Third Back to Jerusalem Movement Conference: Advancing in Action

By Luke Leung

The third International "Back to Jerusalem Movement" Consultation Meeting was held in early March of this year in Asia. The participants included those from China, Korea, oversea Chinese, churches and mission organizations from all over the world. The conference formulated the "Back to Jerusalem Movement" Action Statement, which describes the vision, mission, and the actual plans of action.

During the conference, leaders have agreed to establish a "Back to Jerusalem Movement Communication Centre", and four work continuation committee that manages recruiting staffs, trainings prior to employment, partnership mobilization, and partnership in the mission field. With regards to recruitment, the committee plans to use word-of-mouth, gatherings, literatures, multi-media, and websites to gather workers of Back to Jerusalem Movement.

With regards to the training before employment, the conference has decided to form "Back to Jerusalem Movement Training Schools in China and others countries in Asia. Five mission schools in China, one mission school from Korea, and two oversea Chinese seminaries expressed their willingness to devote in training missionaries.

Furthermore, Back to Jerusalem Movement requires the partnership between churches and mission organizations, in order to plant churches in the mission field. A Korean mission group expressed their willingness to closely partner with the Chinese Church and oversea Chinese churches in dispatching missionaries.

The conference specially discussed the support of missions, suggesting the setup of reception areas in multiple areas or stops on the way in order to help the missionaries and professionals to more quickly overcome any cultural shocks on the mission field. 12 mission organizations have expressed their willingness to become mission partners.

Since the 1940s, several leaders of the Chinese Church have already received the vision of Back to Jersusalem and was inspired to bring the gospel from China back to Jerusalem traveling on the Silk Road and to establish churches in the most unreached groups of people in the world.

The first Back to Jerusalem Mission Conference was held in San Francisco on July, 2004. The second consultation conference was held in Hong Kong on March, 2006. The fourth International Consultation Meeting will be held in 2010 to further discuss and advance the vision of Back to Jerusalem Movement.

[Editor's note: reporter Chris Chan from San Francisco contributed to this report.]

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