PATTAYA, THAILAND - The world's largest evangelical body has commenced its highly-anticipated general assembly - the first in seven years - on Saturday night with invited Christian leaders from some of the most prominent Christian organisations in the world.

|PIC2|More than 500 leaders from the World Evangelical Alliance's national and regional evangelical alliances, commissions, global partners and associates have convened in Pattaya, Thailand for the general assembly, which will last from 25 to 30 October.

The Assembly, which only takes place once every six years, enjoyed a colourful spectacle of traditional Thai dance and music in its opening ceremony, as well as a parade of national flags representing the home nations of some 500 delegates.

In a rousing address, WEA international director Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe told delegates that the five day gathering would be an opportunity to refresh their vision for integral mission.

"We need a fresh vision for and commitment to the work of the body of Christ around the world that reflects our focus on integral mission, on holistic mission, on the transformation of the Gospel," he said. "We desperately need that new, fresh vision."

Crucial to finding that vision is faithfulness to the Scripture, Dr Tunnicliffe insisted.

"We need a renewal of our historic commitment to the character of the Gospel and our biblical distinctive as evangelical Christians who are committed to the authority of Scripture. What drives us and undergirds us is our commitment to the Scriptures."

The opening ceremony was joined by the Deputy Permanent Secretary of Thailand, Kanda Vajrabhaiya, who pointed to areas of common interest between Evangelicals and the Thai Government, including poverty reduction, HIV and Aids, human rights, child protection and perhaps women issues.

"The WEA is a meaningful network to us in implementing programmes to assist, protect and empower those vulnerable groups and improve the life conditions of those considered as disadvantaged people in this country. It is also consistent with Christianity's principles of right living for the benefit and interests of other people."

She paid tribute to the crucial role played by Christianity in the development of Thailand.

"This year marks 180 years since Christian missionaries came to Thailand. Thus far Christians have not only brought knowledge such as education, technology and medicine, but also established infrastructure like schools, universities and hospitals to help Thai people."

During the week-long general assembly, participants will help form a new shared vision for WEA and a five year roadmap to achieve the vision. They will also be informed about some of the most pressing global issues and the Evangelical responses to them, receive practical training to help national alliances become more effective, and network to build a stronger Christian body.

Some of the session topics include: the growth of the church quantitatively and qualitatively; poverty, its scope and impact; a panoramic view of Evangelical advocacy, the scope and range of Evangelical public engagement.

"This event will be a powerful time where leaders are greatly encouraged, better connected to others of like-minded colleagues and more effectively equipped to serve in a growingly complex world," said the Rev. Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe, international director of WEA.

The WEA head notes that the general assembly takes place at a critical moment in history, when the world is facing many grave challenges as well as opportunities.

On Sunday, a day of prayer will take place for global issues and needs, with delegates taking part in a fast.

The General Assembly will also mark the official launch of the World Evangelical Leadership Institute, which will allow attendees to continue learning about the issues discussed at the General Assembly when they return to their country.

|PIC1|Another exciting development taking place at this landmark assembly will be the use of online distant learning courses, whereby the participating leaders will be able to attend training tracks via the internet.

"We're really hoping that this conference will not just end and that will be the end of it, but we want this to be a springboard," said Sylvia Soon, WEA's communication coordinator.

Other organisations that will be represented at the WEA General Assembly include: Campus Crusade for Christ, Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, and U.S. Center for World Mission, among many others.

The World Evangelical Alliance is a global network of churches in 128 nations and more than 100 international organisations joined together to give a worldwide identity, voice and platform to more than 420 million evangelical Christians. The alliance is often involved in speaking on behalf of persecuted Christians as well as social justice issues including Darfur, poverty and other human rights issues.