November 16 1998

ARTICLE TOOLS

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The world's most famous twentieth-century evangelist has announced plans for a massive conference of preaching evangelists for the new millennium.

"In the midst of the rapid change in almost every phase of our lives, the task of worldwide evangelization remains a priority of the body of Christ," Billy Graham declared in announcing the event, to be held July 29 through August 6 in the year 2000 in Amsterdam. "Decay in the societies of the world, consternation in the governments, and a deep heart-cry for revival throughout the church of our Lord Jesus Christ all point to the need of the world for our Savior."

More than 10,000 participants, three-fourths of them itinerant evangelists, from 185 countries and territories, are expected at Amsterdam 2000. Theologians, strategists, and church leaders also will attend the conference, which will include daily prayer, worship, and seminars. John Corts, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), will be general director of the conference.

"Though the message of the gospel and the need for that message will not change in the next century, the methods and delivery systems will be different," Corts says. "We can neither count on past victories nor look ahead to anticipate how evangelism will be done in the future."

Graham has been involved in similar conferences in the past, including the Berlin Congress in 1966, sponsored by CHRISTIANITY TODAY. The BGEA sponsored the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in 1974 in Switzerland. The BGEA also held international evangelism conferences in Amsterdam in 1983 and 1986.