Christian coalition launches over 200 training hubs to advance Great Commission, mobilize pastors

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter
Sunday, November 03, 2024

A cross is captured through some ornamental railings in the Fort Kochi area in the state of Kerala in South India. | Getty Images

James O. Davis remembers sitting in his car on a snowy day in Missouri in 2001 when the Lord instructed him to create a network for pastors.

A gentle whisper from the Holy Spirit resulted in the founding of a Christian coalition racing against a tight deadline to fulfill the Great Commission — the instruction from Jesus to his disciples to share the Gospel with all nations of the world — by 2030.

Davis, the founder of Global Church Network, envisions billions of souls coming to Christ in the next few years. He and others seek to accomplish this by ensuring the Bible is available in every language and that a "harvest" of young leaders is equipped to serve through a "synergized" and "mobilized Church."

"What we say in the ministry is that we all have a role in the goal," Davis told The Christian Post. "The goal is the Great Commission; the goal is that everybody has access to the Gospel."

The FINISH 2030 movement was launched at Martin Luther's graveside in Castle Church, Wittenburg, Germany, in 2017. More than 600 leaders from Christian theological backgrounds pledged to complete the Great Commission.

James O. Davis, founder of the Global Church Network. | Courtesy of Global Church Network

As to why 2030 was chosen as the deadline, the ministry founder recalls a conversation he had with a friend in 2017. The friend reminded Davis of the approaching 500-year celebration of Martin Luther, the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation.

"He said then right after that, in 2030, will be the 2000-year birthday of the Church," Davis remembered. "I said, 'You know what? You're right, that's coming up, so I wonder what we're going to do about that.'"

A group shot of speakers and national leaders at the FINISH Oceania Summit in Suma, Fiji, from Oct. 8 to Oct. 10, 2024. | Courtesy of Global Church Network

GCN has already made plans to host a celebration for the 2000th birthday of the Church from June 9-11, 2030, in Jerusalem. Davis said the coalition has already booked a spot at the International Convention Center of Jerusalem.

Most recently, GCN hosted thousands of ministry leaders from 22 island nations and 10 territories at its FINISH OCEANIA Summit in Suva, Fiji, in mid-October. "FINISH" stands for Find, Intercede, Network, Invest, Send, Harvest.

Oceania is one of the most geographically challenging mission fields due to its small population and its vast expanse of islands across the Pacific Ocean, Davis explained.

However, the region is an example of what GCN hopes to accomplish with its outreach mission: to share the Gospel with even the smallest of communities.

Since the network's establishment in 2001, it has collaborated with more than 2,750 Christian ministries and 700,000 churches to build a community of pastors. The coalition has trained thousands of spiritual leaders through its Global Church Divinity School since 2002.

The coalition recognizes a need to train and equip ministers.

GCN aims to establish 800 leadership training hubs worldwide by 2030, which would mobilize 1 million ministers to combat a global shortage of pastors.

With the opening of new training hubs in the Balkans and South Africa, the coalition has launched 200 hubs on six continents. The first hub began operations in 2012 in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

"I believe God has His people everywhere," Davis said.

The hubs provide online theological training, including areas of the world that are hard to reach, such as Nepal's Himalayan Mountains. The hubs in the United States, however, are hosted by local churches throughout the country.

Each of the hubs works with pastors and ministry leaders for two years, providing leadership training, discipleship and networking opportunities every six months. Once the hub training is complete, the hub starts to multiply, with new leaders appearing at each new location, Davis said.

"A net is made up of little nothings tied together," Davis said. "A lot of people like to talk about a 'network,' but their net doesn't work. You have to tie relational knots to build a net that works. A net has one purpose, and it's not to be hung on the wall for people to admire. It's to be used to catch a harvest."

"That's what a net is for," he added. "So we have to tie enough relational knots to build a net that works to finish the Great Commission."