Lausanne World Pulse – Research Articles – “A Northstar for Evangelization Strategy”: Looking Toward Cape Town 2010

By Paul Eshleman

A. New Hearts. To love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. At the heart of the gospel is the heart of the Lord Jesus who (1) cared for every person (i.e., the “one lost sheep,” “one lost coin” and “one lost son”) and (2) had compassion for the sick and those who were hurting. We must have that same heart, concern and compassion. There are three ways this will come to pass:

  • We need more personal demonstration. As individuals, we need to demonstrate more love to those around us.
  • We need to know more non-believers. Not enough non-believers in the world know someone who truly follows Christ.
  • Churches throughout the world need to teach people how to be a friend while they are teaching them how to evangelize.

B. New Hands. To work together. There are two aspects to this.

  1. Working together. One of the most amazing things in the history of the Church is happening now: Christians are working together. God is raising up partnerships, coalitions, networks and movements. It is not happening everywhere and not nearly enough. But there is a beginning. In John 17:20-23, Jesus said that the unity of believers would demonstrate two things to non-believers: (1) that Jesus really did come from God and (2) that God loves them as much as he loves Jesus. For believers, unity would say two things: (1) that they are true followers of Jesus (John 13:25) and (2) that they would receive a blessing (Psalm 133:1-3). The unity of believers is not an option in evangelism. It is a sign God left to validate and show the deity of Jesus. It is the present day evidence of God’s love for humanity.
  2. Unity of purpose. We need to be one in spirit and purpose. It is about unity; it is not about uniformity. It will result in every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:1-11). The thirty-nine thousand denominations must cooperate together for a common purpose of helping the world to know Jesus.

C. New Eyes. To see the world through a similar lens. This will require three foci.

  1. A focus on people who have NOT heard the gospel. Where have we not gone? Which people on our street, in our community have not heard? Which language groups have not been reached? Which language groups have no scripture? Which unengaged, unreached groups have no access to the gospel? Who are the neglected of our community, tribe, clan, family, nation or race? And what commitment will we make to do something different in our ministries?
  2. A recognition of the major religious blocs. Since all evangelization is done in the context of cultural, linguistic, religious, political and geographic realities, it is essential that our plans address those who have NOT heard the gospel in each of these realities. The major religious blocs of the world include:
    Religion  Number of People 
    Islam  1.3 billion 
    Hinduism  1.0 billion
    Buddhist/Folk Chinese  700 million 
    Christianity  2.2 billion

    Catholic

     1.0 billion

     Orthodox

     300 million

     State Churches

     200 million

     Others (including 250 million Evangelicals)

     700 million
    Non-religious 1.2 billion
    Tribals 200 million

     TOTAL:

    		 6.6 billion 

  3. A commitment to go to the least reached peoples of our world. There are a number of ministries working toward helping us all to see the unreached world through a similar lens.
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    Paul Eshleman is chairman of the Lausanne Strategy Working Group and vice president of Campus Crusade for Christ. He also founded and directed the JESUS Film Project (JFP). During his twenty-five years of directing the JFP, the film was translated into nearly nine hundred languages and shown in 236 countries.