HUNDREDS OF YOUNG ADULTS WILL GATHER TO ' MOVE THE NATIONS ' NEXT WEEK

Last summer, approximately 150 people gathered for Move the Nations – Hawaii's first ever district-wide young adult convention. This year, Move the Nations ’09 will be held on the mainland at Monterey Bay Christian Center in Seaside, California, August 21-22, and event coordinators are expecting record number attendance.

The convention has been expanded to include three districts and will be streamed live over the Internet to young adults around the world. Churches from the Arizona Latin District, Northern Pacific Latin American District and Northern California and Nevada District have confirmed they are sending attendees and/or are watching the event live.

Danny dj and Martha Morales, Move the Nations founders and organizers, lead Lifehouse, Monterey Bay Christian Center’s young adult ministry group. Danny Morales says they are expecting 300 young adults onsite for the convention, but are anticipating a greater impact even beyond the individuals who will physically attend the conference. Move the Nations will be both advertised and broadcast over the Internet via Facebook, YouTube, Livestream Network, AGTV and the Assemblies of God national Young Adult Ministries Web site.

“Martha and I are looking forward to a demonstrable move of the Holy Spirit at this year’s convention that will not only move young adult attendees onsite, but also move young adults viewing throughout the world,” Danny Morales says. “Through the integrated medium of our live stream channel and social networking sites, like Twitter and Facebook, we hope to connect young adults in a common and thoroughly Pentecostal gathering place.”

The Moraleses have noted the power that new technologies have in spreading video and pop culture news around the world, and are hoping to use these same technologies to share the love of Christ through the Play it Forward campaign. They have set a goal of live streaming the Move the Nations event to young adults on every continent, including Antarctica.

As Danny Morales is active United States Navy, they have already “played it forward” to many deployed individuals around the world. The Moraleses hope other young adults will take up the message and “play it forward” by embedding the live stream on their own social sites and blogs.

The Move the Nations event is free and the Moraleses invite young adults ages 18-35 who are in the California area to just show up and attend August 21-22.

Christian comedian Dennis Gaxiola, formerly of the Latin Kings of Comedy, will share his comedy ministry Saturday, August 22. Also included in Saturday’s program will be a panel discussion, “The Young Adult Commission for a PostModern 2.0 World,” which will feature top young adult leaders, including Ryan Moore, Young Adult Ministries coordinator for the Assemblies of God. The discussion will be open live over the Internet, August 22 at 2:00 pm Pacific Daylight Time.

As at last year’s event, Dr. Roger Ovalle, assistant superintendent of the Northern Pacific Latin American District, will be the guest speaker. The Moraleses hope that Move the Nations inspires young adults in the local church to rise up and “do awesome things for God and their peers.”

For more information on Move the Nations ‘09, visit the event Web site or connect on Facebook. Additional information on the Play it Forward campaign is available at http://mbccag.com/mtnlive.

ASSEMBLIES OF GOD MEETING MAY BE HISTORIC : EXPECTED TO CHANGE POLICIES WHICH WILL ALLOW WOMEN TO HOLD LEADERSHIP POSTS

LAKELAND Amid continued growth of the Pentecostal movement in the United States and overseas, as many as 30,000 members of the Assemblies of God will arrive in Orlando this week for the biennial meeting of its General Council.
The meeting may be historic. In a sign that the Assemblies, the oldest predominantly white Pentecostal fellowship in the country, is changing attitudes about women in leadership, delegates are expected to approve a change in policy that would see a woman elected to the church's General Presbytery, its second-highest policy-making body, for the first time. A Florida-based missionary is considered a strong candidate for that post.

Following preliminary conferences today, the four-day General Council, at the Orange County Convention Center, will open Tuesday night with a worship service. The council is the business meeting that gathers clergy members and lay delegates from the Assemblies' 12,362 churches and more than 2.8 million adherents to review the church's ministries, to elect top officials and to vote on policies.

A GROWING FELLOWSHIP

The number of delegates expected to attend is unusually large, attributable in part to the attractions in Orlando, say Assemblies officials. But they note that it also reflects the growth of the fellowship, from a once-insular and oft-ridiculed Holiness movement to greater acceptance and visibility.

According to Assemblies' statistics, in 1975 it had about 1.2 million adherents - people of all ages who identify with Assemblies churches - meaning it has more than doubled in less than 35 years. By contrast, the United Methodist Church has declined from 9.8 million to 7.9 million members during that same time.

George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, attributes the growth to the fellowship's conservative beliefs.

"The Assemblies of God stresses the fundamentals of the Christian faith. The goal of the church is to be as close as possible to the belief and behavior of the original church," he said, speaking by phone from the church's headquarters in Springfield, Mo.

Wood also attributed the Assemblies' growth to the expansion of ethnic minorities in its ranks, to as much as 40 percent of its adherents, a higher percentage than most other Protestant traditions.

RESOLUTION ON LEADERSHIP

From its inception in 1906, the modern Pentecostal movement generally has been less bound by conventions about the role of women than evangelical and liberal Protestant churches, although their numbers in the ministry are small. By one estimate, about 10 percent of Assemblies ministers are women. Until now, women have not been in the top echelons of the Assemblies' leadership. But on Wednesday, delegates will consider a resolution that would set aside a place in the General Presbytery, which functions as an advisory body to the General Council, for a woman and a pastor younger than 40.

If the resolution is approved as expected, four nominees, chosen by the General Presbytery from names submitted by the Assemblies' 61 districts, will be voted on by the delegates for the slot. Representatives from the Peninsular Florida District, which includes 350 churches east and south of Lake City, submitted the name of Beth Grant for consideration and are hoping she is among the four final nominees, said Terry Raburn, the district superintendent.

Grant and her husband, David, who are considered members of the Florida district, are directors of Assemblies mission work in India and run Operation Rescue, a ministry that recovers children and teenagers from prostitution, Raburn said.

"She is well-known as a force for women in the ministry, not just here but in Assemblies of God throughout the world," he said. "We're tremendously in favor of the resolution. The Peninsular Florida District is recognized as a leader in women in ministry. She has an excellent chance of being elected."

The Rev. Bertha Lynn, 82, pastor of Northside Assembly of God in Winter Haven, was honored last year by the district for serving 50 years in the ministry, 14 of them at Northside. She said there is no reason women cannot serve in the ministry and on General Presbytery.

"I'm in favor of it, if she's qualified. We've got some wonderful ladies in the movement," she said. "I think it's the highest calling any person could have. There's nothing like it. It's my life."

The policy change that would also ensure that a minister younger than 40 is elected to the General Presbytery is appropriate, because about 40 percent of the adherents in the Assemblies are 25 and younger, Wood said.

Raburn said he served on a committee a few years ago that recommended the creation of the under-40 spot on the General Presbytery.

"As the denomination has aged, our leadership has progressively moved up in age. It freezes out the rising generation. Without some action, it will probably get worse. The message the resolution sends to younger ministers is you don't have to sit still, keep your mouth shut and wait," he said.

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Another resolution under consideration would reaffirm the Assemblies' belief in the doctrine that the "baptism in the Holy Spirit" should be evident by "speaking in tongues," the ecstatic and often unintelligible speech seen in Pentecostal prayer and worship services. The resolution reflects a growing sentiment that the practice, once commonplace in all Assemblies worship services, is no longer as prevalent.

Wood said there has been a "cultural shift" in the last 30 years that may have de-emphasized speaking in tongues.

"If there has been any diminution of the gift of tongues, it's due to a cultural shift in society," he said.

Raburn said he has not seen any evidence that there is less speaking in tongues in the churches he visits, but he conceded there is a difference in attitude than there used to be.

"Some feel we are drifting from that position. I don't feel we're drifting. It is our cardinal doctrine. But some of our more progressive congregations may have adapted the expression of the Spirit in a way that's more culturally acceptable," he said.

JAMES BRADFORD NAMED GENERAL SECRETARY OF ASSEMBLIES OF GOD

James Bradford, pastor of Central Assembly of God in Springfield, is the new general secretary of the Assemblies of God, General Superintendent George O. Wood announced this morning.

Bradford, 56, was unanimously appointed by the Executive Presbytery following the resignation of John M. Palmer Feb. 13 after admitting to ethical misconduct.Bradford will assume the duties of the General Secretary’s office effective immediately. However, he will also continue as pastor of Central Assembly through Easter.

The general secretary maintains information about the denomination's ministers and churches, oversees the chartering of churches and credentialing of ministers and keeps official statistics about the Assemblies of God, which is based in Springfield.Wood said the search for the new general secretary was one “bathed in prayer and conducted with a list of qualities in mind. Included in the list were godly character, respect among ministers and constituency, competency for the office, preaching and communication skills, chemistry with the current executive leadership, ability to connect with young people and leadership skills, among other things — all qualities that were carefully and prayerfully evaluated.”

Bradford, who holds a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Minnesota, grew a small Chi Alpha campus Bible study at the university into a university church. Upon graduation in 1979, he went into full-time ministry with that campus outreach. In 1982, he was ordained by the Minnesota District. He and his family moved to Southern California in 1988 where he pastored Newport-Mesa Christian Center in Orange County. In 2000, the Bradfords moved to Vancouver, B.C., to pastor Broadway Church, and in 2003 he came to Springfield to pastor Central Assembly.

“He is a popular speaker both in the States and abroad,” Wood adds. Bradford works with university student ministries, missionaries and pastoral leadership training. “We pray God’s wisdom and presence on Jim and the family.” Bradford and his wife, Sandi, have two daughters, Meredith and Angeline, both students at Evangel University in Springfield. A video of the chapel introduction of Dr. Bradford as general secretary will be available at http://ag.org/ later this morning.