Lausanne World Pulse – STRATEGY, TRENDS AND STATISTICS – From Brokenness to Wholeness: The Vision of the Lausanne Movement

By Linda Gotts

The deepest desire of those of us in a broken world is to become what we were created to be: whole people in Christ. With its mission of “the whole Church taking the whole gospel to the whole world,” the Lausanne movement desires to first obey Christ in the Great Commission: “Making disciples of all nations… and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). Second, it desires to obey what Jesus called the greater commandments to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:28- 31). In its commitment to the whole gospel, the Lausanne movement is committed to holistic mission.

Ephesians 3: 9-11 “I was chosen to explain to everyone this plan that God, the creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. God’s purpose was to show his wisdom in all its rich variety to all the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. They will see this when Jews and Gentiles are joined together in his Church. This was his plan from all eternity, and it has now been carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Colossians 1:20 “And by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.”

Wholeness requires that first of all we be reconciled to God through Christ’s redemption completed on the cross. Having experienced that foundational reconciliation, God has chosen the Church to carry out his comprehensive plan for the reconciliation and restoration of the world until his return (see Ephesians 3:9-11 and Colossians 1:20 at right).

According to Bob Moffitt, “The staggering implication of Paul’s assertion is that the Church is more important to the healing of human brokenness—hunger, sickness, political corruption and economic injustice—than civil leaders, state governments, economic policy and development or scientific advance. God will use these and other means to advance his purpose, but the Church holds the principal ordination for this supreme assignment. However, the Church cannot fulfill her role until she understands her significance, and equips and mobilizes individual members to purposefully represent God’s holistic agenda in their respective worlds.”¹

Ministry: From Soul to Whole Person
To approach mission holistically is to be concerned with ministering to the whole person: to the person’s spiritual needs and also to his or her physical, practical and emotional needs. As the church that I personally am part of seeks to practice holistic ministry, we are finding that our building is open more and more during the week. In addition to worship services on Sunday and ministries for different age groups within the church, the homeless come in out of the cold and sleep overnight once a week at the church. Those in need, including people with addiction to alcohol and drugs, people with mental illness and people with criminal records, come weekly to a drop-in centre called “Oasis” where they enjoy a warm meal and a place they feel at home. We host a ministry for those who are struggling with sexual and relational brokenness on Tuesday nights. The Alpha course, which invites those outside the church into a personal relationship with Christ, takes place on Wednesday nights. There are also groups for single parents and those living with chronic illness. There is also a group that sponsors international refugees resettling in Canada. We hope to continue to discern how God would have us use the building he has given us as a resource for the holistic needs of our community.

Perceived Brokenness: From Others’ Hurt to Our Own
Those of us who seek to approach mission holistically enter the local and international communities to which God has called us looking for where God is already at work. We are called to be like Jesus; to be servants and to consider others better than ourselves; and to look not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others. Honoring God and the people we serve means setting aside our agendas, listening before we speak, taking time to build relationships, meeting people where they are, hearing from others what the needs are in their communities and responding accordingly.

Mother Teresa epitomized a ministry of love and compassion. Consequently, she won the respect and admiration of the world because peoples’ hearts (believers and non-believers alike) resonated with the rightness of what she did. She represented God’s kingdom values in action.

Linda Gotts is pastor of missions and outreach at Tenth Avenue Alliance Church in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She also serves as a strategic planning consultant for the World Evangelical Alliance.