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A fire shining brightly

Amsterdam 2000 - a conference for evangelists, pastors and preachers

Over 10,000 evangelists, pastors and preachers met in Amsterdam in early August for the largest international gathering of ministers ever held.

Ill health prevented Billy Graham from attending the conference that his organisation had hosted. At the last minute even plans for him to deliver the opening address by satellite had to be abandoned.

Instead, his son Franklin Graham delivered a message from his 81-year-old father, who though 3,000 miles away nevertheless made his presence felt. 'I deeply regret the circumstances that have kept me from being with you,' began Billy Graham. 'Although I am deeply disappointed, I have accepted this as the plan and will of God. Be assured, however, that I will be with you in spirit and prayer throughout the conference.' On the final evening Billy and Ruth Graham sent their greetings via video-link, and Billy gave a closing challenge. He said: 'I am asking you to take the light from here you found during these days. Hold that light high as you return to your home, and with the light of thousands of others from around the world, we can make a fire that will shine brightly and never be put out.'

Enthusiasm

Although there was obvious disappointment at Billy's absence, it wasn't the focus of the delegates, many of whom were just thrilled to have this opportunity for training, meeting others and being encouraged by fellowship with other evangelists. David Vardy, Chief Executive of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) in the UK, said: 'The response has been one of great appreciation. They are stimulated and enthused about the task that lies ahead of reaching the world with the gospel.'

As to be expected from the BGEA (and a $35-million-budget), the event was run with the utmost professionalism and precision. There was a programme of speakers which served as a Who's Who? guide to the world's major Christian speakers and leaders. The US dominated both on the platform and among participants. The US sent five times more delegates than any other country (2,967 of them) but encouragingly, three-quarters of them came from developing countries, principally India, Ghana and Kenya.

More than 900 plenary and teaching sessions were taken by Christian leaders from around the world, including Ravi Zacharias, Chuck Colson, Paul Negrut, Franklin Graham and Luis Palau. A vast array of workshops covered subjects as diverse as Effective Internet Evangelism, Reaching Business & Professional Women, Passion & Balance: Avoid Burnout, Fasting & Prayer to evangelism training courses, such as the Contagious Christian course from Willow Creek, and evangelistic courses like Christianity Explored which was presented by Rico Tice. The British platform presence was dominated by Anglicans: J.I. Packer, John Stott, Richard Bewes and Archbishop George Carey.

Although the general mood was one of encouragement, some felt that the reality on the ground did not match the sense of success and triumphalism expressed on the platform. The vast majority of delegates were not evangelists as such, but pastors and church leaders who were also involved and committed to evangelism. This was representative of the shift of the BGEA away from a conference for evangelists to one on evangelisation.

While there was an abundance of excellent self-help talks at the conference, the lack of straightforward Bible teaching was a deep concern of many. Amsterdam 2000 was brought to a close with a communion celebration led by the Rev. Richard Bewes, Rector of All Soul's, Langham Place.

Despite his illness, Billy's family insist that he is doing well, and that he is planning to take a mission later this year in Jacksonville. 'People ask me all the time: "Who is the next Billy Graham?"' said Franklin from the platform. He paused for a moment, looking at the sea of faces from around the world. 'You are', he said.

Emma Carswell