Dear Friends in Christ:
Recently Leighton Ford and I visited the founder of The Lausanne Movement, Dr. Billy Graham, at his home in North Carolina. He offered encouragement and counsel as we look forward to Cape Town 2010 in just over two weeks. His main advice was “Keep evangelism at the center. Make Christ your focus. Base everything on Scripture. And pray, pray, pray.” Wise counsel indeed and the deep earnest prayer of my heart for this Congress.
Billy Graham also expressed delight with the Congress updates that we shared with him. He assured us of his prayers on behalf of the Congress and all attending. He was particularly interested in China, since his wife, Ruth, was raised in China of missionary parents.
His last question was “How’s the funding coming?” When we told him we are at 91% of the budget and that we had received gifts from all around the world, he raised his hands and said, “Hallelujah, that’s great news! Let me know when you get to 100%, and I hope it is soon.”
We have just US$1.5 million remaining to be raised to ensure that the needs of the Congress are fully subscribed. If you, your church or your organization would like to make a gift, you can do so on line at http://www.lausanne.org/give. More information on how to mail a gift or give by wire transfer is available at the end of this email.
I hope you’ll be encouraged as I was by this letter from CT2010 Programme Chair, Ramez Atallah, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt. His letter is followed by additional information that will help you prepare for the Congress.
Letter from Ramez Atallah
Dear Cape Town 2010 Participant,
Soon we will all be together in Cape Town for one of the most significant gatherings of the 21st Century! As you know, this Congress is unique in a variety of ways. Never before has such a large Congress been planned with the intent of active involvement of all participants. Here is a list of some of these unique aspects and how they impact your preparation and involvement in the Congress.
GLOBAL CONSULTATION - The six themes of the Congress and the many other topics (www.lausanne.org/prepare) are the result of the broadest ever consultation of Evangelicals worldwide. Begin thinking about these issues (http://conversation.lausanne.org/topics), discuss them with your friends and come prepared to share your concerns and insights.
TABLES OF SIX - Each morning you will be seated at a table with five other participants who speak your language, several of whom will not be from your region of the world. Prepare yourself in prayer for sharing with and learning from your table group.
GLOBALINK - More than 600 sites worldwide will be hosting remote Congress gatherings of Christians who will be watching the Congress sessions and engaging together locally. Encourage your family, church and friends to participate at a GlobaLink location near them (http://www.lausanne.org/globalink).
PARTICIPATE ONLINE - Thousands of others will watch video of the Congress online and participate in virtual discussions through the Lausanne Global Conversation (www.lausanne.org/conversation). Help spread the word about online participation.
FOCUS ON EPHESIANS - We will be studying together in small groups and through Bible teaching on Paul's letter to the Ephesians. This is the Biblical backbone to the Congress. Study Ephesians before you come.
SHORT PRESENTATIONS - Other than the Bible teaching, no plenary presenter will speak more than 15 minutes! Presenters have prepared their papers ahead of time and are eager to hear from you about their topics. The papers are available online in all eight Congress languages. To benefit from the Congress you need to read the papers before arriving and respond online with your feedback for the presenters. Here’s how:
Log in to the Lausanne Global Conversation website using your special participant access:http://conversation.lausanne.org/login.
Select an Advance Paper from this list: http://www.lausanne.org/prepare.
Read the paper, then click “Post Comment” below the paper to add your response in any of the eight Congress languages. If you don’t have your special participant access information or have any questions, simply contact conversation@lausanne.org for assistance.
MULTIPLEXES - Each afternoon you have the opportunity to choose between three or four sessions on a crucial topic. We'd like you to choose now which Multiplexes you want to attend and read their papers online (http://www.lausanne.org/prepare) before you get to Cape Town.
Please pray that our carefully made plans for the Programme will be used by God to bless you and all those at Cape Town as well as those who will be participating remotely through GlobaLink and online through the Lausanne Global Conversation. See you in Cape Town!
Final Global Conference Call: 6 October 2010
The final Lausanne/Cape Town 2010 Global Conference Call will be on 6 October at 15h00 GMT/UTC. We will discuss final-stage preparations for the Congress as well as the future of The Lausanne Movement. You won't want to miss this call. Our most recent call featured an informative and lively discussion with Chris Wright, Chair of the Lausanne Theology Working Group, and Lindsay Olesberg, Coordinator for the team of expositors who will be teaching on the book of Ephesians. To join the call, please go to www.lausanne.org/prepare and click on Conference Calls. A recording of the call will be available soon after 6 October.
Future of The Lausanne Movement
The most frequently asked question of Lausanne Movement leadership these days is, “What is next for Lausanne after the Congress?" The next Cape Town 2010 update will preview some of the plans being developed by the Congress Leadership Team for follow-on activities in the year after the Congress and share the vision for the future of the Movement.
We believe that if Lausanne continues to be “light on its feet” so that it retains the dynamics of a Movement, Lausanne will continue to serve the global church in the work of world evangelization as a thought leader, a facilitator of new partnerships and as a convener of leaders from missions, churches, academies, and from the world of business, government and the media.
Please join me in prayer that God will do something truly wonderful for the Church and for the world as we gather together in Cape Town. I look forward to seeing you very soon! God bless you.
In Christ,
Doug Birdsall, Executive Chair
The Lausanne Movement and Cape Town 2010
P.S. Information for giving gifts by mail or wire transfer are below:
To give a gift by mail, please send to:
Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization
P.O. Box 9020
San Dimas, CA 91773
U.S.A.
Gifts may also be sent by wire transfer to our bank in South Africa or in the U.S. as follows:
South Africa (Transfers in South African Rand)
Bank:ABSA
Branch Code:632-005
Account Name:The Lausanne III 2010 World Congress Trust
Account Address:Cape Town, South Africa
Account Number:406 897 8047
SWIFT Code:ABSA ZA JJ
USA (Transfers in US Dollars)
Bank:BOFA
Account Name:Lausanne Committee of World Evangelization
Account Number:00881-14552
ABA Number:121000358
SWIFT Code:BOFAUS3N
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
The Most Diverse Gathering Ever - Lausanne III is pulling a cross-section of 4,000 world leaders to keep the gospel front and center.
by John W. Kennedy
The Lausanne movement's third global gathering will feature a younger, more ethnically diverse, and more geographically varied consortium of evangelical leaders than ever before.
The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, known as Cape Town 2010, will take place next month, October 16-25, with 4,000 leaders from 200 countries. Planners have made sure that 55 percent of participants are under age 50.
Billy Graham convened the first International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland, in July 1974, drawing 2,700 evangelicals from 150 nations. The parley comprised mostly white Western leaders at a time when the massive growth of Christianity in the developing world had just begun. British pastor-theologian John Stott served as chief architect of the Lausanne Covenant, which resulted in multiple alliances and spawned many other conferences. The second gathering, held in Manila in 1989, drew an influx of attendees from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and also incorporated Pentecostals and charismatics.
This time around, Americans aren't dominating the behind-the-scenes preparation or the on-stage program. Only 5 of the 25 members of the congress's Advisory Council, which has developed a theological foundation and strategic vision for the event, are from the U.S.
Two-Thirds World Showcased
Program Committee Chair Ramez Atallah, general secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt, pushed for a discussion format of seating six attendees per table, discussing speeches that will be shorter than those from years past.
"We don't want people to come because of big names," Atallah says. "We're not choosing the stars of the evangelical world to speak. People coming to be entertained by great speakers and great music will be disappointed. They could get that sitting at home, watching television."
Executive Chair Doug Birdsall, an Asian Access missionary based at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, doesn't have the name recognition of his Lausanne predecessors. But he has painstakingly guided the event planning to include a cross-section of pastors, scholars, academics, missionaries, educators, and business leaders. Two-thirds of the speakers and presenters are from Africa, Latin America, and Asia, where two-thirds of today's evangelicals live.
"If it's the whole church, it needs to be people from north, south, east, and west," Birdsall says. "These leaders, carefully chosen from thousands of applicants, will represent the demographic, theological, and cultural realities of the global church."
Leighton Ford, program chairman for Lausanne 1974 and chair of ongoing committees 15 years later, says Americans will leave Cape Town understanding the importance of listening to and being helped by leaders from other parts of the world.
"Back then we thought we had quite a bit to give—and we did," says Ford, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and adviser for this year's Lausanne. "Now we have a great deal to receive. It's an attitude change that will result."
Atallah says Western evangelical leaders tend to be goal- and result-oriented, adopting a view of Christian work and life that mimics a business model. He hopes Americans focus on ministry relationships rather than donor responses.
"When Americans evaluate things, they do so from a grid that is counterintuitive to the New Testament," Atallah says. The grid "goes counter to the relational model that Africans and many other cultures espouse."
Birdsall says evangelism and social justice must go hand in hand. In light of pluralistic societies and the New Atheism, he says, Christians are more likely to embrace justice and mercy matters at the expense of the foundational truths that Jesus is the only way to God and that Scripture is the ultimate authority. It's never hard to find enough American churchgoers to build a house, but drawing interest in a Bible study is another matter, says Birdsall.
"There is a concern that our message is offensive, so there is a tendency to downplay it because respectability and likeability are important to us," Birdsall says. "If we do everything but proclaim the message, that's just a partial gospel."
Korean American Michael Oh, president of Christ Bible Seminary in Nagoya, Japan, embodies the way the global church has changed since Lausanne I. The 39-year-old is responsible for shepherding the younger leaders at Lausanne III.
"We hope to witness in Cape Town a strengthening of healthy generational cooperation and, Lord willing, the beginning of a more deliberate generational transition globally in terms of leadership," Oh says. "It will be an incredible opportunity for younger leaders to pray, worship, repent, and strategize alongside more experienced leaders."
Birdsall is optimistic that Cape Town 2010 will feature a proper blend of wisdom from veteran leaders who make well-informed decisions, and energy from younger Christians to carry them out.
This is the first time such a global gathering will be truly global via technology. Not only can individuals watch proceedings on the Internet, there will also be 400 anchor sites providing global links in 60 nations. Participants at theological institutions, mission sites, and churches worldwide will be able to interact with those at the congress.
Islam and other Strategic Challenges
Questions facing the church from within and without are enormous. Cape Town 2010 will tackle key issues that confront the church's effectiveness in world evangelization, ranging from consumerism to child sex trafficking. Birdsall says the congress will deal with three themes: the impact of secularism; the challenge of other faiths; and the nature of the church, specifically the problems of fragmentation and superficiality among evangelicals.
Islam is at the fore of challenges from other faiths. "Islam is a globally coordinated and unbelievably well-funded aggressive movement," Oh says. "The church needs to ask whether it will be reactionary or proactive in engagement."
"It's a great temptation to look upon Muslims as enemies rather than as people God loves," Ford says.
'If it's the whole church, it needs to be people from north, south, east, and west.'— Lausanne executive chair Doug Birdsall
Rick Warren, whose Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, has trained 400,000 pastors from 64 countries, advocated for Cape Town as the host site. He is on the Lausanne III Advisory Council.
"The church is truly the only global organization on the planet," Warren said in June at one of twelve pre-congress gatherings at U.S. churches. "My prayer for Lausanne is that we show why we do what we do."
Cape Town 2010 is designed to be a catalyst for church leaders to form partnerships to spread the Good News and to make disciples. Still, unity within a less homogeneous contingent than the first Lausanne might be easier to declare than to implement.
"The issue of cooperation and partnership is just as vital as it was back then—and sometimes just as hard to achieve," Ford says. "The church is growing rapidly among the poor, and we have a great deal to learn from them."
At this point, Birdsall believes he and other planners have done everything humanly possible to make sure Cape Town 2010 goes as planned.
"We want to make sure we don't plan so carefully that we leave God out of it," Birdsall says. Now he's focusing on asking for prayer from the faithful.
John W. Kennedy is a contributing editor for Christianity Today. To join the conversations at this year's congress, visit Lausanne.org/globalinkreg.
Copyright © 2010 Christianity Today.
Related Elsewhere:
Since October 2009, Christianity Today has been hosting a 12-month Global Conversation on 12 key issues facing the church that will be discussed at Cape Town 2010.
The Lausanne movement's third global gathering will feature a younger, more ethnically diverse, and more geographically varied consortium of evangelical leaders than ever before.
The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, known as Cape Town 2010, will take place next month, October 16-25, with 4,000 leaders from 200 countries. Planners have made sure that 55 percent of participants are under age 50.
Billy Graham convened the first International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland, in July 1974, drawing 2,700 evangelicals from 150 nations. The parley comprised mostly white Western leaders at a time when the massive growth of Christianity in the developing world had just begun. British pastor-theologian John Stott served as chief architect of the Lausanne Covenant, which resulted in multiple alliances and spawned many other conferences. The second gathering, held in Manila in 1989, drew an influx of attendees from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and also incorporated Pentecostals and charismatics.
This time around, Americans aren't dominating the behind-the-scenes preparation or the on-stage program. Only 5 of the 25 members of the congress's Advisory Council, which has developed a theological foundation and strategic vision for the event, are from the U.S.
Two-Thirds World Showcased
Program Committee Chair Ramez Atallah, general secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt, pushed for a discussion format of seating six attendees per table, discussing speeches that will be shorter than those from years past.
"We don't want people to come because of big names," Atallah says. "We're not choosing the stars of the evangelical world to speak. People coming to be entertained by great speakers and great music will be disappointed. They could get that sitting at home, watching television."
Executive Chair Doug Birdsall, an Asian Access missionary based at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, doesn't have the name recognition of his Lausanne predecessors. But he has painstakingly guided the event planning to include a cross-section of pastors, scholars, academics, missionaries, educators, and business leaders. Two-thirds of the speakers and presenters are from Africa, Latin America, and Asia, where two-thirds of today's evangelicals live.
"If it's the whole church, it needs to be people from north, south, east, and west," Birdsall says. "These leaders, carefully chosen from thousands of applicants, will represent the demographic, theological, and cultural realities of the global church."
Leighton Ford, program chairman for Lausanne 1974 and chair of ongoing committees 15 years later, says Americans will leave Cape Town understanding the importance of listening to and being helped by leaders from other parts of the world.
"Back then we thought we had quite a bit to give—and we did," says Ford, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and adviser for this year's Lausanne. "Now we have a great deal to receive. It's an attitude change that will result."
Atallah says Western evangelical leaders tend to be goal- and result-oriented, adopting a view of Christian work and life that mimics a business model. He hopes Americans focus on ministry relationships rather than donor responses.
"When Americans evaluate things, they do so from a grid that is counterintuitive to the New Testament," Atallah says. The grid "goes counter to the relational model that Africans and many other cultures espouse."
Birdsall says evangelism and social justice must go hand in hand. In light of pluralistic societies and the New Atheism, he says, Christians are more likely to embrace justice and mercy matters at the expense of the foundational truths that Jesus is the only way to God and that Scripture is the ultimate authority. It's never hard to find enough American churchgoers to build a house, but drawing interest in a Bible study is another matter, says Birdsall.
"There is a concern that our message is offensive, so there is a tendency to downplay it because respectability and likeability are important to us," Birdsall says. "If we do everything but proclaim the message, that's just a partial gospel."
Korean American Michael Oh, president of Christ Bible Seminary in Nagoya, Japan, embodies the way the global church has changed since Lausanne I. The 39-year-old is responsible for shepherding the younger leaders at Lausanne III.
"We hope to witness in Cape Town a strengthening of healthy generational cooperation and, Lord willing, the beginning of a more deliberate generational transition globally in terms of leadership," Oh says. "It will be an incredible opportunity for younger leaders to pray, worship, repent, and strategize alongside more experienced leaders."
Birdsall is optimistic that Cape Town 2010 will feature a proper blend of wisdom from veteran leaders who make well-informed decisions, and energy from younger Christians to carry them out.
This is the first time such a global gathering will be truly global via technology. Not only can individuals watch proceedings on the Internet, there will also be 400 anchor sites providing global links in 60 nations. Participants at theological institutions, mission sites, and churches worldwide will be able to interact with those at the congress.
Islam and other Strategic Challenges
Questions facing the church from within and without are enormous. Cape Town 2010 will tackle key issues that confront the church's effectiveness in world evangelization, ranging from consumerism to child sex trafficking. Birdsall says the congress will deal with three themes: the impact of secularism; the challenge of other faiths; and the nature of the church, specifically the problems of fragmentation and superficiality among evangelicals.
Islam is at the fore of challenges from other faiths. "Islam is a globally coordinated and unbelievably well-funded aggressive movement," Oh says. "The church needs to ask whether it will be reactionary or proactive in engagement."
"It's a great temptation to look upon Muslims as enemies rather than as people God loves," Ford says.
'If it's the whole church, it needs to be people from north, south, east, and west.'— Lausanne executive chair Doug Birdsall
Rick Warren, whose Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, has trained 400,000 pastors from 64 countries, advocated for Cape Town as the host site. He is on the Lausanne III Advisory Council.
"The church is truly the only global organization on the planet," Warren said in June at one of twelve pre-congress gatherings at U.S. churches. "My prayer for Lausanne is that we show why we do what we do."
Cape Town 2010 is designed to be a catalyst for church leaders to form partnerships to spread the Good News and to make disciples. Still, unity within a less homogeneous contingent than the first Lausanne might be easier to declare than to implement.
"The issue of cooperation and partnership is just as vital as it was back then—and sometimes just as hard to achieve," Ford says. "The church is growing rapidly among the poor, and we have a great deal to learn from them."
At this point, Birdsall believes he and other planners have done everything humanly possible to make sure Cape Town 2010 goes as planned.
"We want to make sure we don't plan so carefully that we leave God out of it," Birdsall says. Now he's focusing on asking for prayer from the faithful.
John W. Kennedy is a contributing editor for Christianity Today. To join the conversations at this year's congress, visit Lausanne.org/globalinkreg.
Copyright © 2010 Christianity Today.
Related Elsewhere:
Since October 2009, Christianity Today has been hosting a 12-month Global Conversation on 12 key issues facing the church that will be discussed at Cape Town 2010.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
40 Days to Lausanne!
(dated 7/9/2010)
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
Forty days from today The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization begins in Cape Town!
You are of course familiar with the biblical significance of the number 40 and I’d like to encourage you to focus your prayers these next 40 days asking God to pour out his blessings on the Congress. Please also join me in committing to fast one day a week between now and the Congress as together we seek the Lord’s wisdom and guidance.
Much is happening as we prepare for Cape Town 2010 (CT2010). I hope you’ll be as encouraged to read the following as I am to report it to you.
Growing Anticipation; Rising Expectations
Forty days from today The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization begins in Cape Town!
You are of course familiar with the biblical significance of the number 40 and I’d like to encourage you to focus your prayers these next 40 days asking God to pour out his blessings on the Congress. Please also join me in committing to fast one day a week between now and the Congress as together we seek the Lord’s wisdom and guidance.
Much is happening as we prepare for Cape Town 2010 (CT2010). I hope you’ll be as encouraged to read the following as I am to report it to you.
Growing Anticipation; Rising Expectations
Though 91-year-old Rev. Billy Graham is unable to attend the Congress, he has made arrangements to send two of his grandsons on his behalf. Moreover his personal administrative assistant will serve with the Congress staff.
Christianity Today has just published an article on CT2010 in the magazine's September edition which they entitled, “The Most Diverse Gathering Ever".
The leader of The Lausanne Movement in China recently wrote: “More and more brothers and sisters are praying for the Lausanne Congress, and vigorously raising funds for pastors from China and from less developed neighboring countries. I often hear pastors say that Lausanne is a special gift from God for China. Thank you.”
A donor for the Congress recently wrote: “What happens at this Congress will reverberate throughout the worldwide Body of Christ for decades to come. There is no other event like it. There may not be another gathering of this magnitude in the next 20 years. The Lausanne Congress in Manila in 1989 was a fantastic experience for us. It was our first meeting with John Stott and we were exposed to many other key leaders in the worldwide Body of Christ."
CT2010 Preparation
The CT2010 Programme has been meticulously planned over the course of the last three years, under the direction of Ramez Atallah, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt. More than 20 consultations were held around the world and hundreds of leaders gave input on themes, speakers and programme design.
The Advance Papers written by the CT2010 Speakers and Presenters are available online at www.lausanne.org/prepare. Please prepare for the Congress thoroughly by reading and responding to these papers through the Lausanne Global Conversation.
Additionally make the book of Ephesians, our text for the Congress, part of your Bible study in the coming weeks and review The Lausanne Covenant, the foundational document of The Lausanne Movement (www.lausanne.org/covenant).
Fund Raising Goals
With just 40 days to go, we need to raise the final US$4 million to ensure that the Congress is fully funded. We anticipate that US$700,000 will be given by churches and Christian organizations in the U.S. Another US$2 million will be raised from among foundations and individuals in North America. US$12 million has already been raised through registration fees and generous gifts and pledges from sources around the world. We project that the remaining US$1.5 million will come from individuals and churches across the globe. Please be praying for us and with us that God will supply this need.
If you would like to make a gift, you may do so in one of three ways:
Christianity Today has just published an article on CT2010 in the magazine's September edition which they entitled, “The Most Diverse Gathering Ever".
The leader of The Lausanne Movement in China recently wrote: “More and more brothers and sisters are praying for the Lausanne Congress, and vigorously raising funds for pastors from China and from less developed neighboring countries. I often hear pastors say that Lausanne is a special gift from God for China. Thank you.”
A donor for the Congress recently wrote: “What happens at this Congress will reverberate throughout the worldwide Body of Christ for decades to come. There is no other event like it. There may not be another gathering of this magnitude in the next 20 years. The Lausanne Congress in Manila in 1989 was a fantastic experience for us. It was our first meeting with John Stott and we were exposed to many other key leaders in the worldwide Body of Christ."
CT2010 Preparation
The CT2010 Programme has been meticulously planned over the course of the last three years, under the direction of Ramez Atallah, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Egypt. More than 20 consultations were held around the world and hundreds of leaders gave input on themes, speakers and programme design.
The Advance Papers written by the CT2010 Speakers and Presenters are available online at www.lausanne.org/prepare. Please prepare for the Congress thoroughly by reading and responding to these papers through the Lausanne Global Conversation.
Additionally make the book of Ephesians, our text for the Congress, part of your Bible study in the coming weeks and review The Lausanne Covenant, the foundational document of The Lausanne Movement (www.lausanne.org/covenant).
Fund Raising Goals
With just 40 days to go, we need to raise the final US$4 million to ensure that the Congress is fully funded. We anticipate that US$700,000 will be given by churches and Christian organizations in the U.S. Another US$2 million will be raised from among foundations and individuals in North America. US$12 million has already been raised through registration fees and generous gifts and pledges from sources around the world. We project that the remaining US$1.5 million will come from individuals and churches across the globe. Please be praying for us and with us that God will supply this need.
If you would like to make a gift, you may do so in one of three ways:
· Wire Transfer to Lausanne Bank Account in South Africa
Bank: ABSA
Account name: The Lausanne III 2010 World Congress Trust
Account number: 406 897 8047
Swift code: ABSA ZA JJ
· Mail your check to Lausanne Accounting Office in U.S.A.
Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization
Mr. Mark Larsen, Director of Accounting
P.O. Box 9020
San Dimas, CA 91773
Visas
Please pray for the many CT2010 Onsite Participants who are currently applying for their South African visas, that they would gain favor with Embassy officials. Processing visas is one of the greatest challenges in the final stages of preparing for an international gathering. If you have not done so already, please determine whether or not you need a visa and if so, make sure you apply for your visa this week.
Special Guests and Observers
In addition to the 4200 registered participants from 190 countries, we will welcome 350 special guests from mission organizations, seminaries, and churches. These guests will also include observers representing the Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions.
In order to serve the needs of the 4500 onsite participants, guests and observers and the many more leaders participating through the GlobaLink and Lausanne Global Conversation, we will be joined by a team of 1200 staff members, stewards, production specialists, and members of the media.
Strategic Gatherings
Prior to the Congress, many participants are meeting to prepare together in one or two day regional or national consultations. Many others are meeting through a series of four global conference calls hosted by Lausanne Movement leadership. The upcoming calls are 8th September, 22nd September, and 6th October, if you are interested in joining us.
During CT2010, working meetings will be held for all of the regional groups and many of the national groups to plan for implementation and contextualization of Congress priorities. Fellowship gatherings following the evening plenary sessions will offer people from each region an opportunity to network together.
Additionally, “affinity group” gatherings will be convened each evening for Congress participants in each of the following categories: pastors, mission leaders, scholars and academics, and younger leaders.
What’s Next?
The most frequently asked question of Lausanne Movement leadership these days is, “What is next for Lausanne after the Congress?” In an upcoming CT2010 update, we’ll preview some of the plans being developed for 2011 and 2012 follow-on activities and discuss the vision for the future of The Lausanne Movement.
Thank you again for your partnership in the gospel and in the work of world evangelization. With just 40 days until the Congress opening ceremonies, let’s join together in praying that God will meet us in Cape Town, and let’s beseech Him to bless His people with a gift – a gift of His presence and a gift of unity and vision. I believe we are about to experience something great in our time – something that will bring glory to God, strength to the Church, and hope to our world.
God’s best to you.
Yours in Christ,
Doug Birdsall
Executive Chairman
The Lausanne Movement
www.lausanne.org and www.capetown2010.com
GlobaLink - Journey with us to Cape Town!
Been praying for us?
Wanna journey with us to Cape Town?
Join GlobaLink now!
Message from Larry Rusell, Director of GlobaLink:
"GlobaLink is designed for groups of 2 to 5000 to connect to the Congress through a special website (which is password protected, so your group will need to register). Within about 5 hours after each Congress plenary session, GlobaLink sites will be able to download videos - in a number of different formats and languages - along with a synopsis and study questions. We'll have a team of scholars and technologists onsite working around the clock to help make that happen. Currently there are over 400 registered GlobaLink sites in 75 countries.
We are making the GlobaLink system available for use by all participants and volunteers in the Congress. This is an excellent way to get a prayer team behind you as you travel to South Africa this October! Let them see some of what you are seeing. Let them hear voices from around the globe challenging the Church in the 21st century.
Here is how you do it:
1. Decide who to ask to help set up a GlobaLink site and let them read more about it at www.capetown2010.com/globalink
After registering, they will receive a confirmation email and log-in information for getting into the GlobaLink Network website. From there they can see how it works, make plans for their group and even practice downloading some test videos from the site.
The only thing we would ask is that your group register by 10 September.
May the Lord bless as you prepare for this historic event.
Larry
Lawrence Russell
Associate Director
Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization"
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Cape Town Commitment to stand in historic line
A new document in the historic line of the Lausanne Covenant is to be issued from The Third Lausanne Congress, taking place in Cape Town, South Africa, in October. It will reflect discussions of some 4,000 evangelical leaders from 200 nations, perhaps the widest gathering of evangelical Christians ever held.
The statement, entitled the Cape Town Commitment, will be rooted in the centrality of the uniqueness of Christ, and on the authority of the Scriptures. It will recognize the range of contexts of the evangelical Church around the world, and its new realities. While we see decline of the Church in the Global North, and the spread of secularism and relativism, these are days of phenomenal growth in the Global South.
Lindsay Brown, International Director of The Lausanne Movement, said the statement would provide evangelicals with a clear definition of the nature and call of the Church. 'There is a lack of clarity when we talk about evangelism and the gospel, particularly in the Western Church. We need to have agreement on the message we are proclaiming. We hope Cape Town 2010 results in a fresh call to the Church worldwide to bear witness to Jesus Christ and all his teaching in all of the world – not only geographically, but in the sphere of ideas.'
The Cape Town Commitment will stand in the line of the Lausanne Covenant (1974) and the Manila Manifesto (1989). John Stott was chief architect of both earlier documents, and Chris Wright, Director of Langham Partnership International (John Stott Ministries) is chief architect of The Cape Town Commitment. Doug Birdsall, Executive Chair of The Lausanne Movement, said 'This is a critical moment for the global Church, with pressures from outside and dissension within. We trust the Cape Town Commitment will be a clarion call for unity around the primary truths of the gospel.'
The Lausanne Covenant is available under the title 'For the Lord we Love' (Didasko Files series). The Cape Town Commitment will be published after the Congress in print and online.
To contribute to the Congress discussions now, join the multilingual Lausanne Global Conversation at www.lausanne.org/conversation
For further information, contact Julia Cameron, Director of External Relations jcameron@lausanne.org
The statement, entitled the Cape Town Commitment, will be rooted in the centrality of the uniqueness of Christ, and on the authority of the Scriptures. It will recognize the range of contexts of the evangelical Church around the world, and its new realities. While we see decline of the Church in the Global North, and the spread of secularism and relativism, these are days of phenomenal growth in the Global South.
Lindsay Brown, International Director of The Lausanne Movement, said the statement would provide evangelicals with a clear definition of the nature and call of the Church. 'There is a lack of clarity when we talk about evangelism and the gospel, particularly in the Western Church. We need to have agreement on the message we are proclaiming. We hope Cape Town 2010 results in a fresh call to the Church worldwide to bear witness to Jesus Christ and all his teaching in all of the world – not only geographically, but in the sphere of ideas.'
The Cape Town Commitment will stand in the line of the Lausanne Covenant (1974) and the Manila Manifesto (1989). John Stott was chief architect of both earlier documents, and Chris Wright, Director of Langham Partnership International (John Stott Ministries) is chief architect of The Cape Town Commitment. Doug Birdsall, Executive Chair of The Lausanne Movement, said 'This is a critical moment for the global Church, with pressures from outside and dissension within. We trust the Cape Town Commitment will be a clarion call for unity around the primary truths of the gospel.'
The Lausanne Covenant is available under the title 'For the Lord we Love' (Didasko Files series). The Cape Town Commitment will be published after the Congress in print and online.
To contribute to the Congress discussions now, join the multilingual Lausanne Global Conversation at www.lausanne.org/conversation
For further information, contact Julia Cameron, Director of External Relations jcameron@lausanne.org
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Article by Dr Ng Kam Weng: "Christian-Muslim Dialogue: Building a Common Society"
In response to Chawkat Moucarry's article "A Lifelong Journey with Islam", which was written for the Global Conversation, a collaborative project between Christianity Today and The Lausanne Movement, Dr Ng Kam Weng posted a response:
"Christian-Muslim Dialogue: Building a Common Society" published by Christianity Today.
It is also posted in the KrisisPraxis website.
"Christian-Muslim Dialogue: Building a Common Society" published by Christianity Today.
It is also posted in the KrisisPraxis website.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
100 Days until Third Lausanne Congress
July 5, 2010
Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, is now only 100 days away. Marking this milestone is the launch of The Lausanne Global Conversation in eight languages. This enables evangelicals from all continents to prepare for the Congress, which will be streamed online. The Congress will be held 16-25 October in Cape Town, South Africa, with 4,000 selected participants. Advance papers are already available at www.lausanne.org/conversation.
Lindsay Brown, International Director of The Lausanne Movement, said, 'We will gather in Cape Town from 200 nations, a truly global Congress to strengthen the cause of the gospel worldwide. Please add your voice to the Lausanne Global Conversation. Let it be iron sharpening iron, as we share the insights Christ has given us, and listen to those he has given to his Church around the world.'
Naomi Frizzell, Director of Digital Media for Cape Town 2010, commented, 'Multi-lingual features enable the whole church to dialogue on a common platform. We look forward to evangelicals world-wide bringing their unique experiences, insights and perspectives.'
During the Congress, evangelicals may also gather at official GlobaLink sites, across 68 nations, to watch broadcasts of key addresses and share their reflections with others around the world. To host a site, go to www.lausanne.org/globalink.
Cape Town 2010 is the third major Lausanne Congress and the first since 1989. It is to be held in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance. Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe, the WEA's International Director, said, 'As the 100-day countdown to the Congress approaches, I sense there is growing excitement and anticipation around the world. This Congress has the potential for shaping and impacting a whole new generation of leaders.'
Lindsay Brown urged churches around the world: 'Please help us by your prayers. Our goal in every aspect of the Congress is to strengthen the Church in fulfilling Christ’s final command on earth, which has never been rescinded - to make disciples of all nations.'
Maria MacKay
Cape Town 2010 News Release Writer
*****************************************************************
For further information, or to request an interview, contact Julia Cameron, jcameron@capetown2010.com, Director of External Relations.
World Evangelical Alliance (WEA): World Evangelical Alliance is made up of 128 national evangelical alliances located in 7 regions and 104 associate member organizations. The vision of WEA is to extend the Kingdom of God by making disciples of all nations and by Christ-centered transformation within society. WEA exists to foster Christian unity, to provide an identity, voice and platform for the 420 million evangelical Christians worldwide.
Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, is now only 100 days away. Marking this milestone is the launch of The Lausanne Global Conversation in eight languages. This enables evangelicals from all continents to prepare for the Congress, which will be streamed online. The Congress will be held 16-25 October in Cape Town, South Africa, with 4,000 selected participants. Advance papers are already available at www.lausanne.org/conversation.
Lindsay Brown, International Director of The Lausanne Movement, said, 'We will gather in Cape Town from 200 nations, a truly global Congress to strengthen the cause of the gospel worldwide. Please add your voice to the Lausanne Global Conversation. Let it be iron sharpening iron, as we share the insights Christ has given us, and listen to those he has given to his Church around the world.'
Naomi Frizzell, Director of Digital Media for Cape Town 2010, commented, 'Multi-lingual features enable the whole church to dialogue on a common platform. We look forward to evangelicals world-wide bringing their unique experiences, insights and perspectives.'
During the Congress, evangelicals may also gather at official GlobaLink sites, across 68 nations, to watch broadcasts of key addresses and share their reflections with others around the world. To host a site, go to www.lausanne.org/globalink.
Cape Town 2010 is the third major Lausanne Congress and the first since 1989. It is to be held in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance. Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe, the WEA's International Director, said, 'As the 100-day countdown to the Congress approaches, I sense there is growing excitement and anticipation around the world. This Congress has the potential for shaping and impacting a whole new generation of leaders.'
Lindsay Brown urged churches around the world: 'Please help us by your prayers. Our goal in every aspect of the Congress is to strengthen the Church in fulfilling Christ’s final command on earth, which has never been rescinded - to make disciples of all nations.'
Maria MacKay
Cape Town 2010 News Release Writer
*****************************************************************
For further information, or to request an interview, contact Julia Cameron, jcameron@capetown2010.com, Director of External Relations.
World Evangelical Alliance (WEA): World Evangelical Alliance is made up of 128 national evangelical alliances located in 7 regions and 104 associate member organizations. The vision of WEA is to extend the Kingdom of God by making disciples of all nations and by Christ-centered transformation within society. WEA exists to foster Christian unity, to provide an identity, voice and platform for the 420 million evangelical Christians worldwide.
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