In case you haven’t heard, allow me to share the very exciting news with you that I am going to the Lausanne Congress in Seoul next month, and it’s all because of your incredible generosity! Many of you followed God’s prompting, which is allowing me to attend and learn many valuable concepts that I can bring back to my home church as well as other ministries I am involved with around the world.
The conference will be taking place in Seoul, South Korea from September 22nd-28th. Please pray for the logistics of the conference to run smoothly, safety and good health for everyone traveling there, and for God to ignite a revolution that will change the world. I can’t wait to return home and share all of the amazing things that I know God is going to do through this conference.
Why I am Going:
- Equip my local church: I’ll bring back invaluable insights to help The Refinery Church reach more people in the Temecula Valley through effective disciple-making and spiritual formation.
- Address national challenges: The alarming rates of marital failure (43% of first time marriages fail in the US) and young people leaving the church (67% of high school students who are in church do not remain in church following graduation) demand innovative solutions. I’m eager to explore strategies for strengthening families and retaining our next generation.
- Advance global impact: Building on my experiences in Amsterdam, I aim to expand our Christian coaching initiatives to empower leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and India. Lausanne will provide a platform to connect with like-minded individuals and forge strategic partnerships.
Matthew 18:20 reminds us that where two or three are gathered in Jesus’s name, He is in the midst, so with 5,000+people gathered together to lift up the name of Jesus, can you just imagine the impact this is going to have on the Kingdom?!
The “why?” behind the Lausanne Congress:
Fifty years ago, evangelical leaders around the world recognized the need to think and work together for the mission God had given them. Meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1974, they laid out priorities for Christian missions for the short and long term.
The primary purpose for the Lausanne Congress:
The movement’s full name, the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, reflects its primary focus. This focus, in part, responded to earlier mission movements that had lost sight of their original purposes. Specifically, the “conciliar” missions movement was over 60 years old, and had drifted from its missionary purpose.
By the time the International Missionary Council (IMC) was absorbed into the World Council of Churches (WCC), an emphasis on personal conversion and church planting had diminished significantly. Instead, the work focused on “larger evangelism”—meaning societal transformation—often at the expense of the proclamation of the gospel and the call to repent and believe. (1)
The impact of the previous three Lausanne Congress gatherings:
Each Lausanne Congress provides the global church with the opportunity to put down markers—foundational statements of faith that shape the movement’s future direction. These markers help clarify our mission and identity, especially as the world continues to change. In previous congresses, we have seen the publication of significant documents such as the:
These documents have profoundly shaped the mission and theology of evangelicals around the world. (2)
Because of the generosity and obedience of several donors, the good fruit that will come from this conference, the jewels in the crown, if you will, will be yours as well as mine.
The unexpected nature and timing of this invitation coincides with a new chapter of international impact where God has been connecting me with strategic partners in The Congo and India. This has been developing over the last 3 – 5 years, and looks like it will be moving into an implementation phase in 2025. Stay tuned!
Thank you once again, and please reach out if you have any questions. My plan is to share up close and personal insights during my journey leading up to and through the Lausanne Congress. I hope you can join me.
1-Foundations of Faith and the Future of Evangelism: A Look at the Lausanne Movement, part 1
2- 4 Hopes for the Lausanne Congress (L4) in Seoul, Korea
Photo by Product School on Unsplash
