The 14th Baptist Youth World Conference, scheduled for July 16-20, Hong Kong, China, has been postponed till Aug. 4-8, 2004. The conference will be held in the Hong Kong Convention Center, according to Emmett Dunn, director of the youth department of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA).
The postponement was due to the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Southeast Asia Consequently, Hong Kong is one of the hardest hit places.
“We had hoped that [the cancellation] would not be necessary,” Dunn said, “but the BWA must act responsibly to protect the thousands of young people we expected in Hong Kong and move to allay the fears of many people who were concerned that the disease would not be under control by July.
“We are asking everyone who registered or who planned to attend his year’s meeting to make plans to join us next year for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Everything we had planned for this meeting will be there next year and even more,” Dunn said. “We know that God works everything for good to those who trust Him, and we expect He has even greater plans for the conference next year.”
Dunn announced that hotels, travel agents and the convention center have all promised to hold current rates at their present levels, and he gave these guidelines for those already registered.
Registration fees
BWA officials ask those who have paid registration fees to leave deposits for the new date, but BWA will refund fees. Individuals will need to check on other fees paid through the appropriate people, such as airlines and travel agents.
General Secretary Chu Wood Ping and Eddie Ho, chair of the local arrangements committee, promised to work hard to make next year’s meeting a great success and eagerly look forward to welcoming thousands of people next year.
“We know that it is a painful decision to postpone the youth conference until next year,” they said, “but it is also a realistic and decisive response to the current situation. Hong Kong Baptists and the BWA will work hand in hand to tackle these problems.”
The general secretary of the BWA, Denton Lotz, asks Baptists to look ahead and begin to build support for the 2004 Youth Conference. “All of our plans for this conference will be fulfilled,” Lotz says, “and we expect a dynamic program and thousands of people from around the world to attend. We urge you to pray for the leaders … and for Hong Kong Baptists who have invested a tremendous amount of time, money, prayer and planning.”
(BWA)
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