EGN NEWS DESK
In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the primary Lausanne congress held in Switzerland from July 16-25, 1974, the Lausanne Movement held an internet occasion on July 25 celebrating God’s faithfulness and the legacy of the motion, and looking out forward on the fourth Congress in September in Seoul, Korea.
The International Congress on World Evangelization, which was held in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1974, was a landmark occasion for evangelicals who known as for a renewed give attention to evangelism. Led by Billy Graham and John Stott, the congress featured voices from leaders who modified the pondering in and route of missions, together with Ralph D. Winter, Samuel Escobar and René Padilla.
The ensuing Lausanne Covenant, which was a declaration “meant to outline the need, tasks, and targets of spreading the Gospel”, continues to affect Christian organizations at this time as many ministries use it as their Statement of Faith.
Welcoming near 800 on-line members, Lausanne’s Global Executive Director and CEO, Rev. Michael Oh, mentioned he was reminded of a John Stott quote the place the late theologian mentioned, “many a convention has resembled a fireworks show. It has made a loud noise and illuminates the sky for a number of temporary sensible seconds. What is thrilling about Lausanne is that its fireplace continues to prompt different fires.”
He referenced Psalm 89:2 and Deuteronomy 8:2 as he spoke about “the faithfulness of God and the pursuit of faithfulness by his individuals” over the previous half century.
He then went on to spotlight three specific sorts of faithfulness that stood out to him as he mirrored on the fiftieth anniversary.
“Number one, biblical faithfulness. Honestly, with out this as our start line, maybe no different faithfulness issues, however we’re grateful for the faithfulness of the motion to the phrase of God and the way this additionally has influenced biblical faithfulness for the worldwide Church,” he mentioned.
He pointed to the statements popping out of every occasion, together with the Lausanne Covenant, the Manila Manifesto, the Cape Town Commitment “and the quickly to be launched Seoul Statement as effectively”.
Secondly, he spoke about relational faithfulness. “Friendships that started with Billy Graham and John Stott and so many others by the years. These are friendships which have bridged generations, denominations, organizations, faculties, cultures, areas and extra. And these have allowed for the fantastic selection and variety of the physique of Christ to not be a trigger for a division, however as a substitute for even higher magnificence and power.”
And lastly, the third one was missional faithfulness. Oh pointed to the 8,000 unreached individuals teams which were reached with the gospel by the worldwide Church since Ralph D. Winter’s historic deal with on the first Lausanne Congress. He additionally celebrated “the mobilization of collaborative partnerships to translate the Bible into each language that was sparked on the second Lausanne Congress and a lot extra.”
“And by this all and greater than anything, we have fun at this time the faithfulness of God,” he mentioned.
Shift in world Christianity
Doug Birdsall, who led Lausanne as its govt chairman from 2004 to 2013 and continues as one of many honorary co-chairs at this time, then spoke about his reminiscences, pointing to the Lausanne Younger Leaders Conference in Singapore in 1987 as the place to begin.
Naming a number of huge evangelical figures who have been current on the occasion at the moment, he mentioned, “I used to be type of amazed the best way these leaders that we admired so significantly, they only frolicked with us youthful leaders in very artistic methods. None of them spoke. They have been there to encourage us to assist develop us.”
“I usually communicate of the best way Billy Graham talked in regards to the spirit of Lausanne is a spirit of friendship and humility and examine and prayer and partnership and hope, and my life has been significantly enriched by that,” he mentioned.
Birdsall additionally spoke a few second in his life the place he realized the shifts in world missions that noticed the affect transfer away from the Global North to the Global South the place Christianity had grown exponentially over the earlier a long time.
He admitted experiencing a disaster of goal throughout a visit by a number of Asian international locations in 1990. During his final cease in Colombo, Sri Lanka, he shared together with his buddy Ajith Fernando, a widely known Sri Lankan evangelical chief, that he was discouraged by those that have been saying “the day of the North American missionary is over.”
But Fernando’s response shifted his perspective, as he reminded Birdsall that “the Great Commission is for each church and each tradition and each technology” and that everybody “should determine how we contribute to that”.
The entire gospel
Valdir Steuernagel from Brazil mentioned that though the primary Lausanne Congress was held in 1974, “it was in the beginning of ’76 when Lausanne arrived in Brazil.”
“It arrived has the spirit of Lausanne, because the covenant of Lausanne. It arrived along with among the management of Lausanne and the methodology, the understanding and the follow of mission of Lausanne,” he mentioned, highlighting the mission congress that yr, which was sponsored by the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students and was “impressed by Lausanne”.
“The entire gospel for the entire particular person made absolute sense to us,” Steuernagel mentioned. “To us who have been praying, looking out a gospel and a Christian life with the flavour of Jesus and which might impression our society with the contact of the dominion of God. And that type of emphasis, the centrality of the gospel, the message of the dominion, the collaborative sense of doing mission got here a lot to us from Lausanne as we lived inside the spirit of Lausanne.”
Several different audio system from Africa, Asia and Oceania shared their very own tales and testimonies how they have been influenced by occasions organized by the Lausanne Movement through the years.
A brand new technology of leaders from Seoul 2024
Finally, Rev. Ramez Atallah, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt who chaired this system committee for the third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town in 2010, closed the net occasion in prayer.
He thanked God for “50 years of faithfulness” acknowledging that “it wasn’t us, it wasn’t human effort, it was divine steerage”. He expressed his gratitude for the previous leaders in Lausanne and prayed for a brand new technology of leaders to come back out of Seoul 2024.
“As we look ahead to the longer term, we pray that out of this coming Congress will come a brand new imaginative and prescient for world evangelization, new leaders who will take us into areas and instructions that we can’t think about,” he prayed.
Before concluding the occasion, Rev. Oh supplied some closing remarks and particularly requested for prayer within the last days main as much as the Congress. He acknowledged that many individuals have confronted monetary difficulties to attend the Congress whereas others have struggled with acquiring visas. And he requested for prayer for cover and well being for all these concerned and the main of the Holy Spirit.
“Our hope for the Congress is basically captured within the theme of the Congress, ‘let the Church declare and show Christ collectively’. And fairly than simply our hope for the Congress, it’s our hope for what occurs after the Congress. We lengthy to see the physique of Christ activated rising up collectively in conviction, unity, effectiveness, ardour and faithfulness.”
The fourth Lausanne Congress shall be held in Incheon close to Seoul, South Korea, from September 22-28, 2024. Up to five,000 members are anticipated onsite, in addition to 5,000 who be part of on-line to have interaction in conversations on modern missional points.
© Christian Daily International
