In 1992 Jay Gary established Celebration 2000 as a national service center in Colorado Springs. It’s purpose, to let the world know the reason for the Bimillennial season, 1996 to 2001.
In the fall of 1984, George Heiner was a second-year dental student in San Francisco, with little more than lab work on his mind. He had never given any thought to the year 2000, but that abruptly changed on the morning of October 9th.
“It must have been about 4 a.m. when I awoke from the most powerful dream of my life. I was in a room filled with angels singing praises,” Heiner shares. “I got up quickly, sat at my desk, and wrote down these words: ‘There is going to be a celebration in the year 2000 of song and praise celebrating faithfulness in Jesus Christ.'”
Within six months Heiner began to plan a celebration for the year 2000 through the arts, television, drama and music. Within a year, he had distributed more than 200 licenses for use of his “Celebration 2000 A.D.” logo to groups with a year 2000 focus.
Consisting of an artistic rendition of the portrait of Jesus Christ inscribed on a coin, “the logo points to a celebration at the culmination of the 20th century.” Heiner claims the logo is the heart of a communications strategy designed to link groups together in their commemorative efforts for the year 2000.
His most recent project was “Mission 2000 A.D.,” a music cassette with interviews by Pat Robertson, Bill Bright and other well-known religious leaders. On their full page magazine ad, printed in large letters, is the statement: “Listen to What’s Uniting All of Christianity. Beyond Music & the Unbelievable. Mission 2000It’s Worldwide.”
“The celebration I am involved in planning,” claims Heiner, “is not limited to Christians by any means. We all have birthdays and those dates record our history in reference to the birth and life of Jesus Christ B.C./A.D.”
Building upon this early work for 2000, Celebration 2000 was established in 1992 as a national service center in Colorado Springs. Since that time this center has let the world know the reason for the season through:
- Speaking at seminars, radio interviews, and churches.
- Conducting leadership conferences and electronic forums.
- Helping church movements plan city festivals for 2000.
- Offering consulting services to projects which creatively commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Christ.
Together we make the year 2000 the biggest project in the history of our planet. And as we do, heaven itself will gather up from the East to West, one great offering of praise to present to our Lord on His 2,000th birthday.
