Nearly 400 ministry leaders and pastors have convened at a Christian summit in Switzerland where they set a goal to target and equip more than 100,000 new pastors across Europe over the next decade in an effort to fulfil the Great Commission by 2030.
The Christian Post reports the event was organised by the Global Church Network (GCN) under the acronym FINISH 2030 –– standing for Find, Intercede, Network, Invest, Send and Harvest.
In 2017, the organisation launched FINISH 2030 at Martin Luther’s graveside in Castle Church, Wittenburg, Germany. At the time, over 600 Christian leaders pledged to jointly complete the Great Commission. The network has worked with 700,000 churches from all denominations for more than 20 years.
GCN Founder James O. Davis highlighted the importance of setting a deadline to realise a vision. He noted the Great Commission hasn’t been fulfilled yet, because no-one’s set a deadline. “FINISH 2030 offers a new overarching strategy — one that is synergistic, global in scope and capable of getting the Church to the finish line sooner than we ever dreamed possible,” he told the summit.
GCN has 159 global hubs focusing on relationship-building, training and outreach. It plans to introduce 39 hubs in Europe next year and 640 before 2030. Mr. Davis noted: “The European nations represent some of the most difficult places to plant churches, to network leaders and to equip pastors. Meanwhile, the long-established models of training and preparation for full-time ministry cannot keep pace with the unprecedented growth of the global Christian Church, resulting in a significant shortage of trained pastors and ministers.”
The Christian Post reports that author and professor Leonard Sweet from Drew University’s Theological School in New Jersey reminded summit attendees of their duty to spread the Gospel. “It seems that tens of thousands of churches updated their mission statements because they did not like the mission statement the Lord Jesus Christ gave them.”
Mr. Davis concurred, saying: “So many Christian leaders today doubt their beliefs and believe their doubts. It is time for us to doubt our doubts and believe our beliefs.”
He announced that the next GCN summit will be in Jerusalem in 2030 “to celebrate the 2000th birthday of the Church.” The ministry said 3,000 key Christian leaders from around the world will be invited to honour the 3,000 saved during the first Pentecost.
Photo: Facebook – FINISH 2030
