20th October, 2010

MICHAEL IRELAND

Assist News Service

More than 4,000 invited guests from nearly 200 nations have descended on Cape Town, South Africa, this week to strategise how to evangelise the world for Christ in the 21st Century.

Tens of thousands more around the globe tuned in via GlobaLink to the opening day of the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization when it opened in Cape Town last Sunday.

The congress is the brainchild of evangelist Dr Billy Graham, who founded its parent organisation known as The Lausanne Movement, which is uniquely placed to reaffirm the primary truths of Biblical Christianity.

Drawing together 4,000 invited participants from 197 nations, the congress is uniquely placed to gather evangelicals for a common purpose and is extending its reach through the most up-to-date technology available through GlobaLink sites to 90 countries.

The theme of the third congress is "God in Christ, reconciling the world to himself," (II Corinthians 5: 19) and how to bear witness to Jesus Christ and all his teaching in every region of the world and every sphere of society.

The congress will not only reaffirm the primary truths of biblical Christianity, but also engage with critical issues set to face the church over the next decade. These issues have been identified through consultations around the world.

Doug Birdsall, chairman of The Lausanne Movement, said: "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."

Organisers say that in this information age, traffic on the eight-language Congress website is expected to be high, and radio networks will relay programs across Africa and Latin America, on the themes of the Congress.

In addition to the 4,200 on-site participants from 198 countries, the congress extends to an anticipated 100,000 individuals at nearly 700 GlobaLink sites in more than 95 countries worldwide.

GlobaLink allows users to download videos from the congress - in a number of different formats and languages - along with a synopsis and study questions, allowing them to hear voices from around the globe challenging the church in the 21st century.

The Lausanne Movement is a worldwide movement that mobilizes evangelical leaders to collaborate for world evangeliaation. The 1974 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization produced The Lausanne Covenant, widely regarded as one of the most significant documents in recent church history.

Reflecting on this, Archbishop Henry Orombi, chair of the Africa host committee, stated: "Under God, the legacy of The Third Congress is up to us!"

The Cape Town Commitment: a statement of belief and a call to action, will be one of the significant publications coming out of the Congress. Dr Chris Wright, director of Langham Partnership International, is the chief architect of the new statement, working in partnership with senior theologians from all continents.

Each day of the congress will begin with a study in Ephesians, led by pastor-theologians from around the world.

"We will be studying Ephesians as a global community," said Blair Carson, congress director. "We want it to be a grounding for a whole new movement of communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Participants in the Congress truly stand on the shoulders of giants, as two elder statesmen of the evangelical movement, John Stott and Billy Graham have sent personal greetings, assuring the congress of their daily prayer.

Both are now becoming more physically frail, but have lost none of their passion for Christ and his Gospel.

Dr Graham, reflecting on the huge scale of changes in the world, wrote from his home in North Carolina, "One of your tasks during Cape Town 2010 will be to analyse those changes, and to assess their impact on the mission to which God has called us in this generation."

John Stott expressed his particular pleasure that the congress is being hosted in Africa when he said: "I pray that you will be able to share richly in the blessing God has poured out on the Church in that continent, as well as sharing in the pain and suffering of His people there."