FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 July 2017—The Lausanne Movement and Operation World announced today that they are entering into a unique partnership to mobilise prayer for the nations and world evangelisation.
Lausanne and Operation World (OW) share a longstanding commitment to prayer and mission, as well as a strong conviction that Christians worldwide must have more opportunities—in more languages and in more forms of media—to join in prayer for the nations.
The two organisations have been exploring partnership for a number of months. A few weeks ago, the pressing necessity for such a partnership was affirmed at a Lausanne gathering in Wittenberg, during which prayer and partnership emerged as top priorities for breakthrough in global mission.
‘The Wittenberg gathering dramatically underscored the strategic importance of this partnership, as perhaps our most practical and immediate response to prioritizing prayer for global missions,’ says Michael Oh, Global Executive Director and CEO of the Lausanne Movement. ‘No one in the world is mobilising prayer for missions like Operation World. It’s a joy to take this step of partnering more closely together. We’re excited to see Operation World become an even more deliberate part of the Lausanne family.’
OW co-director Jason Mandryk also welcomes the partnership, saying, ‘We’re excited to partner with Lausanne as they press into a deeper engagement with global prayer, but also to extend Operation World’s own reach and relationships through Lausanne’s formidable network of influencers across the world. Above all, it is our desire to see this partnership demonstrate—in word and deed—that prayer really is a priority, and that together we can see the global body of Christ engaging in prayer for the nations on an entirely new level.’
The collaboration of the two organisations represents a very unique partnership for global mission. Operation World will remain a legal entity of WEC International, with Lausanne assuming oversight and accountability for core aspects of the Operation World ministry and personnel.
WEC International Directors Louis and Susan Sutton are excited for the partnership and its potential for God’s kingdom purposes. ‘OW as a strategic prayer resource reaches huge numbers of Christians worldwide. The Lausanne Movement already influences huge portions of the global church. Imagine the global kingdom impact when these two ministries join together for a common purpose. And what common purpose could be more strategic and Christ-honoring than uniting His people globally through informed, inspired prayer for His name to be great among the nations?’
As the two teams begin to work more closely together, one particular project in the works is the creation of a 52-week prayer guide. The prayer guide can be used in church bulletins, websites, and social media platforms to help Christians pray in an informed way for global mission year-round. In addition, Lausanne is already actively promoting the recently released Operation World mobile app throughout its global network. Operation World resources have been used by millions of Christians since the 1960s to pray for the nations, and this free app makes the content more widely and freely accessible.
Other collaborative projects will follow, combining Operation World’s unique research-driven perspective with Lausanne’s own global voice and platform.
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About the Lausanne Movement
The Lausanne Movement grew out of the 1974 International Congress on World Evangelization convened in Lausanne, Switzerland, by Rev Billy Graham. 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.
About Operation World
Operation World is widely regarded as the definitive volume of prayer information about the world and is the recipient of the ECPA Gold Medallion Award for Excellence in Evangelical Christian Literature. Operation World is published by InterVarsity Press. Operation World remains an International Ministry of WEC (Worldwide Evangelisation for Christ), even as it enters this new partnership with Lausanne.
About WEC International
WEC has a mission: to see Christ known, loved and worshiped by those who have no access to the good news of his redeeming and restoring love. WEC’s global fellowship of 1800 workers from 55 nations share Christ’s love in the midst of over 100 unreached people groups in 84 countries worldwide. WEC believes that global, informed, inspired prayer is foundational to Christ’s purposes and has been privileged to develop and support the ministry of Operation World for 37 of WEC’s over 100 years of ministry.