I count it a privilege and honor to be considered for the role of the J. Philip Hogan Chair of World Missions at AGTS. Brother Hogan was a first-class missions leader who influenced the world but who also impacted my family. In 1954-1955, while on furlough from Upper Volta, my grandfather, George Flattery, served for sixteen months in the promotions department led by Brother Hogan.1 During this time, my father, Dr. George M. Flattery, worked in the Audio-Visual department under Brother Hogan. In 1960, Brother Hogan preached the ordination service for the Southern Missouri District Council held in Sikeston, Missouri and laid hands on my father and my uncle, J. Warren Flattery. In 1966, Brother Hogan invited my father to Springfield, Missouri, to work with the Foreign Missions Department and conduct a taxonomy on Bible schools and the education system.2 In 1967, my father founded International Correspondence Institute (ICI), which later became ICI University and, in 1999, merged with Berean to form Global University. Consequently, I thank our Pentecostal forefathers, like Brother Hogan, for their service and influence on the generations that took up the mantle and followed in their footsteps in global ministry.

Overview Remarks

We live in a day that the only constant in life is change. Information is increasing at a rapid rate; some say every twelve months and soon to be every twelve hours. Technology advances change radically in the way we communicate, interact, and even the way that we self-identify within our environments. Alarming changes have occurred in our goals in life, our standards and values, and the determination of our self-worth. Change has impacted the people who attend our churches. While we must embrace change to function effectively and as productive members of society, we must be stridently faithful to the Truth of God’s Word in our values, strategies, and ministry.

Currently, approximately 3.8 billion people use the Internet and this figure represents almost one-half of the world’s population. We will view these 3.8 billion as individuals but also as a “people group” that must be reached with the gospel. Should we fail to embrace them, we will miss the opportunity to speak Truth into the lives of arguably the largest people group in the history of the world. Internet surfers are online seeking to engage other people in shared information, experiences, and activities. They are seeking someone to connect with them. We must give them Jesus.

If we are to continue to go to “all nations” (Matt. 28:19) and leave a global footprint, we must expand our reach to include the cyber world. In this three-lecture series, we will focus on the ministry of Network211 to show how the Assemblies of God can impact this virtual nation on the Internet. Network211 uses twenty-first century technology to communicate the first century gospel. The vision is to proclaim Christ to all people, build a global community of believers, and work with our partners in ministry. The evangelism goal is called “Project 100Million,” as we want to present the gospel to 100 million people around the world.

We will discuss foundational principles needed for this ministry to impact 3.8 billion individuals, including the theological values, the missiological strategies, and the ministry. The theological values will focus on five key beliefs of a biblically-based ministry. The missiological strategies will consider indigenous principles and cooperative multinationalism. The ministry will present “Internet Users” as a people group, “Globalism” as a world system, and “Global Individuality” as the next force in World Missions.

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1. George W. Flattery, Pentecostal Pioneering (Self-published, 1992), 154.

2. George M. Flattery and J. Phillip Hogan, “Conversations,” 1983. Unpublished transcript of a video produced by
ICI University in the 1970. Accessed through the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center, 2017.