| Lausanne Connecting Point - October 2008 |
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 Leaders from around the world were in Cape Town, South Africa earlier this month for a Cape Town 2010 (CT2010) planning meeting. The October 2010 Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization will draw 4,000 participants from 200 nations to Cape Town, with many more thousands participating virtually. At a news conference on 14 October with Cape Town media, Doug Birdsall, Executive Chair of the Lausanne Movement said, “We have seen seismic change since our last congress and we need to engage these new realities such as the digital world, a post-9/11 world and growing religious fundamentalism. Today’s realities call for a renewed, deep confidence in God and in scripture so that we can boldly share Christ in word and deed.”  Lindsay Brown, International Director of the Lausanne Movement, added that “The Congress will be global in scope and African in feel. The Church across Africa will be our host and we are honoured that Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi (Uganda) is Chair of the Host Committee.”CT2010 is being held in collaboration with the World Evangelical Alliance. The congress programme will focus on six major themes including the supremacy of Christ, reconciliation and the challenges facing the Church in society. Onsite participants will be selected through a national and regional recommendation process. The number of participants from each country will be in proportion to the size of the evangelical church in that country. CT2010 will be the third Congress hosted by the Lausanne Movement. Previous congresses were held in Lausanne, Switzerland (1974) and Manila, Philippines (1989). By Maria Mackay
 “One Lord, One Body, One Voice” will be the theme that unifies hundreds of evangelicals as they gather in Thailand this week for the World Evangelical Alliance’s (WEA) General Assembly.The five-day gathering brings together representatives from the WEA’s 128 national alliances as they seek to strengthen connections and discern the global body’s common vision. The first full day of the General Assembly, Sunday 26 October, marked the conclusion of an official year of prayer in preparation for the gathering - the Day One campaign - with a program centered on prayer for global issues. The WEA General Assembly, held every six years, runs through 30 October in Pattaya, Thailand and is expected to draw more than 400 Evangelicals. The week will be include plenary sessions that are intended to reflect the WEA’s commitment to holistic transformation and proclamation of the Gospel. They will give conference delegates the chance to hear from experts on issues such as global evangelism through transformational churches, as well as an evangelical response to poverty, religious liberty and advocacy for the voiceless, and effective evangelical engagement in the public square. WEA International Director, Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe, says, “WEA meets for its General Assembly at a particularly crucial time, taking place against the backdrop of the global financial crisis, a series of natural disasters, and various conflicts and humanitarian emergencies around the world. It is within this global context that we are called to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. These five days in Thailand will be an opportunity not only to step back and assess the unique role we as Evangelicals can play in the global response to these challenges, but also reflect on developing the effectiveness of our national alliances in supporting the Body of Christ in their respective countries.” Rev. Doug Birdsall, Executive Chair of the Lausanne Movement, will bring greetings to the WEA gathering, and report on the significant progress being made toward Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. The General Assembly will also see the launch of the WEA Leadership Institute, which will provide case-specific training in the areas of unifying evangelicals in voice and action, association leadership, governance and management, sustainable funding, representation before government and other public bodies, servicing constituencies, and partnership development. “A healthy and vibrant national alliance can play a critical role in the spiritual transformation of a country. It is the goal of the Leadership Institute to provide practical training and mentoring that will help WEA serve leaders around the world to develop such alliances,” emphasizes Tunnicliffe. The General Assembly will be followed by a major WEA initiative on 9 November in collaboration with Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors and Gospel for Asia. The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) will unite churches around the world in prayer for the millions of believers who are persecuted for their faith. The initiative is being coordinated by the Executive Director of the WEA’s Religious Liberty Commission, the Rev Johan Candelin.  Rev. Wayne Pederson will become HCJB Global’s new president on 1 November. Pederson, now vice president of Moody Broadcasting, will replace David Johnson, who stepped down in June after serving for a seven-year period. Dr. James D. Allen has been serving as acting president.“Wayne Pederson has a great heart for missions, and he is intimately acquainted with HCJB Global,” said Glen Adams, the HCJB board member who headed the search team that selected Pederson. “He is an exceptional leader with many years of experience in Christian broadcasting. “Further, he comes to us at an important time in the life if our ministry, and he brings a vision that will challenge all of us as we join together in the coming months and years to be the ‘voice and hands of Jesus,’” Adams added. “I have a passion to see people come to Jesus,” Pederson said. “My focus has been on using the media to accomplish that. However, as I grow older, God has sensitized my heart to the physical needs of people worldwide. By combining HCJB Global Voice with HCJB Global Hands, we can demonstrate the love of Christ in very practical ways. That kind of caring opens the door for us to share the great spiritual truth that God cares not only for people‘s eternal salvation, but for their welfare in this life.” For 77 years, HCJB Global’s (www.hcjbglobal.org) passion has been to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Using mass media, healthcare and education, and working with partners around the world, HCJB Global has ministries in more than 100 countries. By Susan Brill
More than 120 ministry leaders who gathered in Minnesota, USA earlier this month heard a challenge to rethink evangelism strategy to reach younger generations. Recent statistics show that 88 percent of churched young adults leave the church after leaving home (Lifeway) and 61 percent of people in their 20s who were once churched are now disengaged (Barna). Miles McPherson, pastor of the The Rock Church in San Diego, Calif., USA who addressed the Mission America Coalition (MAC) gathering, has a church that is thriving with 11,000 young worshippers in their teens, 20s, and 30s. McPherson referenced Exodus 3:7 by noting that God always sent His deliverers at the response of someone crying out. He encouraged the MAC gathering to listen to the cries of the younger generation. "Respond to someone's pain," he told the pastors, ministry leaders, and cityreachers attending. "Don't assume you know their pain. Go listen. If we go to church and don't deal with that, God says, 'What good are you?'" "Kids want to know how to stand up for righteousness," he assured. "They want to be challenged and do stuff that we won't do anymore. They have no fear....These kids are ready, they are willing. God made them to serve Him." Kids Who Keep Their Faith Kara Powell, executive director of the Center for Youth and Family Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary, shared Fuller Youth Institute research that identified commonalties among college students who do keep their faith. One common ground was their understanding of God. "They know that God is close and caring," she reported and added that, “students who have a long-term faith…felt the freedom and had the opportunity to explore doubt. It gives them the roots and the wings that they need for all of the turbulence that awaits them in college." Also, the more students were involved in intergenerational worship before graduation, the better they held to their faith in college, according to Powell. Worship with adults of all ages offers opportunities for young people to experience the support and encouragement of many in the church, not just other youth or a youth leader, she added. However Powell also said that many young people who go off to college do not know how to find a church. Jeff Schadt, founder of the Youth Transition Network, added that 93 percent of students leaving a high school youth ministry do not know the name of any college Christian ministry. "We send our fruit off into enemy territory alone, with no connection to the Body of Christ—and then we are shocked at the outcome," he said. Reaching Millennials In a panel discussion with a spectrum of youth leaders from across the country, participants discussed how technology defines kids' lives. "They don't respond to email. They text, they twitter, and they talk on their phones," said Chuck Klein, director of Venture Media for Campus Crusade for Christ. "They are not techies, they are just technology users." Klein said that young people are driven by extreme relational needs. "Inclusion is primary; who you know gives you esteem. Tolerance is needed to maintain relationships." As a result, he said, the demographic called millennials (born between 1982 and 2000) are the most tolerant generation that America has ever had. He also believes they have a great potential to reach others for Christ. "They are all are aspiring actors and actresses; they are bold," Klein said. "They have the capacity to take the gospel to the end of the earth. They are sometimes called the 'broken generation'… and God uses the broken." State of the Church The conference closed with Dave Olson, founder of the American Church Research Project, discussing his current research which found that only the largest churches (more than 2,000 in attendance) and smallest churches (up to 49 in attendance) are growing. The vast majority of churches are shrinking, according to his research which is based on church statistics. "The smallest churches have intimacy—if you don't show up, someone calls you," he explained. "Large churches have money and resources and people to do really good ministry. Middle churches are too big to be intimate and too small to have money and resources." Olson identified the significant need for church planting. "Just as young people inject incredible energy into the human race, new churches inject incredible energy into the American church." "More well-conceived, new churches have to be the number one mission focus for every denomination and missional church," he challenged. "We have to think of new ways to plant churches." (More on Olson's research is available at www.theamericanchurch.org/MA2008.zip). The Mission America Coalition is a network of national church leaders, representing denominations, ministries, and other key Christian leaders with a shared vision to collaborate in prayer, evangelism, and revival. The Mission America Coalition is the U.S. Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. (www.missionamerica.org) By Grace Samson  Hundreds of leaders gathered this month for the first Call2all (www.call2all.org) congress in the region of East Africa. The meeting was held at Nairobi Baptist Church, Nairobi, Kenya from 14-17 October. The purpose of the event was to strategically mobilize and connect leaders from 12 East African countries (including Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and others) that are operating in different spheres of ministry, to help them network and focus resources towards fulfilling the task of reaching the least and the lost in East Africa and beyond. African participants in attendance also came from South Africa, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. Malaysia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States were also represented by attendees. The six main themes of the gathering included: Evangelism; Church Presence/Planting; Mapping the Great Commission; Orality; Prayer and; Missions – Unengaged and Unreached People Groups. Presenters included Dr. Steven Kabachia, East African Regional Coordinator for Movement for Africa National Initiatives (MANI), Loren Cunningham, Co-founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), Paul Eshleman, Vice President, Campus Crusade for Christ, Avery Willis, International Director of the International Orality Network, Laban Jjumba, Intercessors for Africa and others.  Mark Anderson, President of Call2all gave a “call to consecration” saying that in light of current global turmoil, there was a greater need for crucified living among Christian leaders and challenged the leaders to deny themselves, take up the cross and follow Jesus. Loren Cunningham emphasized the giftedness of Africa, showing that the key African leaders have risen through the ranks in each sphere of society from the sports arena to the Church. Bishop Kabachia presented a session on the “State of the Gospel” in the region of East Africa, commenting on recent research on unreached people groups in Kenya which sparked a challenge that eventually resulted in every tribe in Kenya engaged with the gospel. Building on that, Paul Eshleman shared about the Unengaged and Unreached people groups of the world citing that statistically the most unreached tribes in Africa are concentrated in Sudan. He challenged participants to ask God for a new heart and a new perspective in order to go.One of the major highlights of the event was the uncovering of a massive map. As a symbolic act of going to the nations, participants prayed, wept, worshipped and walked on the map from the north to the south and from the east to the west, covering all four corners of the earth as they prophetically reclaimed the nations for God and declared the glory of God over all the earth.  As the meeting concluded, the Call2all leadership team led the congress through a time of commitment. Ken Stravens, National Director of Life Ministry (Campus Crusade for Christ) Kenya, closed the session saying, “I am so overwhelmed by what God is doing in our midst! The goals we have set are amazing, and I look forward to what God wants to do with us as a result of this congress.”In January 2008, the first Call2all congress was held in Florida, one of forty congresses to be held in different regions around the world over the next three years to call the church to a renewed, collaborative effort to complete the great commission.  This month, the topic is The Verbal Proclamation of the Gospel, with articles including:
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