October 01, 1989 by

Two issues ago MF highlighted Countdown to 2000, the official compendium of the Global Consultation on World Evangelization By the Year 2000 and Beyond, a book edited by Thomas Wang (see Order Page). This month’s recommended reading is the book The Countdown Has Begun. Writers/editors Jay and Olgy Gary of the AD2000 Office share firsthand, behind-the-scenes accounts of that world-class meeting. Enjoy the following excerpts. Then order several copies of the book to share this chronicle of “The Meeting of the Century”! Order at $7.95 each from AD2000 Office, 1869 Galbreth Road, Pasadena CA 91104 USA.

From The Countdown Has Begun

Introduction:
In January 1989 some 300 leaders gathered in Singapore for the Global Consultation on World Evangelization by AD 2000 and Beyond, or GCOWE 2000 for short. It is now history.

Yet it largely remains an untold story, even to those who were involved.

At the start of this venture, I was asked to serve as the project coordinator of this event. As a result, the last ten months have been the most exciting time of my life. I feel as if I have been swept up in the currents of a massive new global movement.

The last half of the twentieth century has witnessed an explosion of Great Commission conferences. In just 40 years, the average number of evangelization conferences has more than tripled, rising to more than 400 a year. Each year I attend less than 1 percent of these. What then would make me think that the recent GCOWE 2000 should stand out from the rest and be worthy of your consideration?

First it was an event designed to deal with global, not just local or regional issues facing us in world evangelization. Second, it was set up to be a working consultation rather than just a preaching convocation. Third, it gathered an international Christian representation. Participants from the Third World outnumbered those from Europe and North America. Fourth, it was deliberately inclusive. Great Commission leaders came from Anglican, ecumenical, evangelical, Roman Catholic, charismatic, Third World indigenous, and Pentecostal networks.

Other world congresses and national conferences will no doubt take up the theme of “AD 2000 and Beyond” in the next few years, but it is unlikely that a comparable group of Great Commission leaders at the global level will again gather before the end of this century with sufficient time to seriously consider AD 2000 as a world evangelization target date.

This book is more than the story of a historic consultation. I believe it is nothing less than the unfolding story of a new chapter in world evangelization: the AD 2000 movement.

The countdown to the year 2000 is not just an end, but a dynamic beginning. While we approach the end of a century, we prepare to enter a new one. Therefore think of AD 2000 as a new beginning as well. As we gear up for AD 2000, I believe thousands of leaders from a new generation will emerge to guide the church into a new century of evangelization. Global prayer movements and widespread church renewal will bear much fruit and many bold AD 2000 goals will see fulfillment.

The countdown has begun. The year 2000 is just years away. A new day has arrived. A new spirit of cooperation is in the air. Between now and AD 2000 we will certainly witness the greatest evangelistic outreach the world has ever seen.

From The Countdown Has Begun

Chapter Eight:
“This is a prophetic event,” Thomas Wang said as he began his keynote address. “As we read Church history we have seen many events such as this one initiated in the past. But somehow they fizzled out.”

“These plans didn’t reach their final goal and destination. Why? They failed not because God was unwilling, but because of us. Man has been the trouble, the hindrance, the drawback.”

“We have the information,” Thomas continued. “We have the data. We can even have the networks ready. But if we do not have genuine cooperation, if we do not turn a new page in our lives and service..., all the preparation, all the statistics and all the networks will have been in vain.”

Thomas was saying that we should demolish anything in our lives that delays world evangelization. “God wants that altar demolished. The altar of ego. The altar of name...my church, my denomination, my group....The altar of self-centeredness. The altar of ‘turfism.’ The altar of the desire to control.”

As he closed, he said, “I feel that God has rung a bell in heaven, telling the churches of the world, ’Gentlemen, time is up pretty soon. Time to get serious...Time to get together....’, Dear brothers and sisters, the next chapter of Church history is not yet written. How it shall be written depends very much on what you and I do today.”