GCOWE '95 Delegates' Welcome: Report by Brigada

Dear GCOWE Participant,

Welcome to GCOWE '95, the AD 2000 mid-decadal strategy consultation in Korea! We rejoice that you have come to participate in this historic event, whose theme is "a church for every people and the gospel for every person by AD 2000." We have come to Seoul from all parts of the world_some 200 countries!

We meet together at a momentous time in history, five years from the end of the decade, the transition into a new century and millennial, the year 2000... which for centuries has been a universal symbol of the future. It's a time when we see God on the move among His people throughout the world perhaps as never before in all of history. It is a time of unprecedented global divine initiative. It is unprecedented we have never seen anything like it before. It is global worldwide. It is divine from God and through God and to God. It is an initiative, indeed, God is moving. We wait expectantly for an outpouring of His Spirit.

Our purpose in GCOWE '95 is to encourage continued momentum building toward the fulfillment of the goal of a church for every people and the gospel for every person by the year 2000.

An underlying assumption as we come to GCOWE '95 is a continuing divine superintending of global events of such import that it is moving us from an age of unbelief to an age of faith as we approach the year 2000. The explosive growth of the Two Thirds World church in this century has positioned the church around the world for a major evangelistic thrust in the nineties. Many church and mission leaders now believe that genuine collaborative partnerships are the only way to take advantage of the opportunities presented in this last decade of the millennium.

Increased momentum building toward world evangelization is anticipated and prayerfully sought as a result of GCOWE '95. Many groups within the body of Christ, individually and collectively, will set or revise their own year 2000 goals for world evangelization during their time here. Paving the road to this global event are the more than 100 national, regional, and functional AD2000 consultations that have been held around the world over the last few years.

GCOWE '95 is unique, in that the majority of the participants (about two-thirds) will come from Africa, Asia and Latin America. It marks a paradigm shift of the ownership of world evangelization in that much of the funding (about 75%) will come from these locations. The Korean church is not only hosting the event but graciously providing by faith for most in-country expenses for participants from poorer economic nations. Please join with us as we thank all our friends in Korea for graciously preparing and hosting us for this historic gathering!

By prayerful intent, this movement and event is grass-roots and low expense oriented. Thus, most of the participants are housed in missionary lifestyle quarters, including Westerners. We hope that after some rest you will be refreshed and ready to enter enthusiastically into the next ten days. We have a strategic opportunity before us and we must fully use it for Christ in these days and the next five years.

"And this gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come." (Matt. 24:14)

Luis Bush
Thomas Wang
Kim Joon Gon