The Cape Town Commitment

"The Third Lausanne Congress of World Evangelization (Cape Town, 16-25 October, 2010) brought together 4,200 evangelical believers from 198 countries  and extended to hundreds of thousands more, participating in meetings around the world, and online.  Its goal?  To bring a fresh challenge to the global Church to bear witness to Jesus Christ and all his teaching - in every nation, in every sphere of society, and in the realm of ideas."  Foreward to The Cape Town Commitment: A Confession of Faith and a Call to Action, The Lausanne Movement, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts, 2010.

The goal of the Cape Town Commitment was to "distinguish what is at the heart of the Christian Gospel" and to link belief in that Gospel with the practice of that Gospel, with the hope that the Commitment would "be talked about, discussed, and afforded weight as a united statement from evangelicals globally; that it (would) shape agendas in Christian ministry; that it (would) strengthen thought-leaders in the public arena; and that bold initiatives and partnership (would) issue from it."

The purpose of this blog was originally to keep supporters of mine informed as to my mission trips to India as a missionary of Resurrection Fellowship.  However, as these trips will be sporadic with large amounts of time in between them, I thought it would be better for the blog to become a place where my thoughts on missions could be shared with the public...or, at least, those who sign on to the blog.

To start with, I want to look at a document drawn up after the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.  The first congress began with Billy Graham and John Stott, was held in Lausanne, Switzerland (hence the name), in 1974.  The Second was held in Manila, Philippines, in 1989.  To learn more about this conference and what it was all about see here:  http://www.lausanne.org/en/about.html

The goal of the Third Congress held in Cape Town, South Africa, was to re-stimulate the spirit behind the Lausanne Movement...so hopefully, my reflections on this Congress will do the same...re-stimulate your commitment to "the task of bearing worldwide witness to Jesus Christ and all his teaching."