“If you want to know what the Lord is up to, simply look at who He is raising up,” said James O. Davis, co-founder of the Billion Soul Network, at the Netherlands Leadership Roundtable, in Amsterdam. In the last ten years, Davis has hosted similar roundtables and summits in every world region, with more than 10,000 leaders attending such gatherings.
Leonard Sweet, best-selling author and co-chair of social media for the Billion Soul Network, says, “In a previous generation we wore a wrist bracelet with ‘WWJD’ (What Would Jesus Do?) inscribed on it. Today, we need a new bracelet with ‘WIJD’ (What Is Jesus Doing?). The Billion Soul Network is about discovering what Jesus is doing and connecting these people together toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission.”
On May 28, 2014, approximately seventy key Christian leaders, from Portugal, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, United States and Indonesia, synergized their efforts to move toward a Billion Soul Summit in June 2015. At the upcoming Billion Soul Summit, between 350 to 400 key leaders from all of Western Europe will converge in Amsterdam with the goal of forming a Billion Soul HUB. Global speakers will include three from Europe, two from the United States and three from Asia. In the last two years, BSN has been planting what is called, “The Global HUBS Of Christianity” throughout the Body of Christ. A BSN HUB synergizes the best relationships, systematizes the finest training and strategizes for unreached people groups.
A powerful, real-life example of BSN in action is summarized by who led and taught at the recent Netherlands Leadership Roundtable. Stanley Hofwijks, founding pastor of Maranatha Church, born in Suriname, and Peter de Leau, pastor of Emmanuel Church in Deventer, were the sponsors of the Netherlands Leadership Roundtable. The two main presenters were Elmer Towns, co-founder of Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Davis. In synergistic summary, Hofwijks grew up in a Pentecostal movement in Latin America, De Leau in an affiliation with Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), Towns in the Baptist Bible tradition and Davis in the Assemblies of God. Even though these leaders came from different streams, they are rowing together in the same ocean toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
Pastor De Leau says, “Last year, James Davis invited my wife, Edith and me, to a strategic, small gathering in Interlaken, Switzerland. It was in this small strategic gathering that I heard James say, ‘If your vision does not include everyone, then it is not a God-sized vision.’ This visionary statement has challenged me to become an active leader in BSN so we can achieve a God-sized vision of everyone hearing the gospel in our lifetime.”
Elmer Towns has been involved in BSN from its early years and has helped to form the Global Church Learning Center curriculum. Presently, there are 40,000 pastors/leaders taking GCLC courses in every nation. Over the years, Towns and Davis have traveled together worldwide, challenging Christian leaders to synergize their efforts together and to believe God for even greater things in the future. During the Netherlands Leadership Roundtable, Towns taught the steps required to “Casting Vision To Mobilize Leaders.” According to Towns, “Vision is painting a portrait of what does not yet exist, so you can make things happen to give existence to the vision. His seven steps to painting a vision are:
- A Horizon—Vision has more of God than man
- Mountains—Vision is not realistic without barriers
- A Path—Vision must lead you and people somewhere attainable
- Flowers—Vision has many enjoyable moments
- Birds—Vision makes your spirit soar
- People—Vision needs to fleshed out in the life of followers
- Yourself—Vision must include the vision seer
At the end of the Netherlands Leadership Roundtable, Pastor Hofwijks challenged fellow leaders to believe the Lord for supernatural outcomes and led everyone to pray for one another. He said, “We can achieve even greater things, if we choose to do it together.”
The next Billion Soul Summit is scheduled to convene in Jakarta, Indonesia, with thousands of leaders gathering from across the entire nation. Pastor Alex Tanuseputra, founding pastor of Bethany Church in Surabaya, Indonesia, and James Davis will host this strategic summit together.
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