Year of World Evangelism 2004

VOTED, To approve the Year of World Evangelism 2004 initiative, as follows:

Reaping God's Harvest

This program is designed to be a worldwide comprehensive evangelistic initiative in close cooperation with and support for the Go One Million outreach, the Sow 1 Billion evangelistic initiative, and other special evangelistic activities.

1. Concept--During this quinquennium (2000-2005), the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, through its world divisions, will place special emphasis on world evangelism in 2004.

A variety of factors have come together to stimulate this world evangelistic initiative. In the last few years the Seventh-day Adventist Church has equipped, trained, and mobilized hundreds of thousands of laypersons to use their unique, God-given gifts in sharing their faith and witnessing for their Lord. Go One Million, Sow 1 Billion, division lay-training programs, church planting projects, an emphasis on integrated departmental evangelism, the Adventist-Laymen's Services and Industries-sponsored DVD evangelistic initiative, a renewed pastoral focus on church growth and evangelism, and a new vision on the part of thousands of Seventh-day Adventist youth combine to present the Church with an unprecedented opportunity to reap God's harvest now.

Although witness is the ongoing function of the local church, specific evangelistic reaping activities give impetus to personal witnessing. Personal soul-winning initiatives combined with public proclamation form the basis of the New Testament model for evangelistic growth.

We encourage every entity of the Church and each denominational employee to be actively involved in either personal soul-winning initiatives preparatory to a public evangelistic series or in the evangelistic series itself. The evangelistic events will take many forms. In some places these will be public evangelistic meetings; in other locations these will be small group outreaches or church planting initiatives. Each supporting ministry is encouraged to participate in this Year of World Evangelism 2004 through a public evangelistic series or some other specific soul-winning activity.

During this year of evangelistic reaping, the plan is to focus especially on initiatives for urban centers, the 10/40 Window, and the secular post-modern mind. The evangelistic strategy will include equipping hundreds of thousands of laity and youth to conduct their own evangelistic series, as well as utilizing all means of technology--including radio, television, satellite communication, publishing, and the Internet.

The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has adopted the themes of unity, quality of life, and the growth of the Church for particular emphasis this quinquennium. The Year of World Evangelism 2004 will draw the Church together in one common goal--reaching a lost world. It has the potential of unifying the Church around the common theme of Reaping God's Harvest.

A holistic approach to biblical evangelism can result in significant Church growth, fulfilling our Spirit-inspired mandate.

2. Goals--a. Every church/institution involved in a specific evangelistic activity in 2004. Many churches and institutions will be involved in multiple evangelistic activities.

b. Every Adventist employee involved in presenting the biblical, Christ-centered message of Scripture in a personal or public setting.

c. At least 150,000 public evangelistic series/small group outreaches/church planting projects conducted in 2004 in each of the approximately 51,000 churches by denominational employees, laymembers, and youth.

d. In anticipation of these evangelistic events in 2004, throughout 2003 every church, organization, and entity should conduct carefully planned evangelistic training and preparation programs for laymembers, youth, and employees.

e. Each division is encouraged to set seven specific goals.

1) The number of pastors, laity, and youth involved in specific evangelistic activities.

2) The number of churches/institutions conducting public evangelistic series/small group outreaches/church planting projects.

3) The combined attendance at these reaping activities.

4) The baptismal results anticipated from these evangelistic series.

5) The number of church planting projects.

6) The number of new believers participating in weekly post-baptismal discipling classes and witness activities.

7) The increased amount of funding dedicated specifically to evangelistic activities.

The General Conference goal will be the combined result of the goals set by churches and processed through their conferences, unions, and divisions.

3. Promotion Timeline--For the Year of World Evangelism to be everything God desires and to achieve the results we pray for will necessitate both promotion and planning.

a. Introduce the concept of Reaping God's Harvest: Year of World Evangelism 2004 at the 2002 Annual Council.

b. World divisions present the concept at their 2002 yearend meetings.

c. A Reaping God's Harvest advertising and promotional campaign with advertisements and articles in the Adventist Review and Ministry magazines in the summer/ autumn of 2003. Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) files with computer generated advertisements, articles, logo, and poster design will be sent to world divisions by January 1, 2003.

d. Uplink an international pastors meeting from the General Conference headquarters on April 15, 2003, during the Council on Evangelism and Witness. The purpose of this meeting is threefold:

1) To provide an opportunity to inspire church administrators and pastors with the primacy and challenge of world evangelism.

2) To introduce the concept of the Year of World Evangelism 2004 to church administrators and pastors worldwide.

3) To present a practical "how to" professional growth opportunity on evangelistic reaping for church administrators and pastors worldwide.

This uplink will be promoted in communications from the General Conference administration, the Ministerial Association, and each department of the Church. It is envisioned that there will be periodic satellite uplinks leading up to and during the Year of World Evangelism 2004.

e. Division/Union/Conference-wide evangelism symposiums in 2003 and early 2004.

f. Unions/Conferences strategize for major evangelistic initiatives in 2004, with emphasis on strengthening and expanding participation and training for the Go One Million outreach, the Sow 1 Million evangelistic initiative, and all lay/youth initiatives for soul winning in preparation for the Year of World Evangelism 2004.

g. Set aside the first or second week in January 2004 to pray for spiritual revival and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The first day of the Council on Evangelism and Witness held prior to Spring Meeting will be spent in praying for and studying revival in the Adventist church today.

h. Report at the Council on Evangelism and Witness meeting in the fall of 2003 on goals set for Reaping God's Harvest.

i. Continue promotion and sharing of experiences through 2004 to inspire involvement.

j. Launch division-wide evangelistic activities on a monthly basis throughout 2004.

4. Promotional Materials--a. The General Conference Ministerial Association will coordinate the development and preparation of promotional materials and report forms in cooperation with the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Department, the Communication Department, and all other appropriate General Conference departments.

b. A promotional brochure for church administrators and pastors will outline the general strategy and be ready by Spring Meeting 2003.

c. In order to keep laymembers and church employees aware of ongoing Year of World Evangelism 2004 plans and activities, every means of communication--including radio, television, publishing, and the Internet--will be used.

5. Evangelistic materials--It is recommended that each division utilize advertising and sermon and illustrative materials which best appeal to the target audience within its territory. The Adventist-Laymen's Services and Industries-sponsored "New Beginnings" DVD evangelistic series is currently available in multiple languages and is being used successfully around the world.

The General Conference Ministerial Association and the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Department have resource materials which are available for evangelistic outreach. Samples of advertising and sermon materials will be provided to the world divisions.

6. Conclusion--Echoing and re-echoing down the corridors of time are Jesus' words, "Do not say, there are still four months and then comes the harvest. Behold I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for the harvest."--John 4:35

The conditions within the world and Church reveal the relevance of our Lord's words in our generation. His mandate is clear. His instructions are plain. His commission compels us to reap God's harvest now!