CAPE TOWN, South Africa–As thousands of delegates arrived in South Africa for the beginning of Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization (www.capetown2010.com), a packed program of world mission-related topics lay before them.

The Congress kicked off this evening with the Opening Celebration. Four thousand participants from almost 200 nations are taking part in the international event, which is being held in Africa for the first time.

Before the official opening of the week-long event, participants joined “table groups” for the afternoon welcome session. These carefully-selected groups, each of six members, were intended to bring together those from different ages and nationalities, but of similar language groups and vocations or professions, to help participants benefit from the diversity of God’s global Church and opportunities to partner together.

As with the two previous Congresses, 1974 in Lausanne, Switzerland, and 1989 in Manila, Philippines, the main aim is to gather evangelicals from throughout the world for a common purpose. The focus of the week will be on engaging the challenges and opportunities the worldwide Church will face during the next decade. The Congress theme is “God in Christ, reconciling the world to himself,” 2 Corinthians 5:19.

“We have worked to engage evangelical leaders on all continents. This is the first Congress of its kind in the digital age, and we’re praying it will herald a new moment for the Church,” Doug Birdsall, chairman of The Lausanne Movement, said.

The participants face a busy week until the close of the conference on Sunday, Oct. 24. Here’s a taste of what they’ll be discussing:

  • A week-long study of Ephesians before morning plenary sessions
  • Plenary sessions each morning, on a variety of topics, such as witnessing about Christ to peoples of other faiths and preaching Christ in a pluralized, globalized world. Speakers include Os Guinness, a Senior Fellow of the EastWest Institute in New York; Michael Ramsden, European Director of RZIM Zacharias Trust; and Rev. Dr. Benjamin Kwashi, bishop in the Diocese of Jos in Lagos, Nigeria.
  • Afternoon “Multiplexes.” Twenty four in total, these are 90-minute sessions participants choose from, and are translated into French, Spanish and English. These will include question-and-answer sessions and small group discussions. Focuses include: communicating truth to oral learners; urban mission; and biblical solutions to eradicating poverty. Tim Keller, founder and pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, and Femi Adeleye, Associate General Secretary for Partnership & Collaboration for International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, are among those leading sessions.
  • Dialogue sessions follow the Multiplexes, drilling down to look at issues as diverse as business in mission, indigenous leadership and evangelicalism’s greatest challenges.
  • Evening plenary sessions will focus on a particular area of the world, considering questions about religious freedom, HIV/AIDS, human trafficking and mega cities.
  • Participants will have the chance to unwind each evening at the nightly film festival.