DAWN Fridayfax 1999 #29

Venezuela

Revival in cooperation

"This country is experiencing a revival. In contrast to the revival in Argentina, it is a revival through church planting, in which all levels of society are being shocked by the gospel," writes Berna Salcedo, a Colombian member of the DAWN staff. "It is a revival in cooperation. As a result of the current political tension between the Congress and President Hugo Chavez' civilian government, the country is open as never before," he said during a special strategy conference in Barquisimeto from 12-15 May. Strikes, delayed flights and even the fact that Barquisimeto had been cut off after the bridge into the town was swept away by floods could not keep the 80 leaders of the country's most important Christian movements from attending the conference. "Venezuela had previously been viewed as the poor relative of Latin America's evangelical Christians," says Salcedo, "because the country had such a low rate of church growth." In the 90's, that has changed: Venezuela now has the highest rate of growth because of church planting.

Four-fold multiplication in 12 years

At the COMIBAN conference in Sao Paulo in 1987, Valentin Vale, representing Venezuela's Evangelical Alliance UK, reported that the country had no more than 500,000 evangelical Christians in 3,000 churches. At the DAWN Congress in Caracas in November 1992, the Venezuelan church growth researcher Tomas Moreno reported 4,900 churches with some 800,000 members. At that time, over 50 denominations were challenged to strategically plant new churches. The church planting rate was then 4.7% per year, low for South America. The 300 leaders present at the Congress set a target of planting 12,000 new churches by the year 2002, reaching 15% of the population with the gospel. To achieve that, the rate of church planting would have to increase to 12% per year. After four more national consultations, the target has been raised to 15,000 because of the spectacular growth taking place.

Three new churches every day

Between 1992 and 1998, the country experienced spectacular church growth. The number of churches and members more than doubled in the 6 years, to 11,489 churches, and in the 1989-99 time frame, the number has multiplied: the growth rate has increased to 11%, and the membership grew to 1,247 million. In 1997 and 1998 alone, some 2,000 new churches were planted: 3 per day. The leaders attending a DAWN conference in May 1999 decided that an almost spectacular average (!) growth of 15% per year is possible. With that, 20,000 new churches would be planted instead of the targeted 15,000, and the total number of churches would rise to over 30,000. Today, most of Venezuela's churches and denominations have their own church planting aims and leadership training courses, plan to reach the unreached (the country has 18 unreached people groups) and particularly target the under-45's, who constitute 70% of the population, with the aim of having one active church per 500-1,000 of the population in order to reach the entire country with the gospel.
Source: Berna Salcedo, Tomas Moreno

Australia

Freemasons' lodge becomes a church

12 months ago, an intercessor drove through Yankalillain, a small town in South Australia. She felt God prompting her to stop at a Freemasons' lodge, to pray that it would become a church. One year later, the building came up for sale at an auction. Peter Moore, pastor of a small Assemblies of God church, had the impression that he should buy the building. Two weeks before the auction, a Malaysian visitor had put a cheque for $10,000 in the collection box. Moore set himself a certain limit on the auction day, and was outbid by another person. The church did not give up, and continued to pray. Their prayers were answered: the higher bidder lost their financial backing, and pastor Moore received a call to say that he could have the building for exactly the price he bid, which was the limit he had set himself. Yankalilla means "watering place". According to the report, Freemasonry played an important role in the building of South Australia, so the takeover of the building has a symbolic significance.
Source: Pastor Derek and Grace Bodycote, Paradise AOG, South Australia, via Global Revival News

Australia

20 new churches in New South Wales

John King, a member of the Assemblies of God staff, reports of an astonishing rate of church growth in New South Wales, Australia. "Our 1999 aim for the state was to plant 20 new churches, twice as many as in 1997 and 1998. Three weeks ago, we reached our goal for the year! We believe that we can start another 11 churches in the coming months, which would mean that as many churches were planted in New South Wales as in the whole AOG in the rest of Australia."
Source: John King, johnking@nswaog.org.au

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