What would happen if someone called together a congress of 5,000 Christians from 200 different countries, from a wide range of ethnicities, ages, theological backgrounds and worship styles? And imagine adding to this, another several thousand joining in the conversation online, across multiple time zones. What would result? Would this great pooling of diversity and difference result in division and disharmony? Or would this be an opportunity for the global Church to display and declare its unity in its Lord Jesus Christ?
This was exactly what took place at the Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization (L4), held in Incheon, South Korea from 22 to 28 September 2024. Over 100 participants came from Singapore, including around a dozen Methodist lay leaders, pastors and theologians. This writer had the privilege to participate via the online Virtual Experience (VX) track.
The Lausanne Movement was birthed in 1974, when evangelist Billy Graham convened the First International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland. Since then, the movement has been a catalyst in uniting Christians to collaborate and partner in God’s mission throughout the world. But just what does the Church on God’s mission look like?
1. Integral Mission / Holistic Mission
L4’s theme was: Let the Church Display and Declare Christ Together. The two verbs, “display” and “declare” make clear that both showing Christ and speaking of Christ must go together. As the L4 Seoul Statement puts it, “We cannot make disciples without announcing the good news, and cannot be disciples without a deep engagement with a broken world” (para 73).
Display. Declare. The two cannot be disconnected. Hence the phrases Integral Mission and Holistic Mission.
This is nothing much new for Methodists. Evangelism and social action have been a hallmark of the Wesleyan movement since its inception. Our Methodist Social Principles states:
“Christian social responsibility is […] an integral part of the Gospel which the Church is expected to proclaim, preserve and practise. [We] desire to be obedient to Christ in bringing the whole of life with its activities, possessions, relationships and environment into conformity with the will of God.” (Section I, para 1, emphasis added)
The gospel of Christ is not merely a future hope; the gospel is also about the Kingdom of God breaking into our lived realities in the here and now.
May these terms Integral Mission and Holistic Mission become common lingo among Singaporean Christians, so that the whole Church may take the whole gospel to the whole world.
2. 25 Gaps
The Global Ageing Population. AI and Transhumanism. Digital Communities. Sexuality and Gender. Holistic Health. Ethnicism and Racism. Christianity, Radical Politics and Religious Freedom. Caring for Creation and the Vulnerable.
These are just some of the 25 contemporary gaps identified at L4. To the reader: do any of these gaps impact how you live out the gospel in your own life setting? If so, you will want to look at Lausanne’s State of the Great Commission report.
Both onsite and online participants joined various discussion groups that focused on each gap. Hopefully, this will catalyse future collaborative action to help address and close these gaps. The passion of some online participants was clearly seen, especially when they joined the collaboration groups in the wee hours in their time zone. This writer was heartened and inspired by individuals in the “Scripture in a Digital Age” breakout group, who are using satellite broadcasts to bring the gospel to restricted-access countries, or working on indigenous Bible translation projects in Canada.
3. From mission field to mission force
Since L4 was hosted in South Korea, participants had opportunities to learn about the history of Christianity in Korea. The Church at large in Singapore, like the Church in South Korea, has evolved from a mission field to a missionary-sending force. Participants encountered inspiring stories of faith and resilience through poverty, persecution and war.
At the same time, ongoing challenges were also frankly acknowledged, including rising disillusionment with the Church (especially by the younger generation), a decline in the proportion of Christians, and the complex realities of national and international politics.
There are perhaps some lessons for the Singaporean Church, which is similarly a missionary-sending force and the so-called “Antioch of Asia“.
4. Beware of saying “I don’t need you”
Lausanne’s Executive Director, Dr Michael Oh said, “The four most dangerous words in the global Church today are, ‘I don’t need you.’” Very fitting for a movement which seeks to unite a diverse global Church in global mission.
Indeed, the global Church needs to hear and respond to the suffering experienced by our brothers and sisters in different parts of the globe. At L4, participants were confronted with the experiences of Christians who were abducted by armed groups, forced into sexual slavery, imprisoned by state security forces for planting churches or caught up in national genocide or international aggression. The solemn and sombre mood was palpable, even for the online participants. Tears were shed. Heartfelt prayers were uttered. The Church cannot say, “I don’t need you”.
Amid the displays of unity, L4 had its share of controversies. Some participants were surprised that the Seoul Statement was released before the Congress, instead of being a result of the week’s deliberations. Some took offence at a turn-of-phrase by speaker Ruth Padilla DeBorst, others at the fact that Lausanne made an apology. This is a reality of the global Church—that sincere and well-meaning Christians sometimes do disagree. Yet, especially in such times, the Church must refuse to say, “I don’t need you”.
Dr Rula Khoury Mansour, a Palestinian Christian and founder of the Nazareth Centre for Peace Studies, reminded L4 participants that the gospel encompasses reconciliation. This entails truth-telling, acknowledging failure and embracing forgiveness, justice and healing— all extremely difficult work. Yet, reconciliation is essential for a shared future, one in which the Church does not say, “I don’t need you”.
May we beware of saying to other Christians, “I don’t need you”, so that we can, holistically and in wholeness, display and declare Christ, together.
