World Missions Discussed as Billion Soul Summit Gathers 100's of Evangelicals

The world’s most influential Christian church planters, pastors and evangelists convened at a global church planting "congress" last week to strategise for world evangelism.
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Over 500 delegates from 71 countries and 82 denominations gathered in Dallas, Sept. 19-21, for the Billion Soul Summit sponsored by the Global Pastors Network (GPN). Their goal is to start five million churches and convert one billion people to Christianity in the next 15 years.

“God is aligning His forces around the world for the greatest evangelism thrust in church history," said Steve Douglass, President of Campus Crusade for Christ International.

According to GPN chairman and best-selling author Dr. John C. Maxwell, the event represented the greatest gathering of people who want to plant churches in the history of the Church.

“For many years the West taught the rest of the world how to plant churches. This is not a West to the Rest approach but a Rest to the West approach," stated GPN President Dr. James O. Davis. “Our goal is not to go start churches, but to facilitate those who do it well to do it better, which is easy to do if we don’t care who gets the credit."

Davis co-founded the Global Pastors Network along with the late Dr. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ whose dream of world evangelism lives on in many of those whose lives he touched even after his death two years ago.

There are 1.74 billion unreached people in the world and current global population growth is outpacing Christian conversions, according to Davis. "This Congress brought together leaders who recognise that in order to finish the Great Commission, we have to work harder and work together, networking relationships and resources to overcome population growth. If not, the Great Commission will not be fulfilled for more than 300 years.”

|QUOTE|In three days of plenary sessions, the GPN Church Planting Congress developed eight objectives: identifying church-planting ministries and movements; creating partnerships; creating a global community; promoting successful discipleship strategies; reviving leadership; sharing resources; building a biblical worldview; and monitoring results.

The key was to make information available - whether research, recommendations, reports, or resources.

“We aren’t to be containers, we are to be channels, in sharing with each other,” said Davis.

The goal of one billion new followers of Christ sets a good minimum number from which to start, evangelist Reinhard Bonnke said during his opening presentation to the delegates.

“This is about the salvation of a generation, and it is our goal to plunder hell and populate heaven,” he stated.

David Sobrepena, General Superintendent and President of the Philippines General Council of the Assemblies of God, has led church planting movements in his country by starting more than 1,500 churches in the past eight years.

“Church planting already is an integral and strong part of outreach in many countries outside the U.S.,” he said. “The goal is bigger – this vision to establish five million churches has to go beyond denominations and traditional methods.”

During the summit, key leaders were able to network and create synergy.

Robert Barriger, who has been planting churches in Peru since becoming a Christian, was led to the faith by traveling church planter, Ralph Moore, while trying to escape life in the 70s California surfing scene. The two men reconnected in the hotel lobby for the first time after more than 30 years.

In another incident, two church-planters – one from Uganda, the other from Australia – were both planning to go to Rwanda to start new congregations in the wake of the genocide, but decided to coordinate their schedules and go together in the next two months in order to have greater impact.

“We are rubbing minds and breaking down barriers,” stated Sunday Adelaja from the Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God in Kiev, Ukraine.

Global Pastors Network is a community of successful ministries working together online, on-air, and on-ground to equip Christian leaders. The Dallas Congress was the first of five to be held around the world over the next two years.

The next meetings will be held in Prague, Czech Republic, July 5-6, 2006; Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov. 8-10; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mar. 21-23, 2007; and Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov. 6-8.





Rhoda Tse
Christian Today Correspondent