 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
WelcomeJesusEventsGroupsPlacesForumLibraryExit |
|
Excerpts
You don't live until you become involved in something bigger than yourself. PREFACE The Untold Story
It was called the "meeting of the century."
From January 5-8, 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 10 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.
Yet my role was one of a follower, rather than an initiator. Others gave the impetus to convene GCOWE 2000. I was there to implement their decisions. I had the advantageous role of serving those on the inside, while keeping my eyes open as a witness from the outside.
I am told that 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?
Granted, in the months preceding GCOWE 2000, very little about it attracted much attention. No media blitz announced its coming. No mass mailings raised its funds. In fact, a promotional brochure was not prepared. Just 700 personal invitations and xeroxed flyers were sent worldwide to Christian leaders. Slightly more than 300 people showed up for the actual five-day meeting in Singapore. By and large it remained the best kept secret in the Great Commission world.
So why should you take note of GCOWE 2000? 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, Catholic, Charismatic, Third World Indigenous, and Pentecostal networks.
Yet these distinctives by themselves do not make an event worthy of reflection. Why should you, one who is seeking to reach the world for Christ, read this book?
Because: GCOWE 2000 was the first global consultation to seriously consider what it would take to evangelize the world by the year 2000.
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.
In light of the prophetic nature of this event, thousands of Christians around the world have been eager to learn what was accomplished. In my new role as coordinator of the AD 2000 Global Service Office I have asked myself and others, "What do you think will prove to be significant about GGOWE 2000?" and "Where do Great Commission Christians go from here?"
To answer these questions, I do not believe you need to read a book about the "official" GCOWE 2000 story. In these pages, you will find no sanitized party line. This book will include the successes and the failures of GCOWE 2000 as I saw them. I do not claim 20/20 vision. Where you feel I am on target, consider what Issac Newton said to be true of me: "If I have seen anything, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants."
So from the start, I will write it as I saw it. Part I will include my first--person commentary on the events that led up to GCOWE 2000 and what actually happened during those five dynamic days.
My colleague and wife, Olgy, has prepared Part II, a selection of consultation addresses. Part III follows with relevant pre-consultation documents. In this way, the documents, addresses and reflections will complement each other, yet you have the benefit of each.
In conclusion, think of this book as 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 less than 12 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.
Are you ready to join a global movement like that? If so read on.
Jay Gary March 8, 1989 Rockville, Virginia 
"Chapter 13: The Quest Goes On" |
|
|
|
