We hope you have already had the chance to read yesterday’s post entitled, “Reaffirming the Lausanne Covenant: A Call to Unity and Global Mission Fifty Years On,” which was excerpted from the excellent Christianity Today article by S. Joshua Swamidass, “A Theological Monument to Unity amid Diversity,” about how the Lausanne Movement began fifty years ago, in July 1974. The First International Congress of World Evangelization later became known as the First Lausanne Gathering of ’74.
Lausanne was first envisioned and convened by the American evangelist Billy Graham and British theologian John Stott, who were long-time, close friends and were committed to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, and, as Billy Graham said in his keynote address, to the commitment for “the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.” The Lausanne Covenant, largely penned by John Stott, the chair of the drafting committee, provided a theological definition of what it means to be evangelical, and became one of the most influential documents in modern evangelicalism.
Subsequent to the three previous Lausanne gatherings, God has energized, renewed, sharpened, and empowered the global church of Jesus Christ, so much so, that if you take the time to read the history of the Lausanne Movement at the Lausanne website, you will see that our Triune God of Grace has overseen mighty kingdom realm breakthroughs throughout the movement’s fifty years. Looking back on the initial Lausanne Congress, John Stott wrote, “We did not want just to declare something, but to do something—to commit ourselves to the task of world evangelization.”
Challenged by the Unfinished Task
There is a profound document entitled “An Exposition and Commentary” by John Stott which was the introduction to the Lausanne Covenant, describing the goals and thinking of the composition of the covenant.
In section B of the introduction, “The Lausanne Spirit,” Stott wrote,
It is always difficult to express a mood in words. Yet “the spirit of Lausanne” was more tangible than are most spirits. Its first element comes out in the phrase, we are deeply stirred by what God is doing in our day. For we are convinced that he is on the move, and we have been excited by the evidence laid before us in stories and statistics. Secondly, we are moved to penitence by our failures. Several speakers voiced the hope that the Congress would be marked by more evangelical penitence than by evangelical triumphalism. “Triumphalism” is an attitude of self-confidence and self congratulation which is never appropriate in God’s children. But the spirit of Lausanne was a spirit of humility and a spirit of penitence. Thirdly, a sense of our past failures and of God’s present action leads inevitably to a purposeful look into the future: we are challenged by the unfinished task of evangelization, and the challenge has not fallen on deaf ears.
Please join us in prayer that the 5,000 who converge in person, and 5,000 who join virtually from all over the world, will humbly respond to the fresh wind of the Holy Spirit at the Fourth Lausanne Congress, September 22-28, 2024, and well beyond, for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and his kingdom advance.
Kerry Schottelkorb
President
Ways to Pray
Please see the Discover section of the Lausanne website and reference the Pray, Study, Discuss section to access several prayer resources including: Praying for the World, Pray with Us, Listening to God, and 24/7 Prayer for Global Mission.
In Case You Missed It
A selection of recently published items:
- Reaffirming the Lausanne Covenant, ChinaSource Blog, September 17.
- What’s the Finish Line of the Great Commission?, ChinaSource Blog, September 16.
- From Confucian Scholar to a Servant of Christ, ChinaSource Blog, September 13.
- Guided by the Divine in the Shadowed Valley, ChinaSource Blog, September 10.
- When God Calls Us to Stay, ChinaSource Blog, September 9.
- Reaching the New Unreached, ChinaSource Blog, September 6.
- ZGBriefs, September 5.
- Building Shalom Even in Adversity, ChinaSource Blog, September 3.
- A Christian Approach to Education in China, ChinaSource Blog, September 2.
- Introduction and the Early Life of a Conqueror of Demons, ChinaSource Blog, August 30.
- ZGBriefs, August 29.
- In the Fire, Yet Unburned: A Journey of Faith in Adversity, ChinaSource Blog (CCV), August 27.
- Crossing Cultures: Missio Dei and Missionary Formation, ChinaSource Blog, August 26.
- ZGBriefs, August 22.
- China’s Banned Bestseller, ChinaSource Blog, August 21.
- Unreached People Groups in China, ChinaSource Blog, August 20.
- Hearing from China’s Church, ChinaSource Blog, August 19.
- Far from Our Eyes, Close to God’s Heart, ChinaSource Blog, August 16.
- ZGBriefs, August 15.
Image credit: Zhang Kaiyv via UnSplash.
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