| Lausanne's Working Groups and Senior Associates |
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The Lausanne Movement is a dynamic, catalytic network of individuals, churches and agencies committed to biblical Christianity and world evangelization, as articulated by the Lausanne Covenant. Core elements in this network are the six working groups—Theology, Strategy, Intercession, Communications, Leadership Development, and Global CEOs—and 15 Senior Associates. Lausanne Working Groups and Senior Associates provide theological reflection, research and strategic planning for the global church on topics such as holistic evangelism, HIV/AIDS, poverty, globalization, unreached people groups, prayer, reaching oral cultures and many others. The following is a brief description of the Working Groups and Senior Associates: Working GroupsThe Theology Working Group (TWG) brings together biblical scholars, anthropologists, missiologists, and theologians to consider the pressing issues related to the church’s global mission. Prominent Zimbabwe-born theologian David Wells says the TWG has accomplished “some real breakthroughs on difficult issues.” The 1978 consultation on culture and the 1982 consultation on evangelism and social responsibility both produced widely influential Lausanne Occasional Papers (LOPs). TWG consultations in 1987 and 1989 produced the significant books God the Evangelist: How the Holy Spirit Works to Bring Men and Women to Faith, and Turning to God: Biblical Conversion in the Modern World. Deliver Us From Evil, from a 2000 consultation in Nairobi on spiritual warfare, was edited by team of scholars including Scott Moreau of Wheaton College. The TWG is chaired by Chris Wright, the international ministries director for John Stott’s Langham Partnership. Read the TWG report from their 2007 Niarobi meeting. The purpose of the Strategy Working Group (SWG) is to help the Lausanne Movement and the church in general to develop effective strategies for reaching the world for Christ. The SWG meetings bring together missions and evangelism leaders with expertise in specific fields of Christian work. In March 2006, Lausanne helped convene 350 delegates for ETHNE ’06, a conference that provided opportunity to “celebrate progress, assess status and accelerate efforts to reach the least-reached peoples of the world.” The SWG is chaired by Paul Eshleman, vice president of strategy for Campus Crusade for Christ International. An emphasis on prayer has always been a hallmark of the Lausanne Movement. The Intercession Working Group (IWG)encourages prayer for all Lausanne initiatives and for the work of evangelization around the world. The IWG produces the Prayer Bulletin for Lausanne’s monthly Connecting Point ENewsletter, and provides prayer teams for major Lausanne events. The group consists of a chairperson, a vice-chair, and regional chairs drawn from Lausanne’s geographical divisions of the world.
Sarah Plummer, an Anglican deacon in Sydney, Australia, is chair of the IWG. Vice-Chair John Godson, a native of Nigeria, has been serving as a missionary in Poland for the past thirteen years and is international director of Pilgrim Mission International.
The Global Communications Working Group (CWG) is responsible for developing global communications networks that support the priority initiates of LCWE. CWG chair Steve Woodworth is president of Masterworks, a marketing and development agency based in the United States.
The Leadership Development Working Group (LDWG) is a resource to ministries around the world that are involved in leadership development. The recent focus of the LDWG was on the development of the 2006 Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering. The chair of the LDWG is Rick Sessoms, the president of MentorLink International. The LDWG was instrumental in producing the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization LOP, Future Leadership: A Call to Develop Christ-like Leaders. The Global CEOs Working Group (GCWG) brings together leaders of evangelical ministries to share strategies, build partnerships, and equip the church for evangelization. Group members must be the chief executive officers of evangelical organizations that have active and sustained ministries in at least eight countries. The GCWG is chaired by Jerry White, former president of The Navigators, an evangelism and discipleship organization with ministries in over 100 countries. Senior AssociatesSenior Associates are internationally respected leaders and specialists in particular fields of ministry that serve as resource people to the Lausanne Committee. As full-time employees of denominations or para-church organizations, Senior Associates serve as conduits of information, ideas and resources to and from Lausanne.Lausanne Senior Associates include:
By Judd Birdsall and Naomi Frizzell
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