| Lausanne Connecting Point - December 2007 |
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NO TRANSLATION AVAILABLE In This Issue:
This morning I write to you from my home in Boston. After traveling extensively for the past few weeks, I am delighted to finally be home -- marveling at the pine trees blanketed in snow, enjoying the Advent season, and the anticipation of seeing family gather for the Christmas holiday. I am reminded especially of the old hymn:
 In our home, we often go around the table after the evening meal and have each person say something for which they are thankful. We try to see how many times we can go around.In that spirit of thanksgiving, as I reflect upon this past year with Lausanne, it is truly amazing to consider all that the Lord has done. It has been a blessed year and we have much for which to be thankful. One of highlights of the year came early on in February with our meetings in Cape Town, South Africa. Leading up to the meetings in Cape Town, there was unanimous support from the Lausanne Administrative Committee as well as the Advisory Council to convene the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, Lausanne III. It was affirmed that an international council was necessary as the life of the Church is increasingly threatened both internally, by heresy or scandal, and externally, by persecution in its various forms. An international council was needed not for the Church to withdraw into itself into a “holy huddle†but rather to boldly, more effectively, and more powerfully witness for Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the life. Leading up to our meetings in Cape Town, there was additional enthusiastic affirmation, notably from the Asian and Nordic Lausanne committees, to convene the congress in Africa. As we gathered there in Cape Town early on in the year, as we met with our African hosts, pastors, and convention hall leaders, we experienced such an incredible sense of divine confirmation and anointing to hold the Third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town in 2010. We left Cape Town with a solid sense of direction and with excitement for the world to connect with the African church in a new and meaningful way – to give thanks and acknowledge all that the Lord has done in Africa and in the African church in the past 100 years to make it the epicenter of missionary sending to the epicenter of 21st century missions thinking. We are also thankful for the wonderful Biennial Lausanne International Leadership Meetings this past June in Budapest, Hungary. We are thankful for the great heritage we’ve inherited, and had a wonderful opportunity to thank many of the first generation of leaders of the Lausanne Movement in person in Budapest. We are thankful for the great commitment from around the world to the Lausanne Movement as we witnessed a vast array of peoples serving as international deputy directors, national/regional committee chairs, leaders of working groups and special interest groups. We also celebrate a great future that lies before us as younger leaders were involved in the Lausanne Movement with the appointment of Michael Oh as special representative to the Administrative Committee and through the participation of many younger leaders on various working groups and committees preparing for Lausanne III. We are thankful for the Lord continually bringing in new and experienced visionary leaders into the Movement at just the right times. Finally, we came full circle towards the end of the year as we revisited Cape Town in October with the Lausanne III Leadership Team convening together from six continents for the very first time. God met us in Cape Town and blessed our week of planning in a way that exceeded our expectations. Our leadership team experienced great synergy and collegiality as we developed plans for every dimension of the congress. We were also truly overwhelmed by the caliber of giftedness and the quality of commitment represented by the church in Cape Town and the Western Cape. Our meetings further confirmed that Cape Town was the place of God’s choosing for the congress. Throughout this year, we’ve seen a pattern of God’s faithfulness and God’s goodness. Indeed, I am pleased – and deeply grateful to God for his guidance and blessing, and to you for your prayers. It is my prayer that as we celebrate Christmas and look towards the New Year, that we continue to remember and give thanks for God’s continual faithfulness and goodness, of his promises kept, and of the promises to come. Immanuel, maranatha! God’s richest blessings to you and your family this Christmas and in the coming year. By Elgin Saha – General Secretary of Lausanne Bangladesh The following is a report on the growing Lausanne Movement in Bangladesh. The leaders from Bangladesh, who attended the 1974 Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization, shared many verbal reports on the Lausanne Movement following the Congress. However, not much happened in Bangladesh as a result of the first Congress. Rather the leaders discovered how much they were divided by denominations. Yet, those who attended several international evangelical meetings kept the Lausanne spirit alive in Bangladesh. Six leaders from Bangladesh, including myself, attended “Singapore 87,†the Lausanne Conference of Young Leaders. When we returned home we organized a Younger Leaders Committee for the Lausanne Movement in Bangladesh. Rev. Jason Das was the President and I was elected as the General Secretary. Our active role in Bangladesh compelled the senior leaders to include us as participants in the 1989 Second Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization (Lausanne II) in Manila. Twenty-two of us participated in Lausanne II, with the following five people elected in Manila to give leadership to starting the Movement in Bangladesh:
In August of 1989, a new 15 member committee was formed, with the following executives elected:
At that time, the Committee was named the Great Commission Movement in Bangladesh (GCMB). It was agreed that it would work in partnership with the following movements:
From 1990-92, we held a National Congress, organized regional workshops and shared the Lausanne Movement and the Lausanne Covenant in several national assemblies. In 1993, I left Bangladesh for England to do my Masters Degree on Rural Social Development. At that time, Rev. Daniel Munshi was appointed Director and the main office was moved to the Khulna District, allowing for more publicity of the Movement. Over the next two years, a national pastor’s consultation was held, resource materials for the Movement were developed and distributed, regional workshops were held and regular leadership meetings took place. From 1997 to 2004 not much activity happened in the group. However in 2005, the activity of GCMB was revived under the leadership of Rev. Swapon Bose. Then in 2006, for the first time, the Lausanne Movement in Bangladesh was revived under the same name. Earlier this year, a 15 member National Committee was formed. I was then elected as the Convenor/Chairperson. The new National Steering Committee is planning the following for the Lausanne Movement in Bangladesh:
Please be praying with us and for us as we continue the Lausanne Movement in Bangladesh.  “We invited the world to our birthday party this year!†said Bible Society of Egypt General Secretary Ramez Atallah, who welcomed representatives from many different countries and from the business world to the Bible House in November to mark 125 years of Bible work in Egypt. “It was a wonderful opportunity to give thanks, to celebrate and to raise our profile,†emphasized Atallah.Endeavoring to initiate a new level of relationship with expatriates in Egypt, the Society invited ambassadors from 20 countries to the 125th anniversary celebrations. Alongside the ambassadors, Atallah and his staff also welcomed a number of leading Christian businessmen and women. Each guest received a Bible embossed with their name. The mistress of ceremonies for the evening was Loula Zaklama, one of Egypt’s leading businesswomen and a supporter of the Bible Society.  Through a series of presentations, the guests were given an insight into the Society’s work in areas including ecumenical relations and post-literacy projects. His Grace Michael Fitzgerald, the Vatican Ambassador to Egypt and a co-host of the event, spoke with particular enthusiasm about how the Bible unites Christians and the key role of the Bible Society in ecumenical work.“This prestigious gathering of top leaders was an encouragement to all, raising the profile and credibility of the Bible Society in society and state,†stated Atallah. “We feel very positive as we begin to follow up this event with further contact and personal visits. We hope to identify new opportunities and networks.† Ambassadors attending the celebration represented the countries of Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bolivia, Canada, Cuba, Democratic Congo, Denmark, Germany, Malta, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine and the Vatican.Editors Note: Atallah also serves as chair of the Programme Committee for the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.
Is there a connection between evangelism and worship? For the writers in our December issue, there is more than just a connection; indeed, the two should always go hand in hand. Articles include:
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LWP will begin 2008 by focusing on Proclaiming Christ in an Era of War, Genocide and Trauma. The January issue will look at taking holistic, redemptive and fresh steps toward reaching those who are hurting with the gospel.
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