WOA Kicks Off 29th Annual World General Assembly in St Louis

The World Olivet Assembly (WOA) kicked off its 29th World General Assembly (WGA) in St. Louis, MO this week. The annual event began with an opening service on Thursday morning with church and ministry leaders from the United States attending in person and international participants joining online.

In his sermon, WOA General Secretary Pastor Mark Spisak spoke on the theme verse in Matthew 28:18-20 where Jesus says: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." He reminded the delegates of the Great Commission that is the ultimate task that Jesus Christ entrusted to his disciples and that remains the most important calling for every believer.

Amid the ongoing challenges of the pandemic that affected many people's lives, there is also a greater openness for the hopeful message of the gospel of salvation. If every individual pastor, leader and member's heart overflows with the love and comfort of God and the passion and fire of the Holy Spirit, it will go on to touch those around them. Therefore, by remembering the grace that we received and remaining closely united with the Lord, He will lead us to bear greater fruit and lead many souls back to God.

The service was followed by a first set of video reports from different regions, ministries and fellowships that spoke about developments in the past year and looked forward to 2022. And in the afternoon, several sessions looked at practical topics related to church and mission leadership.

Every WGA is an opportunity to offer gratitude for the progress and growth that God has allowed and to share and pray about challenges. It is a time for fellowship, worship and reflection as well as a time to look ahead and strategize how to strengthen the mission efforts in order to reach more people with the hopeful message of the Gospel. The WGA program will continue through Saturday and conclude with a Sunday service on October 31.