2000 Celebration drawing responses from around the world

England and South Africa are two of the latest among some 80 nations planning to attend "2000 Celebration." The international Assemblies of God gathering to take place in Indianapolis, Ind., August 8-10, 2000, will be the first of its kind in the history of the denomination held here in the United States.

The Rev. Thomas Trask, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God in the United States, has invited Assemblies of God fellowships around the world to join with the U.S. church for a time of celebration and seeking God's will for future ministry.

"It is my firm conviction," Trask says, "that God has put in the hearts of our church leaders and congregations a vision for ministry in the new millennium. God is calling our Fellowship to be and do things beyond what we can even imagine."

For the U.S. Assemblies of God, a 2-year process is underway to develop a vision statement of ministry, beginning at the local church and working its way through our Fellowship to the national leadership.

"We are trusting that every local A/G church will participate in this 'vision discovery process' and ask God to give them a very specific vision for their future," explains the Rev. Michael Messner, administrative assistant to the general superintendent. "At the heart of the process is a 'Vision Discovery Kit' that systematically takes the local vision team through a number of questions to look at their 'Jerusalem,' their community and ministries of their church. It causes them to ask, 'What is God requiring of us as we enter the new millennium? What is God laying on our hearts in the way of ministry?' So that, through this process, they formulate a vision for the coming years."

This process of developing a ministry vision is to continue on to the district and then the national level.

"The district offices are participating in this process by receiving the vision statements from the churches and then formulating one that represents their district as a whole. These district statements are sent to the General Council," Messner explains. "A group similar to our Spiritual Life Committee will work with the general superintendent and write a vision statement for the Fellowship that looks to the early years of the coming century."

Although the vision statement process involves the U.S. Assemblies of God specifically, other nations are expected to mirror the effort.

"Just as the 'Decade of Harvest,' had goals set by countries around the world," Messner says, referring to the evangelistic emphasis the Assemblies of God has maintained throughout the 1990s, "we anticipate that national churches around the world will set new goals for the year 2000 and beyond."