Missions Fest 2013 Conference Celebrates 30th Anniversary of ''His Story Revealed''

By Edward Shih

Missions Fest Vancouver is celebrating their 30th anniversary of bringing awareness of world missions to the local church. This year's theme is "His Story Revealed: Celebrating the Growth of the Global Church.”

This year’s featured international speakers include Ramaz and Rebecca Attalah of Cairo, Egypt, Gracia Burnham, former missionary to the Philippines, author and speaker Ajith Fernando from Sri Lanka, Patrick Johnstone, author of Operations World, Luis Palau, well-known evangelist, author and speaker, and Nigel Paul, the founder if “Move-In”, an inner city ministry in Toronto.

Missions Fest is a gathering of the church in Vancouver. There are children programs, youth rallies, more than 100 seminars, 4th annual film festival, and hundreds of volunteers. The event is held under the sails of Vancouver Convention Centre from January 25-27, 2013. The general admission is free.

Dwayne K. Buhler, executive director of Missions Fest Vancouver, state in the Missions Fest magazine, “Missions Fest is a Kingdom-building tool in the hands of the Master builder. It is a place where connections and friendships are made between like-minded and like-hearted people.”

For the past years, Missions Fest Vancouver has held their annual gathering under the five sails of Canada Place.

In the article “The Beginnings of Missions Fest”, Richard Dodding, founder of Missions Fest and CEO of Missions Fest International, wrote in this year’s magazine about the process of how the first event was formed, the vision behind it, and the success that spurred the continuation of Missions Fest.

Among the plenary speakers of the first Missions Fest held in 1984, Paul Kauffman, founder of Asian Outreach, brought the perspective on China and the spread of Christianity within the underground churches. In the second years of Missions Fest, the late Dr. Ralph D. Winter, founder of U.S. Center for World Missions, was invited as a plenary speaker on world missions. Every year since then, influential Christian leaders brought in their insights of the mission field, which ignited the fire inside the hearts of the past participants.

Jackie Pullinger, missionary to Hong Kong and founder of St. Stephen Society, shares her experiences of helping drug addicts. Her work resulted in at least 500 drug addicts being saved from their drug addictions. She was one of the plenary speakers at Missions Fest 2009.

For the past 30 years, local churches, mission agencies, and the believers in the region connected to know about mission opportunities and happenings, grow in their missions effectiveness, and go into all the world to preach the gospel, said Buhler, who hears God speaking to him during the first missions fest and began his involvement with missions after attending the first Missions Fest.

“It is my sincere prayer that Missions Fest will be a place where you discover that His story and your story converge; that you will be encouraged to engage in our Lord’s Kingdom work,” he said.

For more information, visit Missions Fest Vancouver’s website

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