Lausanne Movement

• Lausanne World Pulse
• Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering
• International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
• European Evangelicals Express Hope for Europe
• International Orality Movement Conferences
• Praise & Prayer

With over four billion oral learners in the world, reaching the world for Christ through story, song, dance and other non-literary means is a necessity. Throughout the world the gospel is being shared in countless ways that build upon (and share the same message as) the written word. This month's Lausanne World Pulse (www.lausanneworldpulse.com) focuses on reaching oral cultures with the gospel:

• "The world of missions is just now waking up to the fact that oral learners are the bull's eye at the center of completing the Great Commission," says Avery Willis, executive director of the ION, and James Greenelsh, director of international partnerships for Harvest Media Ministry.
  
  
• "When we choose tools for oral learners, or for any audience, we need to consider the following things: the content of the story to be told, the appropriate communication art form for that story, the appropriate time and place to share it and the appropriate language," according to Durk Meijer, associate director of operations for the International Orality Network (ION).
  
  
• "Because orally-trained Grass Roots Church Planters go and share the gospel to non-literates (in Bihar State, India) using oral methods, we are seeing thousands of people responding to the gospel and taking baptism," reports S. D. Ponraj, general secretary and founder of Bihar Out-Reach Network.
  
  
• "The listeners are electrified as the biblical story of creation begins; ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’... the poetic, melodious pattern of the story flows from Antoine's lips." Jim and Carla Bowman, founders of Scriptures in Use, tell of an innovative church planting movement to an oral culture in Togo.

You will also find articles on:

• Partnering in Peru to serve the Quechuas.
• 55th Evangelical Fellowship of India's annual meeting and Tamil Nadu Pastors conference.
• Malaysia's mission leaders unite to tackle mission priorities.
• Assessing the consequences of preaching to a larger audience.

Questions or comments about Lausanne World Pulse may be sent to Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist gegen Spam-Bots geschützt, Sie müssen Javascript aktivieren, damit Sie es sehen können . For more information on submitting an article, please visit http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/submit.php.

“Live and Lead Like Jesus” was the theme of the 2006 Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering (YLG-06) last month in Malaysia. YLG-06, which drew 550 young leaders from over 100 countries, was the second major meeting of young Christian leaders called by the Lausanne Movement to focus specifically on global evangelization. The 1987 Conference of Young Leaders was held in Singapore. 

Throughout the week-long YLG-06, young leaders learned more about opportunities and barriers to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and were urged to make the most of the God’s calling on their life. “I have a dream that a new generation of leaders will love God whole-heartedly and will love their neighbors and the world sacrificially,” said Doug Birdsall, Executive Chair of the Lausanne Movement. “I have a dream of the greatest mobilization of Great Commission Christians that the world has ever seen. Will you answer the call for your generation? Will you fulfill the purposes of God for your generation?” he asked the leaders.

Paul Stanley, YLG-06 Program Committee Chair, said “The YLG-06 helped leaders develop in their ministries, informed them of the state of the gospel and connected them with each other and with mentors. Our hope is that the peer relationships started at YLG-06 will last far into the future, to the glory of God,” he added.

The vision and passion of the Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering will now be spread internationally through YLG Global Connections, meetings being planned in 33 cities worldwide between now and 2010. 

In addition, Lausanne has begun plans for the Third Lausanne World Congress on Evangelization, to be held in 2010.

Read YLG-06 Reports

More than 200 million Christians around the world are persecuted today merely for confessing their love for Christ. Each year, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) gives Christians the opportunity to pray for and with those who suffer for their faith. 
 
According to Johan Candelin, International Director for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission, participating in IDOP is among the most effective ways for Christians to show their support for their brothers and sisters. 
 
“We must always remember that the least we can do is the most we can do: pray,” said Candelin.
 
IDOP has become the biggest one day prayer event in the world and this year it is estimated that Christians in more than 130 nations will pray not only for the persecuted church but with the persecuted church.

This year, the IDOP falls on weekends of November 11 and 18.  Free resources such as articles, prayer requests and global reports are available online at www.idop.org.   The site can also be viewed on certain mobile phones by following the link, www.idop.org/mb. 
 
International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church - www.idop.org

The European Evangelical Alliance (EEA) and European Evangelical Missionary Alliance (EEMA) General Assemblies closed on Friday evening, with the launch of the Polish Evangelical Alliance's “Year of Evangelical Christians”, and a firm reminder that there is still great hope for European Christianity.

''We all have a sense that our spiritually dark continent is experiencing more signs of light than many of us had realized,'' said Gordon Showell-Rogers. ''In our largely secularized continent, I have been hugely encouraging to hear more fresh stories of God at work through one another.''

The weeklong conference opened in Warsaw, Poland on 17 October with an address by the EU Polish Commissioner, Dr. Danuta Hueber, and an introduction to the small Evangelical community in the majority Roman-Catholic nation.

According to Wladislaw Dwulat, the General Secretary of the Polish Evangelical Alliance, there are about 40,000 evangelicals and 180 evangelical missionaries in a country of more than 40 million.

''We probably have the lowest number of evangelical missionaries of any country in the world,'' said Dwulat. ''We need to move the 10-40 window higher up, because we are in need of missionaries from the east and the west to present Christ in the best ways possible.''

More

The International Orality Network is offering two unique, overlapping conferences in November to address distinct aspects of the orality movement. These conferences are the largest forums for the rapidly emerging field of ministry to oral communicators are expected to attract ministry leaders, field practitioners, educators, media producers, pastors and interested lay people. Both conferences will be held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.

The International Orality Network serves churches, denominations, mission agencies and individuals committed to effective communication of the good news to all people.

International Orality Network

By Sarah Plummer, Intercessory Working Group Chair

“...I purify the lips of the peoples, that all men may call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder." Zephaniah 3:9

We enter into the throne room before the Lord with hearts full of gratitude, praise and love. God has indeed worked amongst us and through us and in spite of us, Praise Him. If you look at all the things we asked, our Lord has answered them.

Please Praise God For:

• His continual sending out of workers to the harvest
• the gospel heart beat of many who gathered in Malaysia
• the many answers to prayer, as he continues to lavish us with in His Grace.

Please Pray For:

• A call upon God for such an outpouring of his Spirit that we might be assured of His love through His word, and have a prayerful and sacrificial compassion for the lost in all the world. So that all the peoples of the world will have the opportunity to hear the gospel, in their “heart” language, near where they live, with access to a healthy, indigenous church to help them grow in faith.
• God's people to enable the multiplication of faithful Christian fellowships, congregations and churches. May they be obedient to the teaching of the Bible, equipping and nurturing in nature and extend themselves into villages, towns, cities and into “all the world” in submission to the Lord Jesus Christ and his command to make disciples of all nations.
• The Younger Leaders who attended the Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering and for those who applied and were unable to come: much of the feedback rang to the tunes of being inspired, equipped and empowered in fresh ways to “go into all the world and make disciples.” These were the very requests we called upon God for and he has answered these prayers abundantly. Praise him for our God is always good.
• The Christian Church in Malaysia, pray that they have been encouraged and inspired by God and what he is doing in their nation. Ask that God would continue to multiply the number of well trained people to proclaim the gospel in their Land.