1982 with a group of church leaders meeting together in Bryanston, a suburb of Johannesburg, to build relationships and discuss issues in their churches. Dudley Daniel emerged as key influence in developing this group. In January 1983 the group, then comprising about ten churches in greater Johannesburg, ratified a constitution for "New Covenant Ministries" based on "Bible Values" with the South African government, enabling them to recognize local churches, appoint church ministers or functions, and acquire property. At this time, all local church elders were members of the "covering body" of New Covenant Ministries and local congregations were autonomous. Starting in 1983, the movement became "involved with missions, church planting, cross-cultural ministry, mission outreach, and mercy ministry to the poor [...] and to victims of disaster", including activities in neighbouring Swaziland, Mozambique and Lesotho. The movement also began to hold conferences and retreats for leaders of their churches, the precursor to Leadership Training Times, with Dudley Daniel providing much of the teaching. By the late 1980s, the group had grown to about 70 relating church pastors. Around the same time, the apostolic-prophetic team emerged as a core group, distinct from the relating church pastors. International expansion (1990–2004) In 1990, the movement began to focus on international growth, appending "International" to its original name, "New Covenant Ministries". Daniel relocated his family to Australia in the early 1990s, coinciding with the official abolishment of apartheid in South Africa. In 1996, the "apostolic team" counted 13 men and their wives. In the late 1990s Daniel moved to Los Angeles, California to "contribute to envisioning and equipping churches in the USA". By September 1999, Daniel was suffering from severe health problems. He and his wife returned to Adelaide in 2002. By mid-2001, NCMI stated they had 7,000 relating churches