These Pastors Are Changing the World for Jesus: 'This Group Can Move Mountains'

A new group is uniting "evangelicals and other Christian leaders" from around the world for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

The Congress of Christian Leaders has unveiled its first group of board members prior to their first meeting to be held later this year. 

CCL says it's deeply committed to "righteousness and justice" and "focused on building Gospel unity across the global body of Christ through collaboration, advocacy, proclamation and service," according to a news release. The group states it is "non-partisan, global and biblical."

And it's truly a global group. The first wave of nominees to CCL's board include:

At Boshoff, Christian Revival Church, South Africa
Tiago Brunet, da Casa Destino, Brazil
Joseph D'Souza, The Good Shepherd Church, India
Russell Evans, Planetshakers, Australia
Leon Fontaine, Springs Church, Canada
Jentezen Franklin, Free Chapel, United States
Fermin Garcia, Grupo de Unidad Christiana de Mexico, Mexico
Jack Graham, Prestonwood Baptist Church, United States
Sergio Hornung, Comunidad Cristiana Agua Viva, Peru
David Ingman, Comunidad de Fe, Ecuador
Canon J. John, evangelist, United Kingdom
Greg Laurie, Harvest Christian Fellowship, United States
Cash Luna, Casa de Dios, Guatemala
Peter Mortlock, City Impact Church, New Zealand
John Milton Rodriguez, Mision Paz a las Naciones, Colombia
Wanda Rolon, Iglesia La Senda Antigua, Puerto Rico

"What I love the most about this initial set of board members is that they lead or are deeply connected to vast local church communities around the world," Rev. Johnnie Moore, CCL president, said in the news release. 

"The CCL is not meant to replace or even subsidize the work of the global church but to bring together leaders and to serve those leaders and their communities," he continued. 

"This group can move mountains; actually, they can move continents," Moore said.

"It is really impossible to surmise the influence of those on this list," Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, CCL chairman, stated. "Simply put, these leaders are not only notable Christian pastors but leaders whose influence far transcends the Christian community in their respective countries." 

"It is an indication of the energy coalescing around the mission of the Congress of Christian Leaders, and an affirmation that this is a vision from God and for now," he continued.

In May, Rodriguez, who is also the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, told CBN News about the importance of unity among evangelicals.

"We can have differences politically... we need to focus on what brings us together," he said.

This first group of board members is made up of some of the biggest Christian movements across the globe "with collective influence exceeding many millions of Christians on six continents," the news release stated.

It went on to say that some of the movements represent the forefront of a worldwide evangelical movement that has increased "exponentially" in the last 50 years, especially in Central and South America.

"The fact is that the majority Church around the world is a Church that is growing exponentially," Moore said in May, The Christian Post reported. "It is incredibly diverse."

"There are these pastors around the world that have massive, massive churches and massive, massive movements," he continued. "Some of them have been around for five or six years, some have been around for 10 years."

"Most of those leaders somewhat operate entirely independent without the support structure of peers serving them from an organization that exists just to serve them," Moore continued.

Moore said he hopes CCL will provide that support. The tentative plan is to hold the inaugural CCL meeting in mid-October.