Focus 2020: A Decadal Foundation for Great Commission Success

During his tenure of serving as director of Church of God World Missions, Church of God General Overseer Tim Hill testified of a burden and was challenged with the realization that this generation can indeed complete the Great Commission. Hill’s burden became the FINISH Challenge with a distinct set of six mandates using the acronym FINISH.

Expounding on the six evangelistic terms of FIND, INTERCEDE, NETWORK, INVEST, SEND and HARVEST, during the four year period between 2012 and 2016, Hill delivered the specific message to congregations around the globe. Ministers, laypersons, states, regions, and even countries embraced the FINISH Challenge.

When Hill was elected to serve as general overseer in August 2016, he brought with him from World Missions that same burden to FINISH the Great Commission. On the closing night of the 2016 International General Assembly, the new general overseer introduced the next step of this acrostic: the FINISH Commitment. Each letter was defined by a scripture, a challenge, and a set of evangelical commitments. In the ensuing two years, the Church of God around the globe was able to report success on many fronts, yet with still much more ahead as a movement.

At the 2018 International General Assembly last summer in Orlando, Florida, the focus and framework for the Church of God’s efforts to FINISH the Great Commission was set out. In a series of six resolutions, clear guidance was given to the Church of God. The resolutions included:

Doctrinal Affirmation
Visional Actualization
Ministerial Activation
Generational Assimilation
Structural Acclimation
Spiritual Acceleration

Through these six resolutions, an aggressive agenda to move toward FINISHing the Great Commission in the Spirit and Power of Pentecost has been established.

On January 22, 2019, Hill unveiled FOCUS 2020 to the International Executive Council as, “Preparing a Foundation for Great Commission Success in the Next Decade.”

During the Global Ministry Forums, which began on Thursday, February 7 in Fountain Valley, California, Hill formally introduced the details of FOCUS 2020 and outlined the strategy which dovetails with the four agenda items at the Forums. Ten articles, all beginning with the letter “A,” will include and go beyond the forum agenda. Like the FINISH Commitment, FOCUS 2020 will include three visional commitments each.

After hearing Hill’s presentation of the initiative, immediate past general overseer, Mark Williams, offered the following comments regarding FOCUS 2020:

“The difference between a lightbulb and a laser is focus. In FOCUS 2020 Dr. Tim Hill presents strategic goals to guide the Church of God in its quest to fulfill the mission for which Jesus died. Precise, prophetic, and filled with promise.” Williams now serves as senior pastor of the North Cleveland Church of God and is a member of the Executive Council.

Another member of the Council, Timothy Oldfield, said, “Focus 2020 is a God-given plan, driven by prayer. The vision is inclusive of all people, it is intentional regarding resource and innovative concerning training. This is indeed a pointed strategy to accomplish the Finish Commitment.”

“Focus 2020 is an innovative plan that has the potential of positioning the Church of God on the front lines of world evangelization,” said Dr. Bryan Cutshall, another member of the Executive Council. “Dr. Tim Hill’s visionary leadership is mobilizing our Church of God ‘mighty army’ to the finish line of the Great Commission. It is possible to finish the Great Commission in a few years, if we will stay focused and passionate about reaching the world harvest.”

Barry Clardy, pastor of Princeton Pike Church of God in Cincinnati and also a member of the Executive Council said, “The 2020 vision provided by Dr. Tim Hill is one that is borne out of prayer, passion, and purpose to finish the Great Commission… it is powerful and profound – a clarion call to the Body of Christ to be an active part of finishing the Great Commission.”

During the coming weeks and months, written and video explanations of the ten articles will be released to fully unpack FOCUS 2020 and its potential impact upon the efforts of the Church of God to FINISH the Great Commission.

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