[6] The West Coast focus was in part due to the concentration of atheists, agnostics and so-called "nones" in the Western United States.

[7] Hunter—who had previously held leadership roles in the Calvary Chapel, Vineyard and Alpha organizations—was ordained as an Anglican deacon in 2008 and as a priest in the spring of 2009 and then elected an AMIA bishop in the summer of 2009 to lead the C4SO initiative.

"[10] By the next year, the relationship between AMIA chairman Charles Murphy and the Anglican Church of Rwanda's house of bishops, led by Kolini's successor Onesphore Rwaje, had broken down over questions of financial transparency and collegiality.

[16][4] C4SO also demonstrated high levels of congregational engagement, according to scholar Jeremy Bonner, with a "commitment index"—the ratio of average Sunday attendance to membership—of 89.3 in 2019.

[3][16] In September 2021, St. Mary of Bethany Parish in Nashville departed C4SO out of disagreement over "the ACNA’s emphasis that the world is in need of a church that is 'always moving forward' to 'extend' and 'advance' God’s rule with 'boot camp' training and preparation.

"[3] In his 2011 memoir The Accidental Anglican, Hunter describes a "church for the sake of others" as one that "kept its focus on those without faith" and, "following the footsteps of Jesus, stayed in conversation with contemporary seekers.

According to Hunter, key influences on C4SO's beliefs and practices are the missiology of Roland Allen and Lesslie Newbigin, the cultural engagement of Eddie Gibbs and Michael Green, the evangelistic approaches of Terry Fullam and Holy Trinity Brompton's Sandy Millar,[25] the Prayer Book heritage of Thomas Cranmer,[24] and the "inward-outward" discipleship practices described by Elizabeth O'Connor.

In 2017, following the ACNA Report on Holy Orders (which affirmed the ACNA's constitutional practice of "dual integrities" on women's ordination), Hunter said that C4SO would "continue our practice of ordaining women of character and integrity as priests and deacons, enabling them to serve in whatever way their spiritual gifts, calling and temperament call for.

"[27] Further guidance from C4SO in 2023 requires all clergy in C4SO to "honor women’s Spirit-gifted agency for leadership, both lay and ordained," by recognizing the validity of sacraments performed by female priests and deacons, nurturing women called to ordained and lay leadership, submitting to the authority of female rectors, deans, and canons in C4SO, and "[c]ommit[ing] not to preach, teach, or publicly endorse theology that undermines either our Canons, or C4SO’s vision for honoring women’s gifts of, and calling to, leadership.

In the absence of a diocesan bishop, the C4SO canons call for the Executive Leadership Team, made up of elected lay and clergy delegates, to be the ecclesiastical authority.