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October 1987 More and More People These Days Are Looking For A New Age SFM: Practical Discussions Toward the Year 2000 AIMS First Annual Conference Mobilizes 800 Servanthood: Jesus' Model for Missions Evangelizing the World in this Generation (1891) Joshua Project: Identifying Unreached Peoples in Bangkok
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AIMS First Annual Conference Mobilizes 800 —Gary Clark Seeking to supply leadership, materials, and programs to help Christians in the renewed (charismatic/pentecostal) churches mobilize for world evangelization, the Association of International Mission Services (AIMS) conducted its first annual North American Missions Conference in Denver, Colorado from September 29 through October 1, 1987. “Declare His Glory Among the Nations” attracted 200 daytime delegates and 800 nighttime attendees. Forty-five mission agencies and training institutions were represented as exhibitors. Howard Foltz, president of AIMS and associate professor of missions at CBN University, Virginia Beach, Virginia, opened the conference with the statement, “We want to put missions on the front burner of the Renewal Movement.” Quoting British mission researcher David Barrett, he said the Renewal Movement worldwide includes more than 277 million people. Still echoing Barrett, Foltz said, “With this most phenomenal growth rate in the history of the church, soon half of the missionary force will be charismatic.” Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke of Christ for All Nations, whose African crusades have attracted more than 500,000 attendees with tens of thousands being converted in a single night, spoke on “Signs and Wonders in World Evangelization.” He said he believes the Gospel needs to be preached today the same way Paul preached it in the New Testament. According to 1 Thessalonians 1:5, “The Gospel came to (the Thessalonians) in power and in the Holy Spirit.” “Let’s invade the Devil’s worldly kingdom with the power of God,” Bonnke said. “Signs and wonders will be greater in world evangelization in the future than they were in the past. Power preaching produces power results.” One of the most significant results of the conference was the decision on the part of representatives from a number of member sending agencies to form a Board of Standards to oversee their operations and guarantee accountability. Capping off a year of preparation, Daniel Williams of Calvary Ministries International presented a proposal for joint financial accountability to agency leaders in his Thursday workshop titled “Networking With Agencies.” Before the talk was over, agency representatives were requesting a meeting to iron out the details. The proposed standards are comparable to those in current use by the Evangelical Foreign Missions Association (EFMA). Combining the functions of its broader evangelical counterparts—the Association of Church Missions Committees (ACMC), the Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association (IFMA), and the EFMA—one of AIMS’ prime purposes is to bring together churches, agencies, and mission workers both here in the United States and elsewhere around the world. It presently counts among its membership 68 mission agencies and organizations, 84 churches, and 12 training institutions. AIMS Southwest Regional Coordinator Gary Clark said, “At the 1987 Congress on the Holy Spirit and World Evangelization held in New Orleans, 35,000 Spirit-filled believers affirmed Jesus as Lord and Savior and declared they want to make Him known to the world. AIMS is seeking to help implement that vision through education and mobilization.” The AIMS North American Missions Conference for 1988 is scheduled for Dallas, Texas on September 28-30. For further information, write or call AIMS, P.O. Box 64534, Virginia Beach, VA 23464. (804) 424-6333
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