BWA to Solve the World’s Spiritual and Physical Poverty

The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Council concluded last Saturday, and the Council reaffirmed the commission of the Baptists towards the world. Worldwide Baptist delegates were led by the Council to declare their resolution to solve the world’s spiritual and physical poverty so as to uphold the Gospel of love revealed by Jesus Christ.

The resolution confirmed the strong conviction of the BWA “that salvation is offered to the world through Jesus Christ alone by means of his life, death and resurrection and continuing mission.” It emphasises “the crucial importance of personal conversion through the work of the Holy Spirit, issuing in repentance, faith in Christ as saviour, baptism, incorporation into the church and the life of discipleship.”

Facing the suffering and hunger among the people in the Third World, the BWA supports the desire of the Baptist World Aid (BWAid) Committee and BWAid Director Paul Montacute, to cooperate with the Micah Network (Micah 6:8) of over 270 evangelical organisations that provide relief, development and social justice ministries, to launch the Micah Challenge on Millennium Development Goals on October 15, 2004, the day of the launch of the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

The Micah Challenge is “to halve current levels of world poverty by 2015”. It urges “the richest nations to take urgent action to ensure that at least 0.7% of the national GNP is used to this end.”

All the Baptists around the world are invited to take “prayerful, practical action in their nations and communities”, so all nation and global leaders join hands in securing a more just and merciful world. Newly nominated President David Coffey showed his full support for the action.

Apart from physical hunger, the world is also suffering from spiritual poverty. Acknowledging that the Gospel is the true way to change life, the BWA encourages launching an evangelism strategy. BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz said the alliance has received a $600,000 matching grant to help fund evangelism training and rallies. Tony Cupit, BWA’s Director of Evangelism and Education will coordinate the world evangelisation strategy.

“We want to encourage the next quinquennium a strategy for world evangelisation to bear witness to Jesus Christ,” Lotz said. Under the approval of the Council members, “Christ the Living Water” Global Evangelism Strategy will be launched during next year’s centennial BWA World Congress in England, “to enlist and equip Baptists for evangelism and leadership for the next quinquennium.”

The strategy responded to the progress report from BWA’s 21st Century Committee, and the Chairman of the Committee David Goatley, by seeking to provide a long-range strategy for BWA ministry.

The report commented the BWA “builds fellowship and community, promotes vibrant Baptist identities, networks resources and serves as a global voice” and it “equips and empowers Baptists” in the areas of missions and evangelism, religious liberty and human rights, and relief and community development.