The committee worked on the premise that the 4000 participants who
are selected to be a part of Cape Town 2010 will also represent the
demographic, theological and cultural realities of the global church.
As such, two-thirds of the participants will be from the Global South
and one third from the Global North. The Congress participants will
also reflect the younger leadership that is so powerfully emerging
around the world. Fully sixty percent of the participants will be
under 50 - leaders in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.
Though the Congress will take place in 2010, our focus is very much
on the decades that follow. Thus, we want to make sure that we bring
enough experienced leaders so that we benefit from their wisdom and
life experience, while at the same time ensuring that we have younger
leaders who will be in a position to provide leadership for years to
come.
During our meetings in Malaysia, a commitment was also made to
ensure that one third of the participants will be women. As this
vision is translated into reality, it will set a new standard for the
percentage of women participants in a global Congress on world
evangelization.
As you can imagine, choosing just 4000 participants from the
thousands of gifted Christian leaders around the world will be
challenging. However, the Participant Selection Committee is
developing a process that draws on the involvement of national and
regional leaders. Regional committees and national nominating groups
are being established under the leadership of the twelve
Lausanne International Deputy Directors
(IDD’s) who serve in twelve regions around the world. This process
will ensure that participants will be carefully selected by people who
know them best. It is our desire to convene 4000 participants who are
deeply committed to world evangelization and who embrace the ideals of
the
Lausanne Covenant.
These will be people who are making a distinctive contribution to world
evangelization as missionaries and mission leaders, as pastors and
teachers, as theologians and as leaders in colleges, universities and
seminaries. The participants will also include those who are leaders
in business, government, education, medicine and the arts.
It is quite exciting to think of the dynamic composition of these 4000
people who will gather in Cape Town. Too often, the Christian faith is
portrayed as a Western religion. We hear that concept so often that
sometimes our own perception of the global church is distorted.
However, in Cape Town we will have an experience of the church that
will register an unforgettable impression of new realities. The
composition of the Congress and news about the Congress will also send
an unmistakable impression that the church is the most global entity on
the earth.
Leadership and participation in the Lausanne Movement reflects
these new realities. Whereas it once was true that the leadership for
Lausanne came largely from the West, that is no longer the case. The
Hosts for Lausanne III are Africans. The Program Chair is from the
Middle East. The Participant Selection Chair is from Asia. The
Advisory Council Chair is form Latin America, and the Chair of the
Intercessory Group is from Australia.
We pray that at Cape Town 2010 the 4000 participants will provide a
wonderful model of what it means to be part of the global body of
Christ where every member of the body works in a coordinated and
respectful manner with every other part of the body. As we come
together to work on the issues that are before us with respect to world
evangelization, we pray that there will be a sharing of gifts and
experiences that result in greater strength and unity in the body of
Christ and which finds expression in an “exchange of joy.”
Our recent days together in Malaysia were productive and
memorable. I believe they began a process that will result in a global
gathering in Cape Town that will bring encouragement to the church,
hope to the world, and glory to God.
PS: Let me just add one additional word. I want to encourage you
to continue to visit the Lausanne website and this blog to get
information on Cape Town 2010. Also, if you haven’t done so already,
sign up for the monthly
Lausanne Connecting Point ENewsletter.
We’ll provide regular updates on the Congress, the participant
recommendation process and some exciting ways you can be involved
virtually in the Congress.
