The Lausanne Movement calls for prayer for the first 200 missionary commitments
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nagoya, Japan—26 October 2015—The first Mission China 2030 Conference was convened in Hong Kong on 28 September – 1 October 2015. This conference was led by urban house church leaders and attended by 900 participants from mainland China. The Mission China 2030 vision is for China to send out 20,000 missionaries by the year 2030. Two hundred missionary commitments were made as the first step toward fulfilling this vision.
The Mission China 2030 vision was catalyzed by two main gatherings, the Third Lausanne Congress (Cape Town, 2010) and the Asian Church Leaders Forum (Seoul, 2013). Two hundred Chinese Christian leaders were invited to the Third Lausanne Congress, but were unable to attend. Plans were made to invite them to a separate gathering in 2013, the Asian Church Leaders Forum (ACLF).
It was at the Asian Church Leaders Forum that Rev Daniel Jin (Executive Director of Mission China Today magazine) urged the Chinese church to work and pray to see 20,000 missionaries sent out from China by 2030: ‘Over the last 200 years, since the days of the earliest British pioneer Robert Morrison, some 20,000 missionaries have served in China.’ There was, he said, ‘a gospel debt to pay off’.
‘This first Mission China 2030 Conference is truly a turning point in Chinese church history’, says David Ro, Lausanne International Deputy Director for East Asia and Mission China 2030 International Advisor. ‘The Chinese church has stood up in carrying the torch of world missions and sending some of the best from China to bless the world.’ Plenary speakers at the Mission China 2030 Conference included Luis Bush (author of the 10/40 Window; Transform World), Francis Chan (author of Crazy Love), Dr Bong Rin Ro (former ATA Executive Secretary and former WEA Theological Commission Chair), Rev Jaehoon Lee (Senior Pastor, Onnuri Church), Rev Abraham Cui (All-Nations Church in Shanghai and this year’s Mission China 2030 Conference Director), and Rev Daniel Jin.
Two hundred participants made missionary commitments at the conference. Pastors and missionaries attending the conference were asked to commission them in prayer. These were the first missionary commitments made toward the Mission China 2030 vision of 20,000 missionaries. The Lausanne Movement calls the global church to prayer for these men and women as they take their next steps in training and preparation.
On the final morning of the conference, Pastor Ezra Jin (Beijing Zion Church) received the Mission China 2030 flag on behalf of the Beijing Pastors’ Prayer Fellowship, a symbol of acceptance to host next year’s Mission China 2030 gathering. Pastors from different cities will continue to host annual gatherings until the goal of sending 20,000 missionaries from China by the year 2030 is reached.
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RELATED LINKS
- Asian Church Leaders Forum (ACLF) Report
- ‘Symbolic Moment as Chinese Gather in Seoul’ (news release on the 2013 ACLF)
- Ezra Jin: A Landmark Encounter: The Significance of the ACLF for the Church in China (article for the Lausanne Global Analysis)
- The Seoul Commitment (China), English
- 首尔承诺(中国),简体中文
BACKGROUND
The Lausanne Movement connects influencers and ideas for global mission, with a vision of the gospel for every person, an evangelical church for every people, Christ-like leaders for every church, and kingdom impact in every sphere of society.
The Movement grew out of the 1974 International Congress on World Evangelization convened in Lausanne, Switzerland, by Rev Billy Graham and Bishop Jack Dain. John Stott was chief architect of The Lausanne Covenant. The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization (October 2010) in Cape Town, South Africa, brought together 4,000 Christian leaders representing 198 countries. The Cape Town Commitment serves as the blueprint for the Movement’s activities.
Learn more about the Movement.
CONTACT
For more information and interview inquiries, please contact Attila Nyari at media@lausanne.org.