My Highlights on the Lausanne Congress 2024
November 2024
Marion and I had the opportunity to attend the recent Lausanne Congress in Seoul (South Korea). There were so many great ideas and great stories shared during the main sessions, so I know that those who had the opportunity to attend the virtual sessions really appreciated their Lausanne 2024 experience. Nevertheless, I thank God for the tremendous privilege of being in-person in the Seoul gathering. This gave us the opportunity to connect with other SM leaders who were there: like Madgy, Sam and Harriet, Sophia, Joel, Mircea, Zephaniah, Daniel, Prem, Fernando and of course Jay (our East Asia GRC). Just seeing these leaders even briefly was a major highlight of being in-person at this historical congress. It was also great to have engaged in countless conversations with people who have either completed some of our courses, or are interested in some of our programs.
With about 10,000 delegates (over 5000 in-person, and 5000 virtual) representing almost 200 countries, the congress is recognized as the world’s largest gathering of evangelical leaders. The main challenge presented during Lausanne 2024 is that worldwide evangelization needs the whole body of Christ. We were encouraged to recognize that we don’t need every church to do everything, and that every church has a specialty – some way that they can contribute to the mission of God. We were reminded of Jesus feeding of 5000 men on one occasion. All of us were challenged to consider what we can bring to Jesus, recognizing that no matter how little or how much we bring to Him, it is never enough, but yet Jesus is able to do the impossible with whatever we bring. The whole congress had a focus on collaboration and teaming up with others. Through partnerships and collaboration we are all able to be a part of something much bigger than any one of us can attempt by ourselves. Yet this challenge to accomplish the task of evangelization is in the context of Lausanne’s commitment to worldwide evangelization through a gospel that is holistic but without compromise. We are encouraged to remember the saying, “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity.”
The Korean Church has had a relatively short history, but yet one which has seen the nation rise above its oppression and poverty, to what it is now – a powerhouse not only in terms of economic prosperity, but also a powerhouse of prayer and blessing to other nations (through sending out many Korean missionaries). It was very special for us all to be welcomed not only by some Korean church leaders, but also by key city and government officials. One of my highlights was a dramatization of the Korean church’s 140-year history, a beautiful story of God transforming an oppressed nation which was struggling to feed their impoverished hungry population. It was good to be reminded of the 1907 revivals which broke out in Pyongyang after missionaries and church leaders humbled themselves and publically repented.
It was sad to realize that the birthplace of the Korean revivals is now the capital of the North Korean regime. It was a reminder why so many Korean Christians long for reunification, and why they desire to see distant relatives experience the freedom they have in Christ. We were reminded of many other countries where believers are regularly persecuted, sometimes systematically. Yet even so, we were reminded that persecution is not the end of God’s story and that suffering is the greatest manifestation of love. God is at work in many restricted-access countries like Iran, which now has the world’s fastest growing Church.
Another highlight were the inspiring firsthand reports of revivals amongst different US universities, notably the recent Ashbury University revivals with hundreds of baptisms and thousands of students involved in 12-hour prayer meetings. We should not be surprised to hear the story of a Malaysian Christian who went to that university explicitly to pray for students. Other revivals today throughout parts of Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa) were briefly mentioned and we were reminded of revivals from the past. The challenge was clear – only God brings about revival, but through corporate and personal prayer, repentance (of unresolved relationships, of pride and of unforgiveness) as well as removing impediments that might hinder revival, we can prepare and position ourselves for when revival breaks out. The Lausanne leaders also gave a great example to emulate, by intentionally choosing to partner certain leaders up-front. For example, as symbols of their reconciliation and forgiveness, a Korean and a Japanese together led us with the Lord’s Supper in our closing session.
There might not have been any small-group sessions or plenaries focused on mobilization, but there were frequent reference for the need for ordinary believers to be mobilized to active engagement in the mission of God. The congress echoed so many sentiments that we express within the SM family. Whilst we use the ‘terminal’ metaphor, we heard others use the image of a missional church being a river (in contrast to a lake). Witness in the workplace was emphasized more than any prior congress. In fact, 1450 in-person delegates were workplace leaders. There were numerous plenary speakers stressing the importance on our deeds needing to complement our proclamation, or what we refer to as ‘being on mission with God 24/7’. We heard something that Noemi often stresses, “Young people not only want to know God is real. They also want to know God in action.” We know that God has brought about the SM movement, and it is great to experience another movement that has messages that are consistent to the mobilization message that God has entrusted us with.
One of the greatest highlights of being in-person at this event was hearing stories with individuals over meals, in queues and on our way to and from the venue. Their stories complemented the plenary sessions and consistently affirmed that despite challenges God is at work in different parts of the world. The stories that excite me most are those that reflect the unity which God brings about as we join with Him on mission. We heard stories about God bring unity as church leaders begin supporting other church leaders as their churches strive to be better witnesses in their communities. It is a reminder of the Philippines’ experience which Max Chismon regularly refers to, “For years we preached unity but we never saw unity. But when we started preaching ‘mission’ then we eventually saw churches working together in unity to accomplish a task that was too great for just one local church.” Instead of asserting independence, God yearns for us to humbly admit to other churches and ministries, “I need you.”
Many of the Lausanne 2024 plenary messages are able to be viewed at https://lausanne.org/accelerate