25th General Assembly of South America Takes Place in Bolivia
Delegates from eight nations gathered for the 2011 Church of God General Assembly of South American churches. More than 2,000 people were in attendance in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, including over 1,000 pastors and church leaders.
Delegates worship during the 2011 South American General Assembly in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
The Church of God in Ohio is partnering in South America, focusing on assistance in the region for planting churches and winning disciples.
“The people of South America have a vision of winning 200,000 people to Christ by the year 2020,” stated Ohio Administrative Bishop Bill Isaacs. In conversing with state youth and discipleship director Pat Wright via YouTube video, Isaacs stated, “this partnership is not one-sided. The South American pastors and churches want to plant churches in Ohio as well. “
“These are wonderfully warm people who love ministry and are excited about partnering with the state of Ohio,” Wright stated of the delegates at the gathering. Featured speakers for the General Assembly included Isaacs and Francisco Jimenez, national overseer of Mexico.
“The unity I felt this week was so special,” stated Terrell Brinson, field representative for Church of God World Missions. “There is also an appreciation for the Church of God in Ohio and their partnership as we grow the Church of God here in South America.”
David Ramirez, regional superintendent for South America for the Church of God was also in attendance and stated, “The excitement is awesome…we have had such a good time celebrating what God is doing in South America. We have 2,000 churches here and the vision is to plant 2,000 more churches in these eight countries.”
Ramirez explained how the vision of church planting is worldwide, demonstrated by the desire of the countries of Mexico and Brazil and the regions of Central America and South America which have adopted other countries and regions of the world to evangelize.
“South America is becoming a real missions force,” Ramirez said.
Several updates from the event are posted on YouTube. Just type “Bolivia recap” in the search option and scroll on the right to find interviews with Isaacs, Wright, Brinson and Ramirez.
