At the end of the month, Christian leaders from across the world will gather in Germany with a common goal—the fulfillment of the Great Commission. At The Wittenberg 2017 Congress, the Finish 2030 movement will be launched by the Global Church Network to synergize the entire body of Christ to go forward and make disciples of all nations—specifically, the last 3,000 unreached people groups throughout the world.
"We believe the Holy Spirit is calling the entire Body of Christ together to finish the Great Commission by 2030," said Dr. Timothy Hill, General Overseer of the Church of God, in Cleveland, Tennessee, and one of the keynote speakers at The Wittenberg 2017 Congress. Dr. Hill created the FINISH acronym that is being utilized throughout this summit, the Church of God, and in other denominations. FINISH represents Find, Intercede, Network, Invest, Send and Harvest. FINISH comprises the six strategic steps necessary to completing the Great Commission throughout the world. "We believe the greatest harvest of souls will take place in the years to come, as the entire body of Christ learns to network together," continued Dr. Hill.
The Global Church Network, formerly known as the Billion Soul Network, was created with the strategic goal of providing "A Bible, a Believer and a Local Body of Christ" to the remaining unreached peoples worldwide. The organization was founded by Dr. James O. Davis in 2002 to help meet the church's need for trained and equipped pastors. Since its outset, the Global Church Network has provided some of the best leadership training, online resources and networking opportunities, like The Wittenberg 2017 Congress. By sharing research, recommendations and relationships with one another, Christian leaders gain a leading-edge understanding of the global church and can be more effective in their evangelization efforts.
"The most important person in every community on earth is not the governor, the congressman, the senator or even the president of any nation," said Dr. James O. Davis, president and founder of the Global Church Network and co-host of The Wittenberg 2017 Congress. "The most important person in every community is the local, Spirit-filled pastor. As goes the pastor, so goes the community."
Finish 2030 is a movement centered around pastors and churches throughout the world. Within the Global Church Network, more than 2,400 Christian denominations encompassing nearly 600,000 churches have come together to double the size of the church and make it harder for people to live on this earth and not hear the gospel of Christ. Currently, more than 2.4 million people have never heard of Jesus Christ.
"New trends in ministry mean the measurement of a pastor's impact will not be the number of people worshipping at his or her local church, but the number of dynamic partnerships created worldwide," said Dr. Kenneth C. Ulmer, co-host of The Wittenberg 2017 Congress. "God is raising up synergistic leaders to network throughout the earth."
Those attending The Wittenberg 2017 Congress, which takes place on the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 Theses, hope to spark a new Reformation—one that will lead the church to Finish 2030. The Global Church Network has released The Great Commission Study Bible in conjunction with the summit. Each leather-bound Bible is complete with over 1,500 pages of articles, devotionals and commentaries from over 100 leading contributors worldwide.
"Our prayer is to foster a fresh renewal throughout the worldwide church. We want to realign ourselves to the Word of God and reaffirm the body of Christ," said Dr. James O. Davis. "On the final day of the Congress, together in Castle Church, we will issue the FINISH Declaration of our combined commitment: 'We have come together to complete the Great Commission.'"
More information about The Wittenberg 2017 Congress is available at Luther2017.tv. To learn more about the Global Church Network and Finish 2030, visit billion.tv. To watch this historic event live, tune in to Luther.tv. 
The Global Church Network began in 2002 as a resource for meeting the church's need for trained and equipped pastors. Dr. James O. Davis, founder/president, along with many world leaders, wanted to provide pastoral leaders around the world with efficient and affordable Christian leadership training in order to complete Finish 2030.
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