Global Issue: Women in Evangelism PDF Print E-mail

A History of the Lausanne Women’s Network and the Lausanne Senior Associate for Women in Evangelism

The Lausanne Women’s Network began after the Lausanne Conference in Manila in 1989. Of the 4000 people present there were 900 women from well over 100 countries.   It was an exciting time as gifted women with a passion for the gospel were involved in sharing their gifts and speaking of their ministries and their burden for taking the Good News of the Lord Jesus to the world.
 
Since 1974 Lausanne has appointed Senior Associates to spearhead ministries which focus on world evangelization. This is usually in line with the ministry they already are involved in and they serve Lausanne in a voluntary way.
 
There was no Senior Associate for Women, but after the involvement of so many women in Lausanne II it was thought to be the right time so Robyn Claydon took on the role at the beginning of 1991.
 
The goal of the network is to identify, challenge, train and mobilize women for the task of world evangelization and to put women from one part of the world in touch with like-minded women in other countries. To achieve this we seek to:
  • Network women involved in evangelism and Bible teaching around the world so that ideas and ministries can be shared and those in particularly difficult places can be assured of committed prayer support.
  • Conduct national, regional and international conferences.
  • Visit women on location working alongside them through outreach, teaching, and nurturing programs.
  • Identify young women who are already displaying leadership gifts, encouraging them in evangelism and the use of their gifts.
 
Robyn Claydon and Elke WernerSince 1991, Robyn ministered in over 50 countries teaching the Bible, preaching in churches, speaking at evangelistic meetings and mentoring young leaders. Many of the young women she met were very gifted and seeking opportunities to use those gifts for the Lord.  In 2000 Robyn had the opportunity of taking some of these young women and five older women to Berlin for a mentoring conference on Christian leadership. To read more about some of these young women and the Lausanne women’s mentoring program you could go to an article Robyn wrote for Lausanne World Pulse. 
 
After sixteen years as the Senior Associate for Women, Robyn Claydon felt it was right to hand over the role to Elke Werner, one of the outstanding younger women in the Lausanne Women’s Network.  Elke Werner (pictured with Robyn) began as the new Senior Associate for Women in Evangelism at the end of 2006 while Robyn Claydon became an Advisor to the Network.  Elke is from Germany, is an outstanding speaker, preacher, Bible teacher and author and was formerly the Lausanne Deputy Director for Western Europe.

A Message from Elke Werner

Lausanne Senior Associate for Women
WINGS – Women’s International Network in God’s Service

In 21 days around the world!

“You will never know to what heights you can soar, unless you spread your wings and fly.”

Elke WernerMy journey started in Frankfurt, Germany. Together with my friend and supporter Annette I flew via Singapore to Sydney, where we met with Robyn and David Claydon. At the Younger Leaders Conference in Malaysia I took over from Robyn the role of Senior Associate for Women in Evangelism. During our time together in Sydney we planned our next steps in this field and I got to meet supporters of Robyn and some friends of the Lausanne Committee in Sydney. Together we went on to Hawaii, where David Hamilton had put up a conference at the University of the Nations. Starting at Pattaya as Issue Group 24 (Empowering Men and Women) a working group has continued to meet and discover opportunities for teaching and modelling the way God wants men and women to fully use their spiritual gifts in all capacities. Apart from the students at the University of the Nations there was a large group of Korean pastors and their wives present. After the conference the group continued with planning and praying for the release of women in the churches to the full use of their gifts.

From Hawaii Annette and I flew to Chicago, Ill. I was able to spend some time at the Archives of Lausanne at Wheaton, Billy Graham Center. I was interested to see, what the role of women had been in Lausanne so far. During our stay in Chicago I was able to meet with a group of 10 outstanding women who were interested in helping me form the Women’s Network of Lausanne. A few of them are members at Willow Creek Community Church, others are leaders at Christian Organizations and authors. It was very deer to me, that Marie Little was there too. Her husband Paul was the convener of the first Lausanne Conference in 1974. She was so excited to hear about Lausanne and that it is still strong and alive. She prayed for me and blessed me for my ministry. That was so special to me! Lausanne continues, the work among women continues. And the blessing of the Lord is passed on from generation to generation and around the world!

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