Who will attend?
Four thousand participants have been invited to convene in Cape Town to pray together, learn from one another and seek courageous decisions about important spiritual issues that will impact the global Church for decades to come. The ripple effect will extend around the world as these people return to their homes commissioned anew with the Gospel’s potential under the Spirit’s direction.
A priority challenge of National Selection Committees has been to identify and select men and women from their respective countries who will reflect the composition of the evangelical church and offer a microcosm of the global evangelical church. Specific allotments were used to select participants from nearly 200 countries. Approximately 65% of the participants will come from the majority world. Leaders of mission, the church, academics and the marketplace are among those selected. Significant attention has also been given to include ethnic minorities and the “Diaspora” in various countries.
Specific targets for selection are as follows:
Under 50 years old – 60%
Women – 35%
Laity – 10% (minimum)
The Process Reviewed
The CT2010 Participant Selection process has been guided by local and regional leaders. Therefore close interaction with local/regional leaders has been crucial. The Congress Participant Selection process began with recommendations made on behalf of potential participants. Recommendations of potential Congress participants were solicited from trusted local and regional leaders around the world. After the completed recommendation was, the potential participant received an email Invitation to Apply. The candidate’s completed application was sent to the appropriate country committee for consideration after which the Country/Regional Selection Committees reviewed applications and then nominated Congress participants from their region. These country/regional nominations were submitted to the International Participant Selection Committee under the leadership of Bishop Hwa Yung of Malaysia. This Committee approved the final selection of the onsite Congress participants.
Virtual Participation
For those who were not selected by their national committees to attend Cape Town, there is another opportunity to participate. The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization will not only take place in Cape Town, South Africa, but also at concurrent locations worldwide, called GlobaLink sites. Registered GlobaLink sites can, through Internet technology, participate in the Congress. GlobaLink sites will be groups of people who will gather (group sizes vary from 8 to over 1000) to observe some of the Congress sessions, discuss the issues locally, and send feedback to Cape Town and other GlobaLink sites worldwide.
The leadership of Lausanne is asking you to consider hosting a GlobaLink site at your church, mission or theological institution. Detailed information about hosting a GlobaLink site is available at www.lausanne.org/globalink. There is no registration cost for being a GlobaLink site. Would you prayerfully consider this opportunity?
We also encourage you to add your voice to the Lausanne Global Conversation, starting now and extending beyond the Congress, as thoughtful Christians worldwide engage with each other on critical issues related to world evangelization and mission. You are invited to learn about the pressing issues facing the global church and in doing so help empower other Christians with your experience and insight on these issues.
Sincerely in Christ,
Rick Sessoms
Director
Participant Selection Committee
