On the third day of the Hillsong Conference, the 4.30pm session opened with great praise and worship to God with the Hillsong music team and special guests Alvin Slaughter, Israel Houghton and Cindy Cruise-Ratcliff.
The turnout for Hillsong Conference 2007 is expected to be larger than Hillsong Conference 2006 as the Victorians are at a disadvantage because the Conference is held during school term in Victoria this year.
The message was preached by Bill Hybels who focused on Evangelism as pastors today seem to be able to “fill buildings and meet budgets without having to evangelise”.
“95% of Christians shut down when the word ‘Evangelism’ is heard,” Bill Hybels said.
Hybels goes on to say that everyone is made in the image of God and as long as our hearts are open, the love of God would flow in us. Just as Jesus Christ took the risk and came down to Earth to die for our sins, so should we leave our comfort zone to lead others to Christ.
Hybels illustrates that the imagery that surrounds evangelism is having to leave our circle of comfort, taking a huge risk of speaking to another at the end of the room. Instead, he continued, we should treat any evangelistic opportunity as our ability to have more awareness of people with our hearts emboldened by Christ through his love for us. Sharing from his own experience, a 20 step walk could end up changing a man's life by eternity.
The Hillsong Conference 2006 will end Friday, July 7.
For more information, visit the Hillsong website.