SEOUL, South Korea (ABP) — Baptist World Alliance will launch a global evangelization strategy during next year's centennial BWA World Congress in England.
The announcement was one of several actions taken by the BWA General Council during its meeting July 26-31 in Seoul, South Korea. The council is a representative body that conducts the business of BWA, which holds a worldwide congress once every five years. The Seoul meeting attracted more than 300 participants from 33 nations, including such diverse settings as Australia, Croatia, Ghana and India as well as the United States.
The council also adopted a budget for BWA, nominated a new BWA president to serve a five-year term, and adopted new bylaws that open BWA membership to churches and individuals instead of national groups only.
Playing off the 2005 congress theme, “Jesus Christ: Living Water,” the five-year evangelism emphasis will feature “Living Water” conferences around the world.
BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz said the alliance has received a $600,000 matching grant to help fund evangelism training and rallies throughout the effort. Tony Cupit, BWA's director of evangelism and education, will coordinate the world evangelization strategy.
“We want to encourage in the next quinquennium a strategy for world evangelization to bear witness to Jesus Christ,” Lotz told participants.
“Let me be very clear that as Baptists we believe that Jesus Christ is our only way of salvation,” he said. “There is no other name under heaven whereby we can be saved. That's who we are as Baptists. That's why we come together. We're a missionary movement,” Lotz declared amid sustained applause from council members.
Urging Baptists around the world to continue to “work together for religious freedom,” Lotz said, “No other time in history has experienced more persecution.”
“Sixty thousand Christians are killed every year for their faith,” he added. “That is why we as Baptists need to be more and more concerned about religious freedom in the 21st century because the clash of civilizations is more real than ever before.”
In other action, council members approved bylaw changes that will permit associate membership for local Baptist churches and other organized Baptist groups such as state Baptist conventions, colleges and mission organizations. The changes also permit individual Baptists to become personal members. BWA membership previously was limited to national or regional Baptist conventions and unions.
“This has nothing to do with the present controversy we have,” Lotz said, alluding to the recent withdrawal of its largest member body, the Southern Baptist Convention. “We began almost 10 years ago to question: 'What does membership mean in the 21st century?'
“This was a long time coming,” he added, noting that the proposal addresses “the new understanding of koinonia, what fellowship is all about.”
Council members unanimously affirmed the nomination of David Coffey, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, as BWA president for 2005-2010. His election will be held during next year's Baptist World Congress in Birmingham, England. The council also elected Lotz to another five-year term as BWA general secretary.
Participants approved a 2005 budget of $1.85 million, the same amount as the alliance's 2003 income prior to the SBC eliminating its $425,000 annual contribution. While gifts from member bodies are expected to be down approximately $255,000 from the current year — due mostly to the defunding by the SBC — major increases are projected from individual donors and investment income.
Council members approved Lairam Jesus Christ Baptist Church, a convention of 80 churches in northeast India, as the BWA's newest member body.
Alluding to the convention's 21,000 members compared to the withdrawal of the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention, T. H. Vanlalzauva, Lairam's general secretary, told council members, “After the withdrawal of the SBC from BWA, we are the first to play the role of rebuilding BWA's membership.”
Affirming that BWA membership “is very significant for our church,” he added, “I enjoy very much the life and fellowship of BWA.”
The council also voted to temporarily suspend the membership of Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches in India, which has split into three groups due to conflict over property. Noting that the conflict has escalated into violent clashes, Lotz said the internal controversy “has been a tragic witness for the cause of Christ.”
As BWA leaders seek to help facilitate reconciliation, council members voted to suspend the convention's membership until March 2005 and reevaluate reconciliation efforts at that time.
Council members also heard a progress report from BWA's 21st Century Committee, which will present its final report next March.
The committee, chaired by David Goatley, executive secretary of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Missions Convention in Washington, D.C., is seeking to provide a long-range strategy for BWA ministry.
Noting that BWA “builds fellowship and community, promotes vibrant Baptist identities, networks resources and serves as a global voice,” the report adds that it “equips and empowers Baptists” in the areas of missions and evangelism, religious liberty and human rights, and relief and community development.
Affirming that BWA is “highly valued, greatly loved and deeply appreciated” by member bodies around the world, Goatley said committee members are seeking to maintain “appreciation for history yet innovation for a vibrant and vital witness for the future.”
The General Council meeting also featured reports from regional Baptist groups in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and North America. And the council heard “Window on the World” testimonies from Baptist leaders in Cambodia, Hungary, Nepal, Nigeria, Malaysia and the United States.
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