May 01, 1997 by

An Overview of the Ten Consultions

Preparations are moving forward for the upcoming Global Consultation on World Evangelization called GCOWE ’97 in Pretoria South Africa, June 30-July 5, 1997. This consultation consists of ten separate consultations. In this article we present a brief overview of the ten consultations.

1. Mission Executives Consultation

Considered central for the purpose of GCOWE '97, the Mission Executives Consultation will be a gathering together of 500 mission agency leaders from around the world. This is only the second time since 1910 that just mission agency leaders have gathered together on a global level to discuss the completion of the remaining missionary task.

The mission agency leaders will work through such issues as how agencies can effectively divide up the remaining task so that all unreached peoples receive missionaries rather than dozens of mission agencies focusing on the same peoples. Avery Willis has said, "Our Mission Executives Consultation will be a working meeting in which we grapple with the issues of world missions and the Kingdom agenda." (See the interview with Avery Willis starting on page 17-19.)

It is hoped that this meeting will result in greater unity and love among all mission agencies, greater partnership, expanded vision, and new divinely creative initiatives in reaching the unreached peoples. Organizers would like to see the mission executives join hands, network and focus on the least reached in order that God would guide them and give them direction and strategies for fulfilling the process of World Evangelization in the next 5-10 years.

World Evangelization Progress

Coordination of mission agency efforts and the fostering of partnerships will be a significant focus of this consultation. But coordination and partnership can only happen if there is adequate information on who is working where with what people. To foster this coordination, an unreached peoples survey was included with the registration forms for the Mission Executives Consultation. So far, 310 surveys have been returned representing ministries in 58 countries and containing over 10,000 pieces of information. The results of this survey will be made available to all mission agencies represented at GCOWE '97. This information will help agencies know what each is doing in order to avoid duplicating one another's efforts in planting churches among the remaining cultures that still have no church.

Delegates were invited based on being (1) mission agency executives (actually sending a "significant" number of missionaries); (2) mission agency field leaders/executives; (3) mission director of a church that sends missionaries to other countries (some of these have characteristics of "denominations").

Leadership of this track is given by co-coordinators Avery Willis, Senior Vice President for the Overseas Operations of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board (formerly the Foreign Mission Board), and George Verwer, the founder and coordinator of Operation Mobilization. The South African co- coordinators are Francois Vosloo, Southern Africa director for Operation Mobilization and Samuel Ndala, Pastor, apostolic Faith Mission and Missions Coordinator in Mozambique. Consultation planner is Bill Bullington.

2. Business Executives Consultation

The purpose of this meeting is to help establish a network and use the time together in South Africa to link business and professionals and other church leaders to build up and strengthen the international Christian business fraternity for the future.

This network is commissioned to bring together those organizations and ministries called to the global marketplace and to impart vision, communicate progress and catalyze action around the AD2000 & Beyond goals.

About 300 business executives and professionals will be coming from all over the world, including several senior government officials.

The focus of the consultation will be to work through issues to see a release of kingdom resources vitally needed to facilitate reaching the Joshua Project 2000 people groups.

Some of the major discussion areas for the consultation under consideration are:

1. Case studies on how to impact a nation. This is based on an invitation extended by the government of Benin represented by the Honorable Matthew Kerekou, President of Benin.
2. Partnership opportunities in the "10/40" window countries.
3. Reaching the unreached peoples--models and ideas for effectiveness
4. Creative financing--financial facilities needed to promote development in target countries.

Business and professional persons are now being challenged to give their response to the call manifest in the Great Commission. Christian leaders are calling on us because in many countries, we have easier access to the unreached peoples.

The following strategic initiatives are being proposed:

Creation of a Christian International Development Corporation

The establishment of a financing agency which would assist in the following ways:

1. Providing loans or other forms of finance to businesses in the target peoples, opening a potential relationship between the agency and the businesses to open opportunities for "tent-making" evangelists and church planters in these peoples.
2. Developing joint ventures and/or trade between businesses in the targeted unreached peoples and Christian business people. This will lead to opportunities for creating jobs for employees and generating finances for missionary work in these peoples.

Just as in the political sense, the flag follows trade, so it would be in the spiritual context: the church, defined in the broadest sense, could follow the business thrust into the unreached peoples.

Mobilizing Skilled People And Resources

Skilled Christian business and professional persons world-wide must be mobilized for the thrust into the target areas. But some may need to "catch" the vision of what the Spirit of God is doing around the world.

Their skills could be applied in (1) businesses, (2) in public sector projects, (3) in providing advice to governments and (4) in joint private/state ventures.

One main skill of business people is their ability to plan, organize and mobilize resources to achieve pre-determined goals. These four actions could provide the crucial focus to the international Christian community.

As the Body of Christ around the globe is moving toward the finish of the long marathon that started on the day of Pentecost, business and professional people are seeking to network with this world-wide movement and become significantly involved in completing the missionary task.

The international coordinator of this consultation is J. Gunnar Olson of Sweden, Chairman and Founder of International Christian Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) (ph. +46-19-247000, Fax +46-19-247001, E-mail: [email protected]).

The South African Coordinator is Lawrence McCrystal, also with ICCC (ph. +27-11-789 8514, Fax +27-11-789 8528, E-mail: [email protected]).

Other Consultation Planners:

Graham Binet, Australia, Tel. +61-2-9988 3676, Fax +61-2-9988 3613, E- mail: [email protected]

Jurg Opprecht, Executive Coordinator Switzerland, Tel. +41-26 670 0172, Fax +41-26 670 0173, E-mail : [email protected]

John Thompson, USA, Tel. +1-719-590-6282, Fax +1-719-590-9224, E- mail: [email protected]

3. The Consultation on Meeting the Needs of the Poor

The Rural and Urban Poor Network (R&UPN) was established at GCOWE '95 in Seoul, Korea as a specialist sub-track to the Cities Resource Network of the AD2000 and Beyond Movement. The first consultation (R&UPN 1) was held in June 1996 at Jackie Pullinger's mission in Hong Kong. R&UPN 2 will now be held in Mamelodi, a black township of Pretoria, giving the delegates a truly African experience.

The content of the program consists of four I's.

1. Issues: It is estimated that by the year 2000, up to half of the world's population will be living in cities as migrant urban poor. It is also estimated that by the year 2000, 82% of the world's poorest of the poor will be living in the 10/40 window.
   Included in the program will be the issues concerning slum dwellers, street children and other children at risk, prostitutes and other exploited women, substance abusers, and others.
2. Information: The program will be divided up into story-telling sessions. Here delegates will listen to stories of success and failure which is often the best way of learning.
   Participants in the story-telling sessions will be those actively living and working amongst the poor as well as key leaders of movements among the poor.
3. Implementation: The consultation will also be dealing with strategic planning. This will include the Joshua Project 2000, unreached people cluster groups, national initiatives, further effective networking, and looking at Africa's involvement by identifying key leadership.
4. Impartation: Many workers among the poor who are fulfilling Isaiah 58:10 in spending themselves on behalf of the poor and needy are often spent themselves. These people often work in isolated conditions, are weary and misunderstood. The meeting will be coordinated by Brother Daniel.

4. African National AD2000 Initiatives Consultation

The African National AD2000 Initiatives Consultation brings together over 1,000 Christian leaders from more than 50 African countries plus over 100 ministry leaders from around the world.

Focus

The focus of attention will be mobilization--the mobilization of national churches in partnership with the wider body of Christ to:

1. Identify and reach out to the least evangelized people groups, geographical areas and classes of society in their countries.
2. Play a significant role in reaching the least evangelized peoples, areas and classes worldwide.
3. Develop a cooperative national strategy designed to saturate their country with accessible groups of believers (saturation church planting).

Assessment

Each national delegation will bring to the Consultation resource assessments on the availability of mother tongue Scriptures, audio materials, radio broadcasts, Jesus film, literature, missionaries, and workers for pioneer evangelism at home and abroad.

Effective African Models

National leaders will share their challenges and successes for the participation and benefit of all in plenary and smaller break out groups. Exciting innovative models will be presented on the role of research in developing a national strategy; denomination-al mobilization for church planting and missions; developing indigenous mission agencies; missions schools; the use of audio communications to penetrate unreached people groups; the role of radio in pioneer church planting; the impact of the JESUS film on unreached people groups, and strategic evangelism partnerships for mega people groups.

Resourcing

Leaders from the major networks of the global AD2000 & Beyond Movement will be present and meet together in specialist breakout groups to listen, learn, affirm and resource African leaders. These will included: Denominational Leaders, Radio, Media, Audio Communications, Jesus Film, God's Word and Literature, Scripture translation, Research, Mobilization of New Missionaries and others.

Underlying Assumptions

The African National Initiatives Consultation program has been developed around the following assumptions.

1. That the Lord Jesus Christ has His people in every nation of Africa and is building His church.
2. That, with the exception of a few countries in North Africa and the Sahel, every African country has the primary ministry gifts, manpower and material resources needed to complete the task.
3. That, through the mobilization and focused deployment of existing

indigenous resources in partnership with the global church, the vision of a church for every people and the Gospel for every person can be realized in Africa and the world.

Challenges And Issues

In addition to taking stock of where the church has been planted in the nations of Africa in terms of resource development and ethnic/geographical penetration. Attention will also be given to critical issues, such as, dependency, ethnic reconciliation, the role of women, and Islamic imperialism.

Dreams/Expectations

It is hoped that national delegations will return to their countries with a greatly enlarged vision:

1. A vision to see every least evangelized people penetrated with the Gospel.
2. A vision to see every nation actively involved in worldwide mission.
3. A vision for saturation church planting in their country.

It is our dream that every delegation will leave GCOWE '97 with an ongoing commitment to develop a strategic plan focusing on the least evangelized in their country and the world, a plan for which they would seek to gain the widest possible ownership.

There is an expectation for every delegation to return to their nations encouraged and equipped for greater achievement as a result of their involvement and interaction with Christian leaders from Africa and the wider world.

Desired Outcome of Consultation

The goals for a broad-based, integrated, national evangelization initiative in every nation of Africa include:

1. A pioneer church planting initiative targeting its least evangelized peoples (Joshua Project peoples).
2. A significant contribution to world evangelization, essentially in the 10/40 Window.
3. A saturation church planting strategy to provide a church to all, linguistically, culturally and geographically.

World Evangelization Progress

Many exciting models have already been identified at regional and/or national levels in several African countries. These models will be presented in detail at GCOWE '97. One such model was developed by Jean Baptist Swadrago in Burkina Faso who is sending out 150 missionary couples a year from his denomination, many of whom are going to the very unreached Sahel region.

Criterion for Selecting Delegates:

1. Leaders of major mainline, evangelical and pentecostal charismatic denominations, the opinion leaders and policy makers without whose cooperation whole denominations cannot be mobilized.
2. Leaders of denominations and ministries linked to the AD2000 and Beyond Movement.
3. Leaders and specialists in "cutting edge" ministries, those involved in Bible translation as nationals, mobilizing and training cross cultural missionaries, outreach to specific groups, and others.

The international coordinator is Ross Campbell, founding director of Ghana Evangelism Committee which has served to catalyze and mobilize the churches, mission agencies and major ministries in Ghana to disciple the whole nation and beyond by 2000. He is also global coordinator for National AD2000 Initiatives of the AD2000 & Beyond Movement. In preparation for GCOWE '97, Rev. Campbell has been surveying leaders all over Africa and updating the unreached peoples list. The South African coordinator is Johan Combrinck, president of Africa Network Evangelism Task (AFNET).

5. GCOWE 97 Training For Church Planting Movements Consultation

The primary goal of the consultation is to provide resources for training church planters in a way that will promote not just the planting of new individual churches, but the planting of churches that will plant other churches, creating a movement of church planting in a given area. Thus, the foundational philosophy undergirding the consultation is that church planting is not a "one- off" event. We want to see other church planters that will, in time, plant more churches, setting a continuous movement in motion.

In order to do this, we want to see church planters trained to begin new churches with the end in mind. While they are still planning for church planting they must already envision what the newly planted church will be like in 3-5 years after inception. The challenge in starting a church planting movement includes not only how we evangelize, plant churches and preserve the harvest; but, we need to take a close look at how we integrate evangelism with spiritual formation and leadership development. Only then can we expect to produce healthy, vibrant, mature and doctrinally sound churches that are also planting other churches.

Recognizing that various spiritual gifts will be needed to establish a multiplying church, a comprehensive, team approach is crucial. This becomes even more relevant as we work in the 10/40 Window and Third World situations. These countries require that the church planters, trainers, Bible translators, community developers and others, team up for an integrated effort that will impact the lives of people on a much more comprehensive basis.

The speakers for this consultation include:

Bob Logan, who is teaching Church Planting at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA. He will be speaking on "Church Multiplication Principles."

Greg Livingstone, General Director of Frontiers, the largest mission agency of church planting teams among Muslims. He will be teaching on "Church Planting amongst Muslims"

Chris de Wet, International Executive Director, Africa Ministries Network (AFMIN), an organization which trains 10,000-15,000 church leaders annually. He will introduce "Key Issues for Pioneer Church Planting Movements."

Because church planters from more than 35 countries will be present, liberal use of case-studies, various working models, and group discussions will be made.

Description of the Type of Leaders Invited to this Consultation

1. People involved in church planting.
2. People planning for church planting.
3. People training church planters.

The consultation coordinator has encountered case studies that will be presented at GCOWE '97 by their originators. For example, a church planter from Zaire will tell how he planted 130 churches, each with over 2000 members.

The international coordinator for this consultation is Chris De Wet of South Africa, Executive Director International of Africa Ministries Network.

6. South Africa Local Pastors Consultation

Goal of the consultation

Pastors of South African churches will discuss how to coordinate a racially integrated approach to missions mobilization, and send missionaries from South Africa to the needy parts of the world. They will work:

1. To create an impetus of missions mobilization within local churches.
2. To propose a workable South African strategy of the implementation of the Joshua Project.
3. To create cross-cultural, cross-denominational networking and partnerships in reaching the 110 unreached people groups of Southern Africa as well as the 10/40 window.

Description of the type of leaders invited to this Consultation

1. South African pastors who are visionaries.
2. Pastors who believe in church planting.
3. People who are mission minded.
4. Key mission mobilizing church pastors.
5. Key pastors of churches who are models of local church involvement in world missions.

Some international pastors of missions minded, successful churches have been invited to attend. Consultation coordinators report the following praise reports. According to Victor Mokgothlhoa ,before attending GCOWE '95 the church he pastors focused only on itself. Now, in preparation for GCOWE '97, he has shared what he learned at GCOWE '95 with his leadership. The focus changed outwardly and, as a result, his church has planted three new churches.

In the last year, South Africa has doubled it's missionary sending as a result of the missions mobilization happening in the local churches.

Organizations like Antioch International and World Mission Centre reports of millions of South African rands that are being raised as Faith Promise in local churches across the nation which enables the local church to do what it is called to do.

There are several South African based organizations that concentrate on helping churches to be mobilized for World Missions.

GCOWE '97 is going to help us to strengthen our efforts through networks and partnerships that will be forged.

Coordinating the consultation will be International Coordinator Danie Vermeulen of South Africa, the senior pastor of Richards Bay Community Church. The South African coordinator is Pastor Lazarus Selahle, senior pastor of True Gospel Church, Mamelodi East. He is also co-director of the World Mission Centre.

7. Theological Institution Presidents and Academic Deans Consultation of GCOWE 97

For the first time in the history of international evangelical congresses focused on global evangelization, top echelon academic leaders of the most strategic training institutions in the world will meet together as a distinct group to consider their role in the fulfillment of Christ's Great Commission.

Through the graduates trained in their institutions, these academics significantly influence the destinies of unreached peoples around the world. Either the training which they impart motivates and equips their students to reach these peoples with the Gospel of Jesus Christ or it leaves them a focus devoid of such concern.

The importance of the Presidents and Academic Deans Consultation (PAD) of the Global Consultation of World Evangelization (GCOWE '97) cannot be underestimated. As the theological and Biblical training institutions go, so goes the Church. This has been sufficiently demonstrated in history. If these key academic leaderscan motivate their respective faculties and students to have a heart for World Evangelization, unreached and less reached people groups may be exposed to the Gospel of Jesus Christ much faster than is happening today. On the other hand, if the presidents and academic deans allow their training institutions to be "playgrounds for scholars" instead of a training ground where pastors, evangelists, educators, counselors and missionaries are equipped to accomplish the Great Commission, churches will not be concerned for, let alone be committed to, world evangelization.

Biblical/Theological training institutions must have a clear and focused reason for their existence. To aid in the process, the objectives of this consultation are:

1. To face realistically the evangelization of the nations as encouraged by the AD2000 & Beyond Movement.
2. To rethink and restructure training programs for the 21st Century to facilitate the establishment of the Church and the preaching of the Gospel within every cultural and linguistic group on Planet Earth.
3. To network theological training institutions to take advantage of the unparalleled opportunities in worldwide evangelization in the face of growing hostility.
4. To increase the unity of the Church committed to Biblical authority, and enhance coordination of ministry training.

The task of the consultation is

1. To enable presidents and academic deans to clarify the vision of their training institutions so that they will focus upon bringing the nations to faith in Jesus Christ.
2. To have training institutions produce theologically literate, Biblically saturated graduates submitted to Biblical authority, committed to Jesus Christ and motivated to make Him known to all people groups.
3. To see graduates so motivated to declare the glory of God (Psalm 96:3,8) and so present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit that they will evangelize, plant churches, and develop training institutions, which will, in turn, be committed to the same objectives: to know Him and make Him known.
4. To field graduates who understand their task to bring deliverance to people so they may worship and serve God, in the face of all kinds of persecution and opposition.
5. To send forth men and women of prayer and expectation that God the Creator and Redeemer will accomplish what He has promised: the building of His Church in spite of the opposition of demonic powers.

The world desperately needs missionaries, pastors, evangelists, educators and counselors with a vision to bring the nations to faith in Jesus Christ. These men and women will seek a Holy Spirit directed and empowered strategy to cross every boundary-geographic, economic, social, religious and political-to bring lost people to faith in Jesus Christ and work toward seeing societies changed so mankind may live in dignity.

The leaders of the seminaries and Bible colleges are the key to setting the course so that their training institutions carry out their global mandate and maintains their focus on the unevangelized world with its myriad unreached people groups.

The international co-coordinator is Sang-Bok David Kim,Co-chairman of Korean World Missions Association and Co-chairman of Korean AD2000 and Beyond Movement. Also serving as international co-coordinator is Philip M. Steyne, (Professor of Mission, Columbia International University).

8. University Students & Youth Leaders Consultation

These leaders will work through such issues as how to harness the energy of youth in reaching out to those most in need of the Gospel.

Goal of the consultation

Leaders of ministries to young people and college students will discuss how to harness the energy of the youth in reaching those most in need of the gospel.

The Type of Leaders Invited are those who:

1. Have a proven record of vision, passion, and sustainability in their own youth ministry and are thus reckoned as one of the"shakers and movers" (a person of significant influence) in youth ministry.
2. Have the following capabilities: to envision, to empower, and to mobilize youth towards missions.

Consultation coordinators report the following praise reports: A list of all significant youth ministries have been compiled and their leaders have been invited. The Joshua Student Movement has been developed as a possible/probable model for student/youth mobilization. Youth ministry networks have been established.

Cassie Carstens, South Africa executive head of the Christian Students Association and founder and managing director of Sports for Christ Action, South Africa, will chair this meeting of leaders of youth movements.

9. Worship And Performing Arts In Missions Consultation

During this consultation gifted Christian artists and heads of like ministries will work through such issues as how to use one's giftings in the arts to gain access to a restricted country and win a hearing for the Gospel message through a non-threatening artistic presentation.,

Consultation coordinators report the following praise reports: In the process so far, this consultation has already created an infrastructure whereby pertinent issues on worship and its role in church planting, cross-cultural evangelism, new ways of presenting creative evangelism, working together on projects, international forum created for Worship and Arts related ministers/ministries have been identified.

The Consultation will draw together leaders in worship and the performing arts from all over the world, including Philip Griffiths, Scott Wesley Brown, Pam Thum, Bill Drake, Karen Lafferty, Bobby Michaels, Colin Harbinson, Sosene Le'aua, Landa Cope, Dave Roberts, Paul Neeley and many others. Worship and Arts leaders from India, Korea, Africa, Europe, North and South America who are on the cutting edge of World Evangelization, communication, pastoral insights and nation building will come together for this time. Through panel discussions, workshops and teaching, the aim is to hear from the heart of God, to explore deeper the messages of nation building and our role as artists and worship leaders in redeeming cultures and church planting.

Each guest speaker will contribute from a wealth of wisdom, experience and knowledge, culminating in a strategy which we believe could be part of one of the greatest moves in worship and the arts since the Renaissance. Each evening will end in a worship session which will reflect the cultural riches of various nations coming into His Presence.

At this Consultation the launch of the Worship and Arts in Missions Track will be furthered, and in so doing through key motivators and catalysts in their own particular field of ministry, form an infra- structure through which to facilitate the further training, development and mobilization of people involved in worship and the arts into missions.

John Thompson, the project coordinator for GCOWE '95 says that the Consultation on Worship and the Performing Arts in Mission that is part of GCOWE '97 will probably be the most significant event for the worship movement between now and the end of the century.

God is doing a new thing in our midst. This is a time to put our lives, hearts and minds together for the sake of establishing His Kingdom in and through the arts.

God's eternal plan is to raise up worshipers to Himself from every tribe, tongue, people and nation to worship Him in all of their uniqueness. See Rev. 5:9.

Leon and Naomi Boshoff, founders of Christian Artists in South Africa, an organization that trains, develops and mobilizes worship and arts into missions, will chair this meeting.

Naomi Boshoff writes,"Many of us have had a growing awareness that God is calling us all to network and to coordinate effective programs internationally to support the vision of World Evangelization using the arts as a communicative tool, with worship and cultural sensitivity being key aspects of this move."

10. Children's Ministry Consultation

Goal of the Consultation

Leaders in children's ministry will discuss the different circumstances, crises, needs, opportunities and potential of children. They will plan strategic initiatives as well as the coordination for effective global child evangelism. Their goal is to mobilize children in world evangelization, both locally as well as amongst the unreached people groups in order to build up a new generation of Christians.

Description of the Type of Leaders Invited Include:

1. Leaders in children's ministries, both in the church as well as mission agencies.
2. People providing training in child evangelism.
3. Specialists in specific fields of child evangelism.
4. Christian educationalists in various aspects of child related studies with a heart for the spiritual, emotional and physical restoration of children for the Kingdom of God.

Consultation coordinators report the following progress toward their goals: After a late decision to have the first Children's Consultation, the steering committee was called together for their first meeting on 14 March 1997. Because of the vital importance of the evangelizing and spiritual building process in the most receptive years of a person's life, the committee took this challenge with great enthusiasm. An effort was launched to gather as many international leaders (with emphasis on the Two-Third World) from different fields of children's ministry. With their input and audio- visual experts as well as short inputs from selected children (to get a voice from the children about their circumstances, needs and potential). The leaders will be exposed to the task. A Children's Ministry Resource Directory will be compiled after the consultation.

Those coordinating the consultation will be: Frank Shayi, National Field Director of Scripture Union, South Africa. Rev Johan du Preez, Founder and Executive Director of the Children's Evangelist Training Institute in South Africa. He specializes in leadership training for children's evangelists from Africa and abroad, LSA children's Track Leader, Vice-Chairman of South African Action for World Evangelization (SAAWE). Pastor Paul Beukman, Children's Minister of Hatfield Christian Church, South Africa.