International Mission Goals Set for BWA

By Pauline J. Chang, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, March 25, 2004

Baptist World Alliance leaders from around the world gathered for their three-day Executive Committee meeting, beginning March 8 at Falls Church, Virginia. Despite the uncertainty that has filled the BWA since the Southern Baptist Convention’s proposal to break last December, the Executive Committee members shared inspiring stories of growth and passionate calls for evangelism in their respective regions

Rev. Billy Kim, president of BWA began the round of speeches by sharing his experiences in Asia. In Mongolia, Kim was allowed to participate in a Harvest Mongolia crusade in which an estimated 12,000 gathered. Although there is no BWA entity in the nation, there are hundreds of missionaries working to spread the gospel in the mainly Buddhist country.

Kim also testified the “historic miracle” in Japan, where 31 congregations opened their hearts and minds to the Word of God. Recently, Kim led an assembly of Korean pastors from the Suwon Baptist Church to deliver messages throughout the two-day revival meeting in Japan. According to Kim, about 5,000 people gathered to hear the gospel, despite pouring rain.

"What a miracle of grace and healing that occurred between Korea and Japan, our people and our nations," said Kim.

In Mexico the Rev. Gilberto Gutierrez, current president of the Baptist National Convention of Mexico, set a vigorous goal for the future.

"The goal for the future of Baptists in Mexico is to see one percent of the Mexican population in the Baptist faith by the year 2010." Mexican Baptists want to plant one Baptist church in each of the ten unreached tribes of Mexico and work with a goal of 10,000 Baptist churches. "Mission is the passion of our churches the reason of our institution from 2003," said Gutierrez.

Alberto Prokopchuk, executive secretary of the Union of Baptists in Latin America (UBLA), also excitedly set evangelism goals not only in Mexico but also in Egypt where he went last October and worked with others to send missionaries from Latin America to Egypt.

"It is very dangerous for Christian Egyptians to share their faith," Prokopchuk said, "and they often use web technology and Arabic songs to preach."

Representatives from Europe also shared grace over the developments taking place in Latvia, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova and Armenia.

Theo Angelov, general secretary for the European Baptist Federation (EBF), expressed, "Where this program operates there are signs of a real movement of planting new Baptist churches."

Kim then closed the meeting by urging the gatherers to be peacemakers, urging them to dedicate 100 days to prayers.