The Fourth Lausanne Congress has just ended. How should we continue to accelerate global mission together in the years ahead? Many factors would impact the future of global mission. In this issue, we look particularly at four factors: leadership succession, financial sustainability, artificial intelligence, and spiritual revivalism.
In ‘Leadership Succession and the Future of Mission: Letting the next generation step up’, Allen Yeh analyzes the generational differences and suggests a number of practical steps in handling these differences, paving the way for smooth leadership transitions in mission today. These are: Share space and trust the younger generations; listen well; do not silo intergenerational cooperation as its own topic; and approach the younger generations with a captivating vision of mission. ‘We need to pass on the baton properly to the next missional leaders, so God’s name continues to be glorified throughout the earth and throughout all generations,’ he concludes.
As the number of missionaries being sent from countries in the Majority World is on the rise, the author Steve Sanderson in ‘Financial Sustainability and the Future of Mission: Funding Majority World church mission’ poses a crucial question: ‘What alternative funding models exist for authentic, intentional Majority World mission hubs?’ Several possibilities are being examined and evaluated. For example, funding through collaborations between Majority World church and diaspora church, bi-vocational missionary entrepreneurship, and a coherent movement of disciple makers. The right model should ‘give Majority World mission movements the confidence to be bold in exploring mobilization approaches that are not reliant on Western agency grant funding. . . . as [Western agencies] increasingly pivot to become “along-siders”, catalysts, and network brokers.’
‘In the past few years, we have seen a rapid development in the field of artificial intelligence . . . . What does this mean for mission, for Christianity, and the world?’ writes Simon Cozens in ‘AI and the Future of Mission: Genuine faith, artificial intelligence’. First of all, we are reminded that AI ‘is simply a mathematical structure, a model of probabilities’, there is no ‘thought’ and ‘intelligence’ being applied. ‘Even so, the results of these machine learning systems are impressive and potentially very useful, and are already being used to accelerate global mission.’ Some illustrations by the author include machine learning tools for Bible translation, creative ways of explaining and teaching the Bible using AI, sermon transcription and ‘remixing’ for church leaders, and ‘chatbots for discipleship and church engagement‘. However, he cautions Christians of the ‘hidden dangers of the AI revolution’ and strongly recommends a responsible use of AI, ‘balancing the opportunities it affords with the very real dangers and costs that it represents.’
Even with successful leadership transition, sustainable financial models, and advanced technology, the outlook for the future of global mission will not be promising and God-honoring without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Eva Wong in ‘Revivalism and the Future of Mission: The impact of historical revivals on global mission’ reviews and reflects on some of the major revivals in the history of Christianity—their key characteristics, central themes, and impact on church growth and mission. She urges churches and mission organizations to let the Holy Spirit renew in us passion for God and love for all people, to ‘bring greater unity and collaboration’ as we ‘move forward together in stronger synergy to fulfill the Great Commission.’
Lausanne Global Analysis is also available in Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Korean. Please send any questions and comments about this issue to analysis@lausanne.org. The next issue will be released in January 2025 where we will publish four of the presentations at the Fourth Lausanne Congress, focusing on ‘Lessons from the Global Church’.