The Third Lausanne Congress concluded Sunday night with a multi-faceted musical presentation, pageantry and a glorious display of Christian unity. One week to the night after Cape Town 2010 began, 4,000 Christian evangelicals from 198 nations – representing scores of denominations and Christian organizations – brought the historic Congress to a close with worship.
British evangelist Lindsay Brown called in his sermon for a “a ringing affirmation of the uniqueness of Christ”, echoing what other keynote speakers had preached throughout the conference – that Jesus is the only way to salvation. “He is incomparable,” stated Brown.
Brown said that not only should the Lausanne Movement continue its commitment to see the Gospel preached among every people group on earth, but that it should also commit to impacting every sphere of society.
Both in his sermon and an earlier press conference, he emphasized that there is no aspect of one’s being that God does not want to claim as His own. He decried secularism that attempts to confine Christian expression only to one’s church and home.
Participants at the Third Lausanne Congress have awaited with similar anticipation to see what will come out of this gathering of 4,000 evangelicals from 198 nations. Aside from all of the wonderful worship and interaction, what will Cape Town 2010 say to the global church?
“Seeing the wider body of Christ gather like this is a little taste of heaven.”
In an age when information travels at the speed of light, truth is seen as subjective and every person “is a god unto themselves,” how do Christians present the Gospel and the Person of Jesus Christ in an effective and loving way?
These were the issues Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne World Congress on Evangelization was grappling with this morning as it entered its first full day.
The four panelists—Carver Yu, Michael Herbst and Os Guinness—shared their thoughts during the first plenary session of the Congress.
Palmer is a volunteer member of the Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization communications team
I worshiped with a Chinese congregation in Cape Town this morning. It was a small group of believers who seemed to be earnestly seeking Him. Lots of the pews were empty. I thought about the 200 empty chairs at Lausanne this week … chairs that were to have been filled by Christians from China.As the table is set at Cape Town 2010 for international dialogue on issues facing the Christian church, the Chinese are largely absent. With the press abuzz about their situation, everyone probably knows by now that most of them were not allowed to exit their country to attend the Congress. How very tragic, for we could have learned from them. In the midst of ongoing harassment and persecution, Chinese Christians have continued to multiply and Chinese churches have continued to flourish. We could have learned about church growth.
Even more so, we could have learned about sacrifice. Western believers generally read the New Testament passages on persecution with an “if” attitude, and it is a remote “if” at that. But our Chinese brothers and sisters know that persecution is a real possibility, and actually for some a probability. I well remember hearing a Chinese Christian who had paid dearly for his walk with Christ tell a group not to pray that Chinese Christians be free of persecution, but to pray instead that they glorify the Father in the midst of it.
So at Cape Town 2010, we are learning from the Chinese believers even in their absence. The very fact that the chairs are empty reminds us of the absolute importance of following Christ no matter what the cost. The empty chairs cry out to us to pray for the church in China. The empty chairs remind us to pray for ourselves.
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.
Palmer is a volunteer member of the Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization communications team
The Global Celebration began this evening in Cape Town, South Africa, as servants from hundreds of countries converge in the port city under the shadow of Table Mountain to worship and discuss the future of evangelical missions.
While African-American churches in the United States have very little participation in world missions, these congregations are uniquely positioned to have a big impact on global evangelism, according to Richard Coleman, an African-American evangelical leader and missions expert attending Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.
Coleman, director of candidacy and mobilization for The Mission Society, is calling on African-American churches to confront their long-standing lack of involvement in missions and break down the barriers holding them back from participating.
Palmer is a volunteer member of the Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization communications team
Looking out my hotel window, I can see Cape Town’s impressive Table Mountain in the distance as I write this. The Cape Town Official Visitors’ Guide 2010 describes the mountain as such, “It has been there since the beginning and presides over Cape Town’s history, with the stories of the city etched into its form.” That same guide encourages readers to join a web campaign to name Table Mountain as one of the “New 7 Wonders of Nature.”.
It is a wonder, and here in its shadow, the organizers of Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization are setting the table for dialogue and hopefully consensus on issues confronting the 21st century church. They have in fact quite literally set up 750 tables adorned with light olive green tablecloths. More than 4,000 participants will gather around those tables every day for one week to discuss six cores issues: truth, reconciliation, world faiths, priorities, integrity and partnership. Inasmuch as possible, the six people at each table will represent a cross section of the Congress participants, with diversity in age, gender and nationality.
The Lausanne Covenant that emerged from the original Congress, Lausanne 1974, has greatly impacted the evangelical world. Congress organizers hope that a significant document will also result from this Congress. To that end, a group of respected theologians was assembled in December 2009 to shape the first part of the statement. The rest of the statement will be written during the Congress.
On the eve of the Congress opening, I am praying that as Table Mountain presides over this city, even more so will the Father preside over the Congress. All glory belongs to the One who created the heavens and the earth … and Table Mountain.
Imagine Christians from 197 countries assembled to worship, fellowship and wrestle with issues facing the 21st century church. That’s the plan for The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization that will be held October 17 to 24 in Cape Town, South Africa.
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