Lausanne Movement

• World Evangelical Alliance Meeting
• New Issues Groups Added for 2004 Forum
• Missionaries Undercover
• War-weary Iraqis
• Prayer Requests

The Missions Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance hosted a very significant consultation from May 31 to June 6 in Vancouver, Canada. The theme of the consultation was "Globalization and World Evangelism."

Some 165 missions leaders participated from 50 nations of the world. A number of leaders from the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization were among the participants including David Claydon, LCWE International Director, Paul Cedar, LCWE Chair, and Robyn Claydon, LCWE Deputy Chair.

For more information on the World Evangelical Alliance: www.worldevangelical.org. For information on the WEA Missions Commission: www.globalmission.org.

Dr. David Claydon, International Director for LCWE, reports that a number of new topics have been added to the list of Issue Groups for the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization. Because of this, applications for involvement in any of the Issue Groups will remain open until August 31st. Dr. Claydon says, "These new topics take into account the many suggestions we have received since the announcement of the topics."

The additional Issue Group topics are as follows:

23) Reaching the Youth generation.

24) Empowering women and men to utilize their gifts together for the spread of the gospel.

25) Making disciples of Oral Learners “ reaching the visual and oral learners of the world.

26) Reaching the Diaspora present in our own lands (with a stream in this topic to focus on international students.)

27) Funding evangelism.

28) Effective Education for Evangelization (with a stream to focus on mission in theological education.)

29) Medical ethics and the impact of an ethical stance on the relevance of the gospel in today's world.

30) Business as mission.

That's the title of a new series of articles in Time Magazine concerning Evangelical efforts to reach Muslims with the Gospel of Christ. For the complete story: http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030630/story.html

Read reaction to the story from Ted Olsen of Christianity Today: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/125/11.0.html

The president of World Relief says Iraqi Christians are enjoying a sense of newfound freedom -- but they also need help to carry out projects designed to meet the physical and spiritual needs of war-weary Iraqis. Clive Calver visited Christians in Iraq recently. He says the Christian church in Iraq is thriving and poised to undertake new projects and challenges. Calver shares that people in Iraq have died for their faith and pastors have walked into security headquarters not knowing if they will ever walk out again. But he adds that "the church has faced that and has come out refined, refreshed, and ready for a window of opportunity" because it is afraid Iraq could become a fundamentalist Islamic nation. World Relief is helping coordinate school repairs and distribution of food and other necessities. (Source: www.agapepress.org) For information on what World Relief is doing in Iraq: www.worldrelief.org/feature_stories/view.asp?id=30000039.

from Glenda Weldon, chair of the Intercession working group

Psalm 67
May God be gracious to us and bless us
And make His face shine upon us
That Your ways may be known on the earth,
Your salvation among the nations.
May the peoples praise You, O God;
May all the peoples praise You.

This is our heart cry as we continue to pray, plan and work toward the Lausanne 2004 Forum on World Evangelization.

I encourage every Issue Group Leader, Convenor, Facilitator and Participant to enlist the prayer support of people who commit themselves to pray regularly and earnestly for every aspect of the Forum.

This undertaking will accomplish the goals that the Lord has placed in our hearts as we move forward, day-by-day under His blessing, empowering, direction and provision.

Forum 2004

Praise God

• For the good meetings that Paul, David and Robyn shared recently with leaders from the World Evangelical Alliance and the Great Commission Round Table.
• Planning for the Forum is well under way, but there is much to be done by all those involved. We are grateful for the Thai Church's willingness to host the event and to attend to many local matters.
• For the steady stream of applications to be participants in the Forum

Please Pray

• For the LCWE Administrative Committee as they meet together in Los Angeles on August 14 - 16.
• For Lisa Tucker as she recovers from serious surgery. Lisa is giving leadership to the nomination and registration process for the 2004 Forum.
• For Robyn and David Claydon as they give leadership to the various Issue Groups for the Forum. In response to many suggestions a number of new Issue Groups topics have been selected (see story above). Please pray for Robyn and David during July as they seek out appropriate people to be the Convenors, co-convenors, facilitators and theologians for these groups and that those invited will be able to make themselves available to undertake these responsibilities.
• That people from all regions of the world will be able to plan to be involved in one of the Issue Groups as we are hoping that we will have a geographical and an age balance in the Forum.
• For the grants being sought so as to enable the Forum to provide bursaries for all those who need financial assistance. Please pray that the financial needs of every participant will be met.
• Participants from some countries are experiencing Visa difficulties.
• Please pray that the Lord will overrule and that Visas will be issued to all those who are invited to attend.
• Gary Barnes reports that final details are being arranged with the hotels for the 2004 Forum. Please pray for him as he negotiates with hotel and travel representatives. Also, Gary is undergoing tests for a reoccurring infection that has slowed him down considerably over the past few months. Pray the doctors will successfully diagnose the cause and any other related medical issues and prescribe the right treatment.

Lausanne Committee for Jewish Evangelism

The Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism (LCJE) meets as an International Conference in Helsinki, Finland from August 7 -12, 2003. Please pray for the interaction of mission leaders and representatives from agencies coming together out of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin and North Americas.

Congress on Evangelism in Finland

A nationwide Congress on Evangelism will be arranged in Helsinki on January 21-25, 2004. The main organising and economic responsibility is given to the Finnish Committee for World Evangelisation (FCWE). The Congress will be carried out by wide cooperation of Finnish Churches, Missions, evangelistic organisations and other evangelical societies - from the Orthodox Church to Pentecostals and new independent churches. The main theme of the event is a basic and uniting Christian truth: The Faith in Jesus Saves.

The main speakers will be Mrs. Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Dr. Billy Graham from USA, Rev. Kalevi Lehtinen, the most well known Finnish evangelist, Bishop Erik Vikstrom and youth leader Jose Turunen. Under the Steering Committee (with members of young leaders and active evangelists) practical preparations have been carried on since last year. There is a strong emphasis to get the younger generation involved both in preparation process and in the Congress itself.

The basic dream and aim of the Congress is to have representatives of all Finnish Churches and evangelism-orientated Christian organisations to seek together relevant evangelistic strategies for Finland in this new millennium. Other aims are to raise up a new generation of young evangelists, to encourage Christians of different denominations and churches to spread the Good News of Jesus in their own local surroundings and to strengthen the common Christian witness in that country.

Prayers for this event are much appreciated.