Fourth Lausanne Congress

I had the privilege to participate in the Fourth Lausanne Congress in Seoul the other week. The Lausanne Movement was borne out of the first such congress that took place in Lausanne itself in 1974, and this was the biggest of them all I believe. 

Back in the original congress, a cross-section of global evangelicalism gathered to promote the cause of world evangelisation. That congress was called by Billy Graham and heavily dominated by Western mission organisations, as they were still the great driving force of gospel work across the world. The Lausanne Covenant was drawn up by the congress chairman, John Stott, during the night before the final day, and remains a very significant document both for the movement and for wider evangelicalism worldwide.

In subsequent decades there have been many small gatherings, as well as major congresses in Manilla and Cape Town, and an ongoing forum for discussion of issues pertaining to the fulfilment of the mission of God.

I have been aware of Lausanne since I first went to Asia in 1985 and read with much profit the papers from the first congress as well as many of the subsequent discussions.

This was my first visit to South Korea, but as I have worked with many fine Korean missionaries over the years, it did not feel the slightest bit alien to me. Seoul/Incheon is really modern; everything is very swish and orderly. It struck me that Koreans working in places like Nepal have as much adjustment to make as anyone from the West - perhaps more.

I was one of 5,400 participants from 202 countries: probably the most diverse gathering of gospel people the world has ever seen. As others have said, worshipping with such a great number of believers from such a range of countries, denominations, ethnicities, languages, and backgrounds, was a taste of heaven on earth.

The theme was "Let the church declare and display Christ together", which succinctly expresses much that Lausanne has stood for over half a century. There were two plenary sessions each morning and then one each evening, in which we were all seated at tables of six. There were expositions in the book of Acts; short talks on a range of themes, such as persecution, justice, servant leadership, workplace witness, reaching the emerging generation, and racial reconciliation; sung worship led by the Getty Band and a Korean band; and much time for discussion around our tables.

The table groups seemed to be just about as diverse as they could be: with me was a startup entrepreneur from the States, a brother who is running an agriculture NGO and radio ministry in Ethiopia, and three single women, from India, Indonesia, and the UK, involved in digital marketing, women's discipleship, and ministry to vulnerable women in Cambodia, respectively. We got to know each other quite well during the week. It was precious to pray together regularly and share our concerns and vision.

Each afternoon we split up into separate venues for our collaborative meeting: we had all opted for one of the issues that had been identified as needing special attention if we are to close the gap of world evangelisation. Mine was Least Reached Peoples, with particular attention, on our table, for World Religions.

Throughout the week we were served superlatively by 1400 Korean (and other) volunteers, who made us feel very welcome and ensured that the congress went off successfully.

You can get a feel for the congress here. Look out for more reflections over the coming days.