A task force has been regularly meeting to plan strategy and resources for GO FINISH 2020, a worldwide movement that focuses on all believers sharing their faith on May 23, 2020.
Initially announced last summer, Church of God General Overseer Tim Hill stated, “This Kingdom initiative will involve all state and territorial offices and all local churches both home and abroad. We are partnering with Global Outreach Day to make it part of our FINISH Commitment, and it is truly a Kingdom opportunity where our denomination will join with multiple worldwide denominations, church networks, and para-church ministries with the idea of every believer sharing the gospel with at least one person on one day. This is the Great Commission in action!”
The goal is for every person, in every church represented by the 185 countries where the Church of God has a presence, to share the gospel with someone. The central focus is that, “everyone can reach someone, and together we can reach the world.”
The Global Outreach Day initiative seeks to mobilize 100 million people to reach one billion people, with the goal of 50 million salvations and to see one million churches planted.
Rev. Mark Swank with the Department of Youth and Discipleship for the Church of God is coordinating the efforts for GO FINISH 2020. Second Assistant General Overseer J. David Stephens is serving as executive liaison. They are joined by a task force that has been active for months strategizing the timeline, design, resources, and promotion. While a website was launched months ago (www.churchofgod.org/gofinish2020), the primary focus is for an extended rollout in the next few weeks in anticipation of the “year-out” date.
“It is a proven fact that many evangelical believers never share their testimony, and as a result, have never won a soul to Christ,” Swank pointed out. “GO FINISH 2020 is an opportunity to change that statistic. With just a simple click of the website, believers will be able to find easy ways to share their faith through a Facebook post, friendship, and invitational evangelism, as well as local church efforts. We will be providing resources and ideas that we pray will make this one day of witnessing a great success.”
Swank stated that while May 23, 2020 is the official date for the event, leaders with the Global Outreach Day organization recognize that not everyone will be able to participate on the exact date. While most will be able to target that date, the entire month of May 2020 is offered as a timeframe to find a day when sharing your faith with an unbeliever takes place.
“This challenge should be in the heart of every believer as the Holy Spirit stirs us to actively engage in witnessing,” Hill said. “This is a huge, God-sized challenge where our denomination is joining a Global Outreach Day, which can be the biggest evangelistic outreach effort ever undertaken in the history of the church.”
To learn more about the 2020 Challenge, visit www.churchofgod.org/gofinish2020.