World Assemblies of God Fellowship leaders meet, cast vision, plan congress

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 - 1:50 PM CST

The Executive Council of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF) concluded two days of meeting August 8 and 9 in Orlando, Florida, by casting vision for the church and planning the next AG World Congress. WAGF represents 213 countries. A world congress convenes triennially. The next one will meet February 2-4, 2011, in Chennai, India.

Dr. George O. Wood, chairman of WAGF and general superintendent of the U.S. Assemblies of God, reported today there are over 60 million believers and 300,000 Assemblies of God churches in the world. The Executive Council set goals that by 2020 there will be 100 million believers and 500,000 churches in the World Assemblies of God. Much of their meeting was spent in planning for the next triennial World AG Congress. Dr. David Mohan, pastor of New Life Assembly in Chennai and superintendent of the All India General Council, will host this meeting. Theme for the congress will be Vision AG 2020.

The AG World Congress will serve as the launch for the goals leading up to 2020. Each member country will be asked to bring goals they have set for their individual country to the congress to combine for the worldwide goals. 

Mohan states, “The whole world is focusing on India because of its great potential and the vast harvest field. I invite Assemblies of God leaders and members around the world to come and see what God is doing in our nation.” Mohan’s church of 40,000 has planted over 200 churches in the Chennai area and has sent 100 missionaries to Northern India. 

Wood said the conference will have a variety of breakout sessions on topics such as prayer, church planting, evangelism, women in ministry, mentoring, small groups and the suffering church. He noted that church tradition reports Thomas, the disciple of Jesus, went to India about 52 AD and established seven Christian churches in the area of Chennai. He later was martyred by fanatics. One of Thomas' churches was on the property where New Life Assembly is currently located.

Final details for the congress, together with registration, housing and other information will be determined when the Executive Council meets in Amsterdam in March 2010. A congress Web site will contain all of the information, together with tours of India from the U.S. These tours will visit not only tourist sites, but also significant places where God is moving by His Spirit in this nation.

“I urge our U.S. Assemblies of God superintendents, pastors and leaders to mark these dates of February 2-4, 2011 on your calendars," says Wood. "I am asking leaders to take younger leaders to this conference with them as we invest and involve the next generation in this worldwide fellowship.”

A video discussion featuring Wood and Mohan is currently available on AGTV..

Keywords: WAGF | World Assemblies of God Fellowship | David Mohan | New Life Assembly | Chennai | India | VisionAG2020 | AG World Congress | Executive Council

Authors: AG News

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D. Mohan Challenges Church to Restore the Temple

By Mel Surface, staff writer, Celebration Chronicle

Rev D. Mohan is currently General Superintendent of All India Assemblies of God as well as being Southern Asia’s representative of the World Assemblies of God. He is also the Chairman of the National Prayer and church planting initiation, which is involved in prayer ministry, leadership development and church planting. He is in the board of directors of CGI (Church Growth International) and superintendent of the All India General Council of AG.  He was the first pastor to receive the Bill bright Leadership Award, which was awarded to him by Global Pastors Network.

The member of the GLN is D. Mohan, pastor of the largest congregation in India, New life Assembly of God in Chennai. David Mohan writes, "After we embraced the GLN Cell Church model, the new converts were nurtured and were transformed in their character and lifestyle (Now we have grown from 2,500 to 30,000 in 15 years").

Pastor David Mohan of New Life Assembly of God in Madras, India, delivered clear directions.  He urged the crowd to repent, to commit themselves to prayer and fasting, and to rebuild God’s temple.

He called all of the churches of the Assemblies of God to repent for leaving our first love in Jesus Christ and "do the things you did at first." God wants to restore, but we must come back, he declared. When the Prodigal Son returned, the Father celebrated, Mohan reminded. "Repentance brings celebration."

"When you lose that devotion, you lose the salt and the light in your life," he declared. "When you lose the salt and light…you cannot transform your communities!"

Drawing from the experiences of New Life Assembly, he challenged believers to recapture the Pentecostal fervor that marked the beginning of our Fellowship. When he obeyed God’s instruction him to lead his congregation in 31 days of prayer and fasting, God responded with a harvest of souls.

Then when God told him people must receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, Mohan said "We prayed to the Lord, pour out your Holy Spirit upon the church." The result was dynamic. "The next month, 1,200 people received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in one Sunday!

Fasting and prayer works wonders, but only consecrated people can pray, he warned. "Only consecrated people can forget themselves and pray to do the will of God. If you are not consecrated, you will never pray. Prayer is a struggle…always a conflict while there is an enemy against prayer."

"The Holy Spirit is speaking to you very clearly, Church, ‘fast and pray,’" Mohan said. "Then the Restoration of Celebration will come to your church, and you will have a former and a latter rain together that you will reap the harvest for the glory of God!"

Next Mohan cited the celebration that took place when the exiled children of Israel came home and began to rebuild God’s house. "Celebration of restoration comes when you rebuild the Temple of God," he said. "We are called to rebuild the church of God," not just a congregation or a building, but the Body of Christ. In the First Century, the church had unity and the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, he said. Believers were added every day and the churches multiplied. "In this century, God is going to do mighty and greater things…We are all going to celebrate the victories of God!"

Mohan recounted how the church in Madras was built. After a crusade in 1973, he had collected 150 names and addresses. He visited each one and seven people came to church. Through prayer, the help of many missionaries, and faithful effort, the congregation grew to 50, then 600. Despite a cyclone, a fire, and a flood that destroyed successive church buildings, "the living God was with us through it all," he said. They built stronger and bigger and continued to grow. They reached 3000 in attendance, but God told him to build still a larger building, he said.

Mohan said he reminded God the people were poor and that the church had built with funds from the U.S. He said could get no more money, but God said, "Don’t look to the West, look to Me." Mohan said he prayed 30 days and preached for an offering of gold. "With tears the people came to give," the pastor reported. They needed $500,000, but God supplied. They built New Life Assembly without borrowing money.

Attendance has reached 30,000 and their goal is 100,000. "God has taught us wonderful principles. He has given us vision and direction and structure, and also the tools to work…The leadership is developed and God is multiplying His church."

In a closing call to prayer, Mohan assured "The Holy Spirit is giving you the first love back…You have lost the art of fasting and prayer. The Holy Spirit is asking you, ‘Come to the prayer life.’ God is asking you to build your church. He wants to restore the gifts of the Holy Spirit to the church."

As people responded to the invitation, he encouraged, "God is going to build His Church in this century through you…Dear Pastors, do not be afraid. God is going to help you to build His Kingdom. Your church is going to multiply. The whole nation is going to see the glory of God in this century."