Lausanne World Pulse – LAUSANNE REPORTS – Lausanne III: Cape Town 2010 International Congress on World Evangelization

The first International Congress on World Evangelization (Lausanne I) was held in 1974 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The gathering was convened under the leadership of Rev. Billy Graham and drew more than 2,700 evangelical leaders from 150 countries. The focus of the meeting was both practical and theological, producing the Lausanne Covenant, a document that provides theological underpinnings for intentional collaborative world evangelization. The Covenant includes fifteen articles dealing with major issues such as the authority of scripture, the nature of evangelism, Christian social responsibility, the urgency of world evangelization, faith and culture and the nature of spiritual conflict. The Covenant has provided a framework for unity and serves as the statement of faith for hundreds of organizations around the world.

In 1989, 3,600 leaders from 190 nations attended Lausanne II in Manila, Philippines. The resulting Manila Manifesto reaffirmed and expanded upon The Lausanne Covenant and the call to “Proclaim Christ Until He Comes.”

The foundational work for Lausanne III began with the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization in Thailand which brought together 1,500 participants in thirty-one simultaneous consultations to deal with the seminal issues in respect to world evangelization. Two years later, the preparation continued with a concerted effort to engage a new generation of Christian leadership, as five hundred younger Christian leaders from 120 countries gathered for the 2006 Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering in Malaysia. The Lausanne Bi-Annual Leadership meeting this June in Budapest will accelerate the planning for the Lausanne III Congress.

“The pressing issues before us today, such as engaging worldviews increasingly hostile to Christianity, the threat of terrorism and HIV/AIDS, coupled with new opportunities and new technologies, are very different from those issues faced in 1974,” Birdsall explained. “New global challenges require thoughtful and prayerful global responses. We pray that Lausanne III: Cape Town 2010 will serve to unite and energize the Church with a new vision and a new commitment to partnership for the work of world evangelization for a new time.”

Comments on this article

It’s a great thing for Christians and mission-minded believers all over the world to consistently gather to strategize and re-strategize on advancing the Kingdom of our Christ in our generation. If the host of hell will not give up on strategizing to destroy the creation of God, then we must not give up. It is my prayer that the Lord will empower the organizers and planners of Lausanne III.

Funmi :: 5 Jun 2007