Introduction In February 2016, Peter Tarantal shared his heart with colleagues and mission leaders, raising important concerns:

“As I survey the condition of the global church, there are things that encourage me and some that deeply disturb me, especially the state of evangelicalism in the West. As I have been praying and thinking, I am becoming more and more convinced that for the global church to thrive, we need a strong Global South church. If we are going to play a key role, then in my mind a few things need to happen:

• We need critical thinking Global South theologians who can help us critique some of the excesses, with many talking about a post-colonial theology.
• We need critical thinking missiologists from the Global South.
• We need a culturally relevant mission model that is owned by the Global South.
• We need to find finance in the Global South so that we are not always beholden to the West and its agenda.
• The need for critiquing our own leadership.
• We need to be bold enough to tackle the evangelical/ecumenical divide.

”

These thoughts resonated with the core group, leading to a valuable conversation in Panamá City with David Ruiz, where the idea of an initial meeting was proposed. This meeting aimed to bring one representative from each Global South region, culminating in a historic gathering with the following leaders:

• Nico Botha (South Africa)
• Patrick Fung (Singapore)
• Hwa Yung (Malaysia)
• Mario Li Hing (Mauritius)
• Gideon Para-Mallam (Nigeria)
• Pilhun Park (Korea)
• K. Rajendran (India)
• David Ruiz (Guatemala)
• Peter Tarantal (South Africa)
• Silas Tostes (Brazil)

First Meeting: UK, July 2016

On July 27-28, 2016, the group met at Bulstrode, the WEC UK headquarters near Oxford, for two days of prayer and discussion. This was the last meeting hosted at Bulstrode before their move to a new venue. Seven key issues of priority were identified:

• Church, ministry, and mission
• Discipleship and leadership.

Second Meeting: Malaysia, October 2017

In October 2017, the group reconvened in Malaysia to discuss eight critical topics, each leading to papers for a book. The topics and their contributors were:

• Partnership
• Nation Building
• Discipleship
• Church and Mission.
• Leadership

Third Meeting: Malaysia, January 2019

This gathering prepared for a Global Gathering anticipated in 2023. A Facilitation Team was formed to lead the group:

• Chair: Peter Tarantal (Africa)
• Co-chair: Hwa Yung (Asia)
• Members: Decio de Carvalho (Latin America), Mario Li-Hing (Africa), Ghada Fakhoury (MENA)

Fourth Meeting: Dubai, January 2023

Thirteen leaders were gathered for this meeting in which discussions were held to clarify who we were.

Outcomes of our time together:

• Plan to hold a Global Conversation in September 2025. 
• The broader leadership group to meet in June 2024 to continue the preparation for the 2025 Global Conversation.
• The regions will continue to engage with the specific issues affecting them.

Fifth Meeting: Dubai, June 2024

Outcome: Finalising plans for the Global Conversation in September 2025