FOUNDATION LAUNCHED FOR OUTSTANDING EVANGELIST
On 2 June 2007 the G D James Foundation was officially launched at the Epping Baptist Church with over 150 people representing 41 churches attending the dinner launch.
Mr Davidson James welcomed the audience and led the opening hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness”.
Dr G D James an international evangelist who was called home to glory on July 2003 had been an evangelist for 63 years and preached at large scale evangelistic crusades in Asia and bible conferences and churches around the world, thrilling his audiences with his wit, wisdom and humor.
A prolific writer Dr James had authored more than 25 books. His well known evangelistic booklet “The Man You Must Confront” continues to be a blessing to many. In May 2007, a Christian lady in Sydney handed a copy of this booklet to a recent migrant to Australia, an English professor from Turkey, who not only accepted Christ as his Savior as a result of reading this booklet but made several photo copies of this booklet and distributed to his Muslim friends.
Mr Bill Ho, the treasurer, in introducing the Foundation said “In profound thanksgiving to God and much appreciation of Dr James’ faithfully ministry as a full time missionary/evangelist for more than half a century, his loved ones and Christian friends who have been signally blessed by Dr James’ ministry over the years, initiated the G D James Foundation in April 1996. The purpose of the Foundation is to generate and manage funds to support national missionaries and social work in the two-thirds world as well as in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The Foundation has to date contributed to the support of missionaries and orphans in India and Nepal and orphans in Vietnam”.
Pastor Earl Roberts committed the board members, Mr Davidson James, Rev. Mathew Kuruvilla, Mr Bill Ho, Pastor Jeremy Tay and Mr Rob McCullough to God in prayer and the guest speaker Rev. the honorable Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC in his address stated that a vision statement he had seen at a local church read “teaching the truth about Jesus; encouraging people to trust and rely on Him; and preparing God’s people for service”, aptly summarized the life of Dr James who was called “the Billy Graham of Asia”.
“Teaching the truth about Jesus” would take him to scores of countries around the world. As an evangelist he was heard by millions of people. He conducted major crusades throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, America, Australia and in a dozen or more Asian countries. His ‘Love Sydney’, ’Love Melbourne’, ‘Love Hobart’ etc crusades drew large crowds and many converts.
“Encouraging people to trust and rely upon Him” was another keystone of G D James’ life. With his wife for sixty years Rose and his six children all of whom are committed Christians involved in Christian service, he was an amazing example of a family man. He encouraged people everywhere to trust and rely upon Jesus by giving to people in the streets, waitresses in cafes, nurses in hospitals a copy of his little pocket book “The Man You Must Confront”. That book has been printed more than 10 million times in 15 languages. All of his 25 books were designed to give people encouragement to trust and rely upon Jesus.
The third part of the Church’s vision was also his : “preparing God’s people for service”. Dr G D James became the greatest Asian missions administrator of the twentieth century. He was a member of a number of mission boards but in 1960 following a heart attack realized that he should spend his energies in training others to proclaim the gospel as well as himself. He established in 1960 the Asia Evangelistic Fellowship that today has 200 national missionaries working in 9 Asian countries. This indigenous mission is committed to evangelization of the people in Asia and around the world. He was responsible for organizing significant missionary conferences and preaching on the missionary theme throughout both the Eastern and Western world. He was responsible personally for encouraging hundreds of people into fulltime Christian ministry and service.
Dr Moyes said that soldiers went to war behind the standard flag bearer and if the standard bearer was killed in action or struck down, the others would grab the flag, raise it high and march on. As Christians we are the soldiers of Christ carrying the cross of Christ to all the world.
And that’s what the Foundation is all about said Dr Moyes. It enables each one of us as soldiers of Christ and friends of G D James to take up the cross that he bore for more than 60 years and take it to all the world.
Debra Tin concluded the evening’s program with a solo that she sang at Dr James’ memorial service in Sydney “Carry the Light”.
Rev Mathew Kuruvilla challenged those present to be involved in the work of the Foundation by their prayers and gifts and board member Pastor Jeremy Tay gave the concluding remarks and the closing prayer and benediction.
Anyone interested in getting more information about G D James Foundation or making a donation could contact – The Secretary, G D James Foundation,
P O Box 3913, Parramatta 2150, Bill Ho 0421 553 359 or Davidson James +61-2-9633 9777, e-mail address –