Missione 2012 Conference - Let's begin!

In a few hours we'll be at the 4th National Conference on Mission organized by Italian Ministries.

This year the main speaker is
Patrick Johnstone, director of
the European Base of WEC and author of the well-known book: Operation World.

The theme of this Missione 2012 Conference is: "Speranza per un Mondo in Crisi" (Hope for a World in Crisis)!
At the moment, there are more than 350 participants and we'll be in charge of the program for the under-18 years-old.
Stefano will also lead a seminar on the main session about reaching out in schools.

More updates will follow on the next days...

Patrick Johnstone was converted to Christ in 1959 during his first year as a student at Bristol University. He went to South Africa in 1962, completing his theological training at the Dorothea Mission Bible College in Pretoria. During his first six-year term on the field, Patrick served in Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia). It was during this time that he also began the work of gathering data about the world both to inform prayer and for the first editions of Operation World. The first printed booklet with that title, which came out in 1965, was just 30 pages long. The second edition appeared in 1973 and covered nearly every country of the world. It was reprinted several years later by Ralph Winter of the USCWM, and also prompted George Verwer to set in motion an OM-backed rewrite of the book for global distribution.

This was completed in 1978 and led to many openings for wider ministry. The impact of Operation World is incalculable. Over 2.5 million copies have been distributed around the world in seven editions and some 16 languages, and the book has played a key role in developing the global vision of African, Latin American and Asian missions. In 1978 Patrick become part of the leadership team of WEC International, a large pioneer church-planting mission. Patrick was long involved with the Lausanne Movement. During the 1980s, he was a member of the Strategy Working Group that helped to formulate many of the definitions for its ethno-linguistic peoplegroup databases.
Patrick and his wife now live in Cambridgeshire, England, where they currently serve as regional directors for WEC's European bases.