The world has changed radically in the 200 years since William Carey first proposed an international missionary conference in Cape Town but the Great Commission to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth remains the same.
“There are a number of things that we are dealing with in the 21st century that John Stott and Billy Graham could not have imagined – the rise of the megacities, hedonism, the global phenomena of diaspora people to name a few. Those challenges are new and coming into full blossom in the 21st century,” says Rev Douglas Birdsall, Chairman of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation.
From 16 to 25 October 2010, more than 4,000 Christian leaders will grapple with major obstacles to world evangelisation at Cape Town 2010, the ten-day congress organised by Lausanne in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance.
Six issues in particular will dominate the congress agenda: the uniqueness of Christ in a pluralistic world; religious fundamentalism; obstacles to world evangelisation within the church; the shift within the world church from the Global North to South and West to East; the development of a theology of suffering and reconciliation; and the building of new partnerships to help the church advance in the unfinished task of world evangelisation.
“There are many themes that impact world evangelism. Cape Town 2010 will focus on the most important of these,” says Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe, International Director of the World Evangelical Alliance. “And of course we will look at these themes in the context of some wider issues like poverty, environmental degradation, religious persecution, HIV/AIDS, and the movements of people. Our hope is that one of the key outcomes will be a commitment to a deeper level of cooperation and demonstration of biblical unity.”
With Cape Town 2010 now firmly on the horizon, Lausanne and the WEA are hard at work with preparations to ensure the Congress impacts as many evangelicals as possible – and that means engaging them in a global conversation on the issues of the day long before the congress has even begun.
“We live in a day of multi–opportunities. There are all sort of conferences to which evangelical leaders can attend. So one of the challenges is to help leaders understand that Cape Town 2010 has the potential for being a historic gathering that can help shape the evangelism agenda for decades to come,” says Dr Tunnicliffe. “We are seeking to work in an integrated way with our Lausanne colleagues in making sure we have the right program, the right people and the right lead up to Cape Town.”
From October, Christianity Today Magazine will publish a monthly article exploring a different item on the Congress agenda, while a pre-Lausanne curriculum and study guide to the Lausanne Covenant are also in the pipeline to help congregations prepare for the congress. In the months ahead, Lausanne will continue to explore the possibility of online discussion groups, chat rooms, email, streaming audio and video, SMS/MMS and other mobile and Internet technologies. And for the first time, evangelicals around the world will be able to tune into key discussions throughout the congress via the Cape Town Global Link.
