In commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the primary Congress in Lausanne, held in Switzerland from July 16 to 25, 1974, the Lausanne Motion held a web based occasion on July 25 celebrating God's faithfulness and the motion's legacy, and in anticipation of the Fourth Congress in September in Seoul, Korea .
The Worldwide Congress on World Evangelization held in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1974 was a landmark for evangelicals who referred to as for a renewed give attention to evangelism. Led by Billy Graham and John Stott, the congress featured voices of leaders who modified the considering and path of missions, together with Ralph D. Winter, Samuel Escobar, and René Padilla.
The ensuing Treaty of Lausanne, which was a declaration “meant to outline the need, accountability, and targets of the unfold of the gospel,” continues to affect Christian organizations at the moment, as many ministries use it as their Assertion of Religion.
Welcoming the almost 800 attendees on-line, Lausanne's international managing director and CEO, the Rev. Michael Oh, stated he was reminded of a quote by John Stott, the place the late theologian stated, “Most of the conferences resembled fireworks. and for a couple of temporary good seconds it lights up the sky. What's thrilling about Lausanne is that its hearth will proceed to gentle extra fires.”
He referred to Psalm 89:2 and Deuteronomy 8:2 when he spoke of “God's faithfulness and his individuals's pursuit of faithfulness” over the previous half century.
He then went on to focus on three particular sorts of faithfulness that stood out to him as he mirrored on the fiftieth anniversary.
“Primary, biblical faithfulness. Actually, with out this as our start line, maybe no different faithfulness issues, however we’re grateful for the motion's faithfulness to God's Phrase and the way it has additionally affected the biblical faithfulness of the worldwide church.” ” he stated.
He pointed to declarations rising from every occasion, together with the Lausanne Pact, the Manila Manifesto, the Cape City Dedication “and in addition the Seoul Declaration that will probably be printed quickly”.
Second, he talked about relational constancy. “Friendships that started with Billy Graham and John Stott and plenty of others over time. They’re friendships which have bridged generations, denominations, organizations, faculties, cultures, areas and extra. And that has allowed the wonderful selection and variety of the Physique of Christ to not be trigger for division, however as an alternative for even better magnificence and power.”
And eventually, the third was missionary faithfulness. Oh pointed to eight,000 unreached individuals teams that the worldwide church has reached with the gospel since Ralph D. Winter's historic speech on the first conference in Lausanne. He additionally celebrated “the mobilization of collaborative partnerships to translate the Bible into all languages that was ignited on the Second Lausanne Congress and way more.”
“And with all of this and greater than the rest at the moment, we have a good time God's faithfulness,” he stated.
A shift in international Christianity
Doug Birdsall, who led Lausanne as its Govt Chairman from 2004 to 2013 and continues at the moment as one of many Honorary Co-Chairs, then spoke of his reminiscences, pointing to the Lausanne Youthful Leaders Convention in Singapore in 1987 as a place to begin.
Naming among the nice evangelical figures who have been current on the occasion on the time, he stated, “I used to be type of amazed at how these leaders that we admired a lot simply interacted with us youthful leaders in a really artistic method. None of them spoke, to encourage us, to assist us develop.”
“I usually discuss how Billy Graham talked concerning the spirit of Lausanne, the spirit of friendship and humility and examine and prayer and partnership and hope, and my life has been tremendously enriched by that,” he stated.
Birdsall additionally spoke of a second in his life when he grew to become conscious of the shifts in international missions that noticed affect shift from the International North to the International South, the place Christianity had grown exponentially in earlier many years.
He admitted that he skilled a disaster of vacation spot throughout a visit via a number of Asian international locations in 1990. Throughout his final cease in Colombo, Sri Lanka, he shared together with his pal Ajith Fernando, a widely known Sri Lankan evangelical chief, that he had been discouraged. who stated “the day of the North American missionary is over.”
However Fernando's response shifted his perspective as he reminded Birdsall that “The Nice Fee is for each church and each tradition and each technology” and that everybody “has to determine how we contribute to that.”
The entire gospel
Valdir Steuernagel from Brazil stated that though the primary congress in Lausanne was held in 1974, “it was at first of '76 when Lausanne arrived in Brazil”.
“It got here within the spirit of Lausanne because the Lausanne Covenant. It got here along with among the management of Lausanne and the methodology, understanding and observe of the mission in Lausanne,” he stated, noting that 12 months's mission congress, which was sponsored by the Worldwide Fellowship of Evangelical College students and was “impressed Lausanne”.
“The entire gospel for the entire individual made absolute sense to us,” Steuernagel stated. “We who prayed have been in search of a gospel and a Christian life with the flavour of Jesus and which might have an effect on our society with the contact of the dominion of God. And this type of emphasis, the centrality of the gospel, the message of the dominion, the sense of cooperation in finishing up the mission got here to us a lot from Lausanne , as a result of we lived within the spirit of Lausanne.”
A number of different audio system from Africa, Asia and Oceania shared their very own tales and testimonies of how they’ve been affected by the occasions organized by the Lausanne Motion over time.
The brand new technology of leaders from Seoul 2024
Lastly, Reverend Ramez Atallah, Secretary Basic of the Bible Society of Egypt, who chaired this system committee for the 2010 Lausanne Third Congress in Cape City, closed the web occasion with a prayer.
He thanked God for “50 years of faithfulness” and acknowledged that “it wasn't us, it wasn't human effort, it was divine steerage.” He expressed his gratitude to the previous leaders in Lausanne and prayed {that a} new technology of leaders would come from Seoul 2024.
“As we glance to the long run, we pray that this coming congress will carry forth a brand new imaginative and prescient of world evangelization, new leaders who will lead us into areas and instructions we can’t think about,” he prayed.
Earlier than the top of the occasion, Rev. Oh a couple of closing remarks and he particularly requested for prayer within the final days earlier than the congress. He admitted that many individuals confronted monetary difficulties in attending the congress, whereas others struggled to acquire visas. And he requested for prayer for cover and well being for all concerned and for the steerage of the Holy Spirit.
“Our hope for the Congress is actually captured within the theme of the Congress, 'let the Church proclaim and present Christ collectively.' in conviction, unity, effectivity, ardour and loyalty.”
The Fourth Lausanne Congress will probably be held in Incheon, close to Seoul, South Korea, from September 22 to twenty-eight, 2024. As much as 5,000 attendees are anticipated on website, in addition to 5,000 who will be part of on-line to have interaction in conversations about modern mission points .
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