Since 1974, the Lausanne Movement has become a platform for the convening of evangelical leaders, and has hosted a number of global congresses, gatherings, and catalytic networks that have impacted the scope of world missions and facilitated the expansion of Christianity in modern times.
[4] The second event leading up to the inception of the Lausanne Movement was the 1966 Congress on World Evangelism in Berlin, organized by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Christianity Today.
Subsequent talks at the congress, led by church leaders from around the world, explained the shift in the center of Christianity from the West to the South and East, and touched on global and local needs, issues, and opportunities.
[8] The congress drew a substantial number of leaders from the evangelical communities of Africa, Latin America, and Asia which were emerging at the time.
The voices of Latin American theologians Samuel Escobar and Rene Padilla were among the clearest to be heard on addressing the issue.
[2] The committee articulated the aim of the movement as furthering ‘the total biblical mission of the church, recognizing that in this mission of sacrificial service, evangelism is primary, and that our particular concern must be the [then 2,700 million] unreached people of the world.’[4] Four initial working groups were established, each one focused on one of the following topics: intercession, theology, strategy, and communication.
Later, four more working groups were added, focusing on leadership development, resource mobilization and technology, and combined business, government, education, media, and medicine.
The formation of these issue groups, along with the appointment of regional leaders and committees, sought to put into action the deliberations of the congress in Lausanne.
Furthermore, by the 1980s a large number of major evangelical mission agencies in North America and in many other countries had reframed their statements of faith in light of the Lausanne Covenant.
Albeit carefully constructed, with the purpose of bringing together the various strands of the congress and pointing towards the future, The Manila Manifesto was not as well-received as the Lausanne Covenant.
[13] Thousands more participated in seminaries, universities, churches, and through mission agencies and radio networks globally through an online platform called Cape Town GlobaLink.
[5] The Cape Town congress (Lausanne III) was substantially different from its predecessors because of the voice given to large numbers of leaders and participants from the Majority World.
Christianity Today described the third congress as ‘a younger, more ethnically diverse, and more geographically varied consortium of evangelical leaders than ever before’.
Issues that were addressed include evangelism in oral cultures, mission populations in diaspora, and the emergent megacities of the world.
The Fourth Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization is set to take place in Seoul, South Korea, in September 2024.
A listening process to discern the current dominant themes and issues facing the church will take place in anticipation of the fourth congress, as well as regional and generational gatherings.
[17] A Lausanne leadership member clarified that a translation error led to the omission of key sentences from a statement on same-sex relations, resulting in misunderstanding.
He emphasized that Lausanne opposes homosexuality but aimed to offer a European perspective to those struggling with same-sex attraction, which did not resonate with Asian sentiments.
[18][19][20][21] After the tragic death of his son, Leighton Ford, who was chair of the continuation committee after the First Lausanne Congress, began to focus more of his attention on equipping the next generation.
[6] In its early days an international headquarters was established in London where Gottfried Osei-Mensah had relocated from Nairobi to take up the role of executive secretary.
Lifetime Honorary Chairs include John Stott, Leighton Ford, Michael Cassidy, and Douglas Birdsall.
Lausanne Issue Networks exist to catalyze and connect Christians on the ground with evangelical influencers, for the goal of global mission in every sphere of society, through gatherings focused on biblical prayer, reflection, training, and ministry action.
[24] The documents of greatest significance to date are The Lausanne Covenant, which is used by evangelical mission organisations worldwide as a basis for faith, action and partnership, and The Cape Town Commitment which is "in two parts.
The 2004 Forum in Pattaya generated 31 LOPs on a wide range of areas, including bioethics, business-as-mission, the persecution of Christians, and globalization.