(2 December 2004, Thailand)  “A New Vision, A New Heart and a Renewed Call” was the theme of the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization in Pattaya, Thailand this month.  The Forum, hosted by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (LCWE), drew over 1,500 Christian leaders from nearly 130 countries to focus on the task of global evangelism.

         Throughout the Forum, participants exhibited a renewed sense of passion and energy to share the gospel of Jesus around the world.  With a united emphasis on reaching the people most in need – children, those in poverty, the oppressed and abused and those living with disabilities – participants were challenged to recommit themselves and their ministries to evangelism.

         On the opening night of the gathering, 2004 Forum Chair Dr. Roger Parrott emphasized the desire to “catch the fresh wind of God” and urged the church to “sink the powerboats of ministry we have built and learn again to sail only on the wind of God.”  Dr. Parrott recounted the story of the Apostle Peter being invited to walk on the water with Jesus and reminded the crowd that when Peter took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink.  He added that the same can be true when looking at the task of global evangelism and that instead of “looking to the power of our own motor which never allows us to stray far from our harbor, our focus must be on the limitless power of Jesus.”    

WORKING FORUM

         Prior to the Forum, an international research effort identified 31 crucial issues affecting global evangelism.  Based on that research, Forum leaders established Issue Groups (IGs) of 20 to 100 people to define the issue, conduct research and collect information on ministries already successfully engaging the concern.

         The Forum was a working consultation where, in addition to the main plenary sessions, much of the work was done in the smaller IG meetings.  Many of these IGs had been meeting via the Internet, telephone and mail for several months prior to the Forum and the Pattaya meeting allowed leaders the opportunity to meet face-to-face to move their discussions toward an implementation action plan for the church.  Mr. Paul Eshleman, JESUS Video Project, said the Forum provided a point of convergence for ministry practitioners and theorists that allowed participants to discuss strategies that will be both ministry-practical and theologically-sound.   

FORUM AFFIRMATIONS

     As IGs met, a team of leaders, led by Mr. Eshleman, was tasked with “listening” to each of the groups to determine Forum trends and themes.  Based on IG visits and personal interviews with leaders, Mr. Eshleman’s team prepared a 2004 Forum Summary of Affirmations that included an affirmation that the major efforts of the church must be directed toward unreached people who have no access to the gospel.  In addition the team discovered:

• A renewed commitment to reach out in love and compassion to those who are marginalized because of disabilities or who have different lifestyles and spiritual perspectives along with a commitment to reach out to children and young people who constitute a majority of the world’s population, many of whom are being abused, forced into slavery, armies and child labor.
• An acknowledgement that the growth of the church is now accelerating outside of the western world and that dynamic and rapid growth of the church is continuing in Africa, Asia and Latin America.  
• An acknowledgement that much of the world is made up of oral learners who best understand information by means of stories. 
• A call to the church to use media to effectively engage the culture in ways that draw non-believers toward spiritual truth and proclaim Jesus Christ in culturally relevant ways.
• An affirmation of the priesthood of all believers and a call to the church to equip, encourage and empower women, men and youth to fulfill their calling as witnesses and co-laborers in the world wide task of evangelization.

LEADERSHIP TRANSITION

         In closing remarks to the Forum, Dr. Paul Cedar, outgoing LCWE International Chair, charged the delegates to not only respond personally to the challenge of global evangelization but also to commit to encouraging, motivating and mobilizing other Christians to pursue the strategic plans for evangelism that will result from the Forum.  Dr. Cedar and International Director Dr. David Claydon stepped down from their posts at the end of the Forum.  Dr. Cedar will now serve Lausanne as a Senior Advisor.  Dr. Claydon has been named Lausanne Ambassador-At-Large. 

         Rev. S. Douglass Birdsall, President of Asian Access, was elected LCWE Executive Chair and Dr. Tetsunao (“Ted”) Yamamori, President Emeritus of Food for the Hungry International, was appointed LCWE International Director.  By agreement with Lausanne, Dr. Yamamori will serve as International Director and then as Representative-At-Large.  Dr. Yamamori, along with the Lausanne leadership, firmly believes that LCWE should have, as International Director, a younger leader from a non-western country.  During his term as International Director, Dr. Yamamori will work with the Lausanne Committee to find someone who can fulfill those requirements. 

         Rev. Birdsall also announced the appointment of nine International Deputy Directors (IDDs) who will take on regional responsibilities for Lausanne.  Rev. Birdsall says Lausanne will benefit by the addition of these new leaders who bring “perspectives from every region of the world to the concerns and opportunities of world evangelism.”  The leaders named as IDDs are:

·       Northern Asia: Dr. Agnes Liu (Hong Kong), Chinese Coordination Center on World Evangelization. 

·       East Asia: Dr. Hyung Keun (Paul) Choi (Korea), Seoul Theological University.

·       South Asia: Rev. Adrian de Visser (Sri Lanka), Kethusevana National Church Planting.

·       Middle East and North Africa: Dr. Sameh Maurice (Cairo, Egypt),  Kasr El Dobarah Evangelical Church.

·       Eastern Europe: Dr. Fiodor MoKan (Russia), St. Petersburg Theological Seminary.

·       Western Europe: Mrs. Elke Werner (Marburg, Germany), author and speaker.

·       Latin America: Dr. Norberto Saracco (Argentina), Pastor and Seminary President.

·       Francopone Africa: Mr. Kadebe Daniel Bourdanne (Ivory Coast), International Fellowship of International Students.

·       Anglophone Africa: Dr. John Azumah (Ghana), Presbyterian Minister.

         Dr. Yamamori says the International Deputy Directors “will work closely with Forum Issue Group leaders, senior associates and others who will emerge as voluntary leaders in their own countries.”  He believes the new structure will allow Lausanne to “exercise a spirit of unity and cooperation in seeking out new relationships with evangelical ministries, organizations and networks in any and all countries facilitated by Deputy Directors.”

FUTURE STEPS

     2004 Forum Program Chair Mrs. Robyn Claydon says the International Deputy Directors become vitally important as the work of the Forum moves to the grassroots.  By December, IGs will produce a paper addressing their specific evangelism challenge.  Rev. Birdsall says IGs are being asked to articulate precise and concise Action Steps that can be implemented readily throughout the world.  Mrs. Claydon says IDDs along with IG leaders and participants will begin to develop key relational networks to seek implementation of the strategies coming from the Forum, many of which will become Lausanne Occasional Papers (LOPs).   

     Leaders say the Forum offers an excellent opportunity for an expanded impact under the Lausanne Covenant and Lausanne Mission Statement of “The Whole Church taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World.”  The widely adopted Lausanne Covenant has served as a theological gathering point since 1974 for individuals, denominations and ministries interested in collaboration toward the task of global evangelism.       

     In addition to the production of the Lausanne Ocassional Papers, Lausanne leaders have begun planning a Younger Leaders Conference in 2006 and are exploring a third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in 2010.

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Media Note: For more information on the 2004 Forum or to schedule an interview please contact Naomi Frizzell at or call 904.262.5202.

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