It was my honour to photograph the 80+ delegates representing South Australia and the Northern Territory at the 23rd Baptist World Congress. After journeying to Brisbane, we met together on the first night to share dinner and catch up, before we dispersed among 3500 delegates from every corner of the world.
While you may imagine the highlight of a global gathering is meeting people from other countries, a number of those from our movement mentioned how special it was to spend time with each other, outside of the usual day-to-day. Perhaps the photo captured us just as we all defaulted to school-camp mode.
The Opening Celebration was electric. Representatives from 130 nations surrounded us, proudly waving their country’s banner. We sang Agnus Dei, and I can still hear our voices belting it out as we worshipped with people from home and away. Elijah Brown, General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, shared an incredibly passionate call to action for our wider Baptist family. He spoke of 2033, and the significance that we will soon be marking 2000 years since Jesus died. He then invited us to take part in five different actionable paths to help spread the good news; the witness, Bible, freedom, care, and neighbour paths, all based on the church in Acts 2. We will undoubtedly hear more about these paths in the future as part of the Baptist World Alliance’s 2033 Acts 2 Movement.
The 12-hour days packed a lot into the program, with electives, Bible talks, meetups and opportunities for everyone to carve out their own day. Many of us attended the preaching symposium, where we enjoyed listening to TaNikka Shepherd (USA), Jason Elsmore (Queensland) and Rick Warren (USA). Others raved about hearing from Micheline Makkar, who had many stories to share from her ministry in Syria.
A highlight for many was the worship. We enjoyed the throwback songs such as Ancient of Days, Here I Am to Worship, and Shout to the Lord, sung in our own heart languages. The addition of the digeridoo, saxophones, and bagpipes to the band was incredibly special. Mark Wilson, National Director of Australian Baptist Ministries, shared that he “…found the worship just overwhelmingly, deeply spiritual and encouraging. I found myself on numerous occasions in tears as I’ve heard stories and been a part of the worship.”
Another treat, and a personal favourite, were the performers on the Global Stage. You can’t help but dance to Oh Happy Day when performed by the Progressive Baptist Church Choir (Chicago). Or you might prefer the colourful dancers from the Korean Children’s Choir, twirling to It Is Well With My Soul.
“We want this gathering to show the world that it takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people. And that our different backgrounds and our different personalities are a strength of the body of Christ, not a weakness.” – Rick Warren
There were somber and powerful moments too; we met and prayed for members of the persecuted church. We heard stories of heartbreak and suffering, all for the sake of the Gospel. We heard Kay Warren (USA) share her experiences with mental health ministry and the loss of her son. We grieved as we heard of countries at war whose churches had shattered. We clung together to our hope in Christ.
It would be remiss not to mention the incredible effort Queensland Baptists made towards making Congress happen. Over 300 volunteers came together to coordinate the sessions, registrations, airport welcomes, prayer times, kids and youth programs; the list goes on. We are grateful for those who shared their time and talents with us.
At the Closing Ceremony, we were asked to each light a candle, filling the room with glimmers of hope. Elijah Brown sent us off with these words: “Take what you’ve learned here; turn it on, and go live the good news”.
25 years have passed since the last Baptist World Congress was held in Australia. I hope we will not have to wait so long for the opportunity to meet together again with our wider Baptist family.
Words by Ruth Grace
Editor, Together in Mission
Baptist Churches SA & NT
