In 5 months, Baptists all over the world will gather in England for the Baptist World Congress. The hosting organisation - the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) is now gearing up the preparation. In light of the active participation of worldwide delegates, the General Secretary of BUGB David Coffey has compared the congress to the Olympics, according to the latest press releases.

"This is our Olympics. The Baptist World Congress is the largest event for the Baptist denomination worldwide. It has only been held in Britain twice before, 1905 and 1955. Like the Olympics it does not come to this country often. Unlike the Olympics, we are not holding our hands out for medals but for the blessing God wants to give the global Baptist family, the five days we are together in Birmingham this July."

The Congress will be held from 27th to 31st July at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Birmingham. It features inspirational evening celebrations, morning Bible studies taught by top Bible teachers, moving testimonies, afternoon workshops, and musical contributions from the worldwide Baptist family.

The five-yearly Congress coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Baptist World Alliance which was founded in London in 1905.

"We are very excited about hosting this event that unites Baptists from around the world, especially in the centenary year of the Baptist World Alliance. We have the opportunity to meet fellow believers who are following Jesus Christ at great personal cost to their own lives. Meeting them will not only be an inspiration but will also have the power to shape the life of our churches. That is why I urge Baptists in the UK not to miss out on this historic event," Coffey said.

Many Baptists in the UK are already responding. Of nearly three thousand people registered so far for the Congress, over half are from Britain.

Emmett Dunn, the Baptist World Congress director, is expecting a large number of registrations from UK Baptists over the coming months: "A world event such as this cannot come to one's own country and one's own city without taking advantage. Just imagine if people come from as far as Korea, China, Thailand, South Africa, and those people who live here don't take advantage of the opportunity."

Assist News Service reported that the current challenge faced by the organisers of the Congress is the youth program. 12,000 delegates are expected to attend the Youth Program for the Baptist World Congress, and at least 250 of these will be aged between 11-18.

To prepare activities for youth from very diversified nationalities and cultures is both exciting and daunting, according to Nick Lear, Task Group Leader for Youth at the Congress.

The program is expected to be very interactive so that the atmosphere can be shaped by contributions from the young people themselves.

"We want to provide the young people who come, with an opportunity to encounter Jesus through different cultures, media and experiences," says Nick.

The experience will contribute a lot to the future youth work in the UK, he added. "The Congress will give us a global perspective on youth work and help us to understand what it may mean to be truly multi-cultural. Recognising the limitations of it being a short event, it will be interesting to see how what we learn can be applied in the longer term."

The majority of participants so far are from the UK and US but other countries include Bolivia, Myanmar, Cameroon and Papua New Guinea. The estimated total number of participants will top 13,000.

For more information, please visit the Congress website: http://www.bwacongress2005.org.uk.