Lausanne Occasional Papers

Lausanne Occasional Papers serve as a repository of scholarly analysis, theological reflection, and practical insight shaped through global consultations, issue networks, and collaborative dialogue within the Lausanne Movement. They gather collective wisdom from across the global church to address significant theological, missiological, and practical questions related to world evangelization.

  • Digital MinistryTechnologyTheology

    Digital Life: Reframing Christian Presence in a Technological World

    Introduction In an era where technology increasingly shapes every aspect of our lives, Christians face a pertinent question: How should Christians understand presence, or being physically present, in a world where technology has the ability to erase traditional boundaries of distance and time, especially in relation to the Great…
  • DiscipleshipMissional CommunityTheology

    Biblical Community and the Great Commission

    Introduction A biblical understanding of community rightly begins where we first encounter a vibrant community of faith. In Acts 2:42-47, we see the practices that defined the life of a newly constituted body of Jesus’ followers. While they are not named as such, these practices essentially became pillars of…
  • Men and WomenSexualityTheology

    Scripture, Sex, and Gender: Part 2

    Introduction According to the Bible, God made humans “male and female” both equally in His image (Gen. 1:27) and called them to “Be fruitful and multiply” and to rule over His creation under Him (Gen. 1:28). In Genesis 2, while the man is created first, the woman is created…
  • Men and WomenSexualityTheology

    Scripture, Sex, and Gender: Part 1

    Introduction The topics of sex, marriage, and gender identity are not easy to navigate, especially within the context of the church that strives to declare and display the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Thankfully, the Scriptures speak to these issues with both clarity and compassion. This essay…
  • DiscipleshipTheologyTruth and Pluralism

    Discerning Trustworthy Truth: How God’s Word and Spirit Form Christian Judgment

    Introduction: Deciding Whom to Trust For God’s truth to set us free, we must appraise, acknowledge, and act on it. Christians judge the Bible to be trustworthy truth: something upon which they can rely and stake their lives. Disciples demonstrate their understanding of God’s word, and their trust, by…
  • Gospel for Every PersonSpiritualityTheology

    Hope is Not a Dream

    In Human, All Too Human, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche asserted, “In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs the torments of man.”1 Hope is delusional, he argued, because it keeps us from living and striving in the real world.  Instead of accepting reality as it…
  • Freedom and JusticeIntegral MissionTheology

    Biblical Justice & The Great Commission

    Introduction The Lausanne Covenant that emerged from the First Lausanne Congress in 1974 served as a rallying cry for Evangelicals in the latter part of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. The Covenant has been instrumental in shaping the modern evangelical movement as an enduring expression of…
  • DiscipleshipTechnologyTheology

    Ministry in a Digital Age

    Framing the Question Technology has changed our world in the last century, even since the first Lausanne gathering in 1974, continuing through the last one in 2010. Even though the world has exponentially increased in its population, we are more tightly connected than we have ever been. Technology has…
  • TechnologyTheology

    Technology and Missions: How Technology is Changing our Lives and Why it Matters for the Great Commission

    Introduction We live in a rapidly changing technological world. Globally we are beginning to understand some of the impact of technology on our world. But in some ways humanity seems to lag behind due to the sheer speed of technological development and the excitement that surrounds it. Things we…
  • Men and WomenSexualityTheology

    Christian Mission and a Theology of the Body

    Introduction The Lausanne movement has always had a keen interest in rooting missiology in theological reflection. Missiology is, fundamentally, about the embodiment of the Christian message in the lives of those who faithfully seek to communicate it across sometimes hostile terrain. In that sense, this chapter is a missiological…
  • Mental Health and Trauma

    Mental Health and the Church: Strategies for Faithful and Compassionate Ministry

    Introduction Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. – John 14:27 (ESV) It has been said that much of the world is in a mental health crisis, especially in this post-pandemic era. "At least one in five,…
  • Disciple-Making ChurchesDiscipleship

    Discipleship and the Great Commission

    Introduction My journey into vocational ministry began as a church-based youth worker. My motivation was to share the good news of Jesus in such a way that young people would be persuaded to trust Christ for their salvation. Giving witness to the Gospel took varied forms of creative engagement,…
  • ChurchGlobal ChristianityMissional Community

    Ethnic Diversity in Community 

    Introduction In July 2019, the British Guardian online newspaper published an article by Akram Khan titled “Ethnic diversity makes Britain’s culture great. It would be a disaster if we lost it.” This article spoke to what has become a global reality, acknowledging and celebrating the richness of ethnic diversity…
  • DiscipleshipGenerationsTheology

    Passing on the Faith to the Next Generation

    Introduction How does the Bible describe the importance of passing on the faith to the next generation as a fulfillment of the Great Commission? One way to address this question is to consider the consequences of not passing on the faith. In Hebrews 3:7-4:13, the author reflects on the…
  • ContextualizationGlobal ChristianityPolycentric Missions

    What are the Emerging Demographics?

    Introduction God sends the church on an unchanging mission into an ever-changing world. Like the men of Issachar,1 Christian leaders must discern their times if the church is to effectively live out her calling. Like the Apostle Paul, we too should understand the ministry contexts to which God has…
  • ApologeticsTheologyTruth and Pluralism

    God’s Saving Truth: The Foundation of Trust

    Introduction From the halls of power to the huts of the poor, trust matters. As finite social creatures and social beings, we are dependent upon one another for life and flourishing. Trust within human relationships is marked by steady dependence on others and their reliability in terms of character,…
  • Children at Risk

    Towards a Biblical and Theological Framework for Child Participation in the Missio Dei

    Introduction Abstract Children can declare and display the glory of God. In this Lausanne Occasional Paper (LOP), the authors present a compelling case for the ways in which mission to, for, with and by children is a precious gem which the church has a Biblical mandate to unearth, clean…
  • ContextualizationTheologyTruth and Pluralism

    Understanding Global Change and Cultural Shifts in the Religiously Pluralistic Context

    Introduction The church today must respond to the centuries-old call of proclaiming gospel hope in a world formed by unprecedented global change and cultural transformations. Globalization, the emergence of religious pluralism, and changing cultural identities all require a nuanced application of gospel contextuality. Timothy Keller writes: “Contextualization is not…
  • Polycentric MissionsTheology

    Polycentric Christianity: Theological Multiplicity and Unity

    Introduction In Acts chapter two, the second volume of his two books written for Theophilus, Luke documents a momentous event that occurred on a Pentecost day in Jerusalem. The event of that day has great significance for what we today call Christianity or the Christian faith. This chapter, known…
  • Disciple-Making Churches

    Saturation Church Planting: A Call to Collaboration

    Introduction We live in a time of great potential for collaboration among ministries. Organizations, movements, and churches working together to bear witness to the love of Christ and the already present but not yet fully consummated kingdom of God is in itself a sign of the kingdom. Many networks…
  • Diasporas and Migration

    Forcibly Displaced People

    Introduction Human displacement results in the creation of strangers, foreigners, migrants, aliens, exiles, nomads, refugees, and servitude. Faith, hope, and love in the Christian faith are shaped on the anvil of displacement. This paper begins with short descriptions of various terminologies associated with forced displacement and provides a brief…
  • Culture and SocietyHealthScienceSexualityTheology

    A Theology of the Human Person

    This paper seeks to provide a preliminary theological and biblical response to the urgent and pertinent gap in evangelical and global Christian thought on the theme of the human person. The mounting anthropological concerns of our time relating to the nature of human beings, human sexuality, racial and ethnic…
  • Digital MinistryMediaTechnologyTheology

    Christian Faith and Technology

    Introduction Technology has always been an integral part of human life. Throughout history technology has allowed humans to communicate, build, explore, create, prosper, and survive, but also to exploit, dominate, destroy, and kill. Technological artefacts are part of the matrix of everyday life, and yet through them we recreate…
  • ChurchDiscipleshipPrayerSpiritualityTheology

    The Formation of Disciples for Mission and the Formation of Disciples as Mission

    Introduction  The need for this paper arises from two widely perceived problems. The first may be seen in relation to the end or outcome of mission: the low level of spiritual maturity, the lack of Christian formation, and evidence of anemic discipleship within the global evangelical movement.[1] The second…
  • ChurchScripture and TranslationTheology

    ‘Do You Understand What You Are Reading?’

    Introduction: Evangelical Unity in Diversity ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ is Philip’s question to the Ethiopian official who is poring over Isaiah 53:7–8 (Acts 8:27–33). The Ethiopian needs help to make sense of the biblical text, and Philip, led by the Spirit, is there to guide him.…
  • ChurchGlobal MissionTheology

    Seven Challenges for the Global Evangelical Outreach

    Introduction The Global Listening Team of the Lausanne Movement conducted its third listening project from January to May 2024 after the listening research plan had been finalized in December 2023 with members actively participating in the processes of research design and data gathering. This report summarizes the results of…
  • ChurchGlobal MissionTheology

    Engaging in the Realities of Global Missions

    Introduction The leadership team of the Lausanne Movement took the initiative to hold listening calls, inviting evangelical leaders of the world, in preparation for the Fourth Lausanne Congress (L4) to be held in Seoul, South Korea in September 2024.  The first round of listening took place through 36 group…
  • ChurchGlobal MissionTheology

    The Evangelical Church Interacting between the Global and the Local

    Introduction The leadership team of the Lausanne Movement took the initiative to hold listening calls, inviting evangelical leaders of the world by region and issue network, in preparation for the Fourth Lausanne Congress to be held in Seoul, South Korea, in 2024. A total of 12 regional meetings were…
  • Diasporas and Migration

    People on the Move

    Introduction Since the dawn of civilization, human beings have been on the move. Some people move in search of greener pastures, to find livelihood, to seek safety, for education, in search of employment, join family, for trade, to engage in business, or for sheer survival. Others move to escape…
  • Disability Concerns

    Ministries of People with Disabilities: ‘All in’

    ‘Disability ministry is not disability ministry unless the disabled are ministering.’ – Joni Eareckson Tada Question: What are the barriers (social) and obstacles (all other spheres) to called and gifted people with disabilities serving in all areas of ministry in local churches and Christian organizations? Where are we at?…
  • Culture and SocietyTechnologyTheology

    Being Church in a Digital Age

    Introduction Already in the early days of the internet, Christian individuals and groups saw the potential in the technology for fellowship, outreach and evangelism. Digital technology has long been adopted by enthusiasts, but also marginal groups such as those living with disabilities or in hostile areas. In places such…
  • Jewish Evangelism

    Jewish Evangelism

    Introduction: Why Jewish Evangelism The year was 1980, the city was Pattaya, and the occasion was a Lausanne Consultation on World Evangelism-sponsored (LCWE, today known as the Lausanne Movement) conference that was focused on ‘reaching the unreached’. One of the many outcomes of this monumental conference was the birth…
  • Children at Risk

    Mission with Children at Risk

    Preface This Lausanne Occasional Paper is a product of the Lausanne Consultation on Children at Risk, which was convened from 17–19 November 2014 in Quito, Ecuador. More than sixty church leaders, Christian practitioners, missiologists, theologians, and NGO network leaders gathered from five continents to engage in daily worship, group…

  • Case Studies

    Peacemaking amidst urban violence in Brazil - C. Rosalee Velloso Ewell (Brazil) It all started with a flirt between two teenagers on a dusty street of Londrina, Brazil. It ended with one person dead, another death-listed and an entire family on the run. Londrina is the third largest city…

  • Can Christians Belong to More than One Religious Tradition?

    Can Christians Belong to More than One Religious Tradition? KangSan Tan Perspectives on Non- Christian Religions This paper seeks to explore the notion of multireligious belonging and evaluate whether it is theologically possible for a Christian to follow Christ while retaining some form of identification with one’s previous religion…

  • The Global Public Square

    The World Missionary Conference that met in Edinburgh in 1910 recognized the ‘world’ as a single unit, united not merely scientifically (one human species living on planet Earth) and technologically (‘organically knit by the nerves of electric cable and telegraph wire’)[1] but theologically (created and redeemed through the one…

  • Towards a Missiology of Caring for Creation

    Over recent years far more attention has been given to the creation within an understanding of the redeeming purposes of God. It is fair to say that an effective consensus has been reached among evangelical theologians that God’s redemption in Christ extends beyond the person, and beyond the human…

  • The World in the Bible

    The idea of ‘gaining the whole world’ while ‘losing your own soul’ crossed my mind as I struggled to work through a concordance search on the biblical words translated ‘world’ and related words and concepts. It was a most illuminating exercise, however. The first and most startling thing that…

  • The Whole World – Statement of the Lausanne Theology Working Group (Beirut 2010)

    Editorial Preface: ‘The Whole World’— Reflections of the Lausanne Theology Working Group The  Lausanne Theology Working Group hosted a consultation in Beirut, Lebanon, 14-19 February 2010. 23 people from fourteen countries convened and worked together around four plenary papers and sixteen case studies, which provided us with a very wide…

  • A Neopentecostal Experience of Aimara people

    I Background to the case study The ideology used to design Bolivian State institutions to date is just another example that reveals the system of ethnic discrimination that makes Bolivia what it is today. The present indigenist government is making huge efforts to change this deeply rooted, unjust reality,…
  • Southeast Asia

    Way of Hope in Cambodia

    Introduction Cambodia’s approximately 12 million people have suffered decades of civil war, including genocide under the Khmer Rouge holocaust, where as many as 2 million people died. This extended period of destruction has devastated Cambodia’s social, economic, and intellectual infrastructure, limiting its ability to break itself from the grip…
  • Science

    Lessons from My Daughter: Reflections of Church and Ethics

    ON NOVEMBER 23, 1993 we were suddenly thrown into the unknown country of people with disabilities and their families. Our daughter Karis was born with cerebral palsy. All four hemispheres of her body suffered movement damage. She depended completely on us for all tasks like eating, getting dressed, brushing…
  • Culture and SocietyHinduism

    New Faces of the Church: An Indian Case Study

    Introduction ‘Matta, Pitta, Guru, Devam,’ is an oft quoted maxim in India. It simply means, ‘Mother, Father, Teacher, God,’ and signifies the order of priority that many adopt in their lives. In the Indian view of life, therefore, fidelity to one’s family and caste community is of paramount importance.…
  • EuropeProclamation Evangelism

    ‘Unwanted Sectarians’: Spirit, Migration and Mission in an African-led Mega-Size Church in Eastern Europe

    The following article was written and accepted prior to the news that Pastor Sunday Adelaja is under investigation for fraud. Even if it transpires that Pastor Sunday is guilty in some way, we cannot judge the whole church, or the whole work of God, on the basis of failings…

  • Ethnicity and The People of God’

    Introduction There is one element of our biblical understanding and Christian speech that must be revised at least within popular circles of Christianity, which includes, by the way, the majority of Christians around the world: the identity of the people of God regarding race and ethnicity. The issues of…

  • The Whole Church as a Transformed and Transforming Society

    When evangelicalism was defined at the international conference convened in London in 1846 to establish the Evangelical Alliance the definition explicitly excluded an ecclesiological statement. The reason for this was that the great evangelical revival of the eighteenth century had created a situation where members from most of the…

  • Biblical Perspectives on the Role of Immigrants in God’s Mission

    Introduction [1]We know that throughout history we have seen great movements of peoples and groups from one place to another. This includes the Latin American continent where the history of many peoples, ancient and modern, tells the stories of periodic migrations of peoples from north to south, from east…

  • The Whole Church – A Brief Biblical Survey

    I The Origin of the Church If we think of the church as the community of people who confess Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and Saviour, and who seek to live as his followers in the power of the Holy Spirit, then the historical origin of that community, defined…
  • Theology

    ‘The Whole Church’: Statement of the Lausanne Theology Working Group

    Editorial: ‘The Whole Church’ – Reflections of the Lausanne Theology Working Group THE LAUSANNE Theology Working Group hosted a consultation in Panama, 26-30 January, 2009. 25 people from around the world convened, and worked together around 4 plenary papers and 18 case studies, which provided us with a very…

  • Case Study: How Will We Know When the Holy Spirit Comes? The Question of Discernment

    When the Apostle Paul stood in front of the Areopagus, he began by connecting with the spirituality of the ancient Athenians, affirming their search for God and the spiritual awareness of their poets. Paul attempted to use the Athenians’ spiritual language to tell about the Creator God and about…

  • The Gospel in Historical Reception

    ‘you welcomed the message with joy…’ 1 Thessalonians 1:6 I. Introduction Central to the theological reflection of the Lausanne movement has always been the realization that the gospel is rooted in real history and the gospel has been received within particular historical cultural contexts through the ages. The gospel…

  • ‘Unexpected’ Guests at God’s Banquet Table – Gospel in Mission and Culture

    I. Introduction Split cod and ale. That is all they have eaten for years on end. But today the sisters’ table is sumptuously spread with exquisite fare that awakens all senses. With lavish love the servant Babette has spent even her last cent on this banquet. And no one…

  • The Gospel and Ethics

    I. Introduction Why do evangelicals draw such a sharp distinction between faith as cognition and faith as a way of life? Given our Lord’s teaching, example, and depictions of the final judgment, it is appropriate to begin with the reminder that the New Testament was written by disciples for…

  • Signs, Wonders, and Ministry: the Gospel in the Power of the Spirit

    I. Introduction This article examines the inseparable relationship between the Holy Spirit and the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The subject matter is considered from the viewpoint of contemporary Christianity in the global south, particularly, African-led Pentecostal/ charismatic Christianity. We will look at how these African churches,…

  • The Gospel and the Achievement of the Cross

    I. The Centrality of the Cross Central to Christianity is the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross and the resurrection of Christ formed the heart of the apostles’ preaching from the very beginning (1 Cor. 1:23; 2:2; 15:3-4)[1] and the belief that Christ died for the sins of the…

  • ‘The Whole Gospel’: Lausanne Reflects on its Own Vision

    Editorial: ‘The Whole Gospel’: Lausanne reflects on its own vision ‘THE WHOLE CHURCH taking the whole gospel to the whole world’. This is the phrase with which the Lausanne Covenant (1974) sums up the meaning of evangelization. It is a resounding triplet that has become an unofficial motto of…
  • Diasporas and Migration

    Case Study: Overseas Filipino Workers

    Globalization has engendered the phenomenal growth of transnational economic migration, with its opportunities and heartaches. The economic interdependence of countries has resulted not only in the exchange of goods but also in the exchange of services, in the form of the movement of migrant contract workers from poorer economies…

  • Following Jesus in a World of Suffering and Violence

    I. Introduction Suffering is a fact of life for many people in our world. With advances in our time of global communication and information technology, countless stories of horror, pain and suffering are brought daily into our living rooms. Whenever we switch on the television or radio or read…

  • Following Jesus in Contexts of Power and Violence

    I. Followers of Jesus and Christendom. Any traveller knows that in order to get to a given destination, one must know one’s present location. To be ‘lost’ makes arrival at any desired destination a matter of highly implausible chance. I begin the task at hand, then, by locating North…
  • Reconciliation

    Following Jesus as his Community in the Broken World of Ethnic Identity

    I. Defining Ethnicity This paper arises from a deep conviction that the relationship between the community of the church and the ethnic community has been neglected in evangelical ecclesiology and missiology to the detriment of the church’s life and mission. It is a pity that there is no noun…
  • Workplace Ministry

    Following Jesus in the Globalized Marketplace

    I. God and the Marketplace Is God interested in the marketplace? Many Christians seem to operate on the everyday assumption that he is not. Or at least, that God is not interested in the marketplace for its own sake, as distinct from interested in it as a con-text for…

  • Following Jesus as the Truth: Postmodernity and Challenges of Relativism

    To proclaim Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and Saviour is to make an absolute and universal truth claim. When the church declares that he is the way to the truth about God and eternal life, she is making a statement about reality that is true for everyone and everywhere,…
  • Workplace Ministry

    Following Jesus as Unique Lord and Saviour in a Broken Pluralistic World

    I. Locating Our Discussion Truth claims lie at the heart of every religion. The uniqueness of each religion is framed primarily in terms of its respective truth claims. In their attempts to construct a Christian the-ology of religions, leading theologians like John Hick, Paul F. Knitter and J. S.…
  • Workplace Ministry

    Following Jesus in Our Broken World

    ‘The whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world’. This is the resounding vision of the Lausanne movement. Emerging out of the epoch-making first Lausanne Congress of 1974, Lausanne has functioned as a forum for a wide range of individuals, agencies and networks all around the globe…
  • Jewish Evangelism

    Jewish Evangelism: A Call to the Church

    We are Not Ashamed of the Gospel Jewish evangelism means to share the gospel with Jewish people. Jesus did it and the apostles did it. The first communities of Jewish believers in Jerusalem and Galilee did it. The early church took shape through Paul’s evangelistic ministry to Jewish communities…
  • Business as Mission

    Business as Mission

    The context for the production of the Lausanne Occasional Papers The Lausanne Movement is an international movement committed to energising “the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.” With roots going back to the historical conferences in Edinburgh (1910) and Berlin (1966), the Lausanne Movement was born…
  • Science

    Bioethics: Obstacle or Opportunity for the Gospel?

    The context for the production of the Lausanne Occasional Papers The Lausanne Movement is an international movement committed to energising “the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.” With roots going back to the historical conferences in Edinburgh (1910) and Berlin (1966), the Lausanne Movement was…
  • Theological Education

    Effective Theological Education for World Evangelization

    The context for the production of the Lausanne Occasional Papers The Lausanne Movement is an international movement committed to energising “the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.” With roots going back to the historical conferences in Edinburgh (1910) and Berlin (1966), the Lausanne Movement was…
  • Ministry Fundraising

    Funding for Evangelism and Mission

    Introduction Lausanne 2004 … Forum for World Evangelization … addressed many of the key issues facing the church and its mission in this decade. Participants at the conference were invited to join one of over 30 “Issue Groups,” with each group assigned on a specific topic to present a…

  • Diasporas and International Students: The New People Next Door

    Introduction This publication is about the opportunities and challenges presented to Christians by the presence of people from different countries, who are now living near them.  It is written for vicars, pastors and other leaders of Christian congregations and ministries.  It describes the findings of about 50 people who…
  • Orality

    Making Disciples of Oral Learners

    EXECUTIVE SUMMARY From the time of the Gutenberg Bible, Christianity “has walked on literate feet” and has directly or indirectly required literacy of others.  However, 70% of all people in the world are oral communicators • those who can’t, don’t, or won’t learn through literate means.  Four billion in…
  • Men and Women

    Empowering Women and Men to Use Their Gifts Together in Advancing the Gospel

    I.  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS by Mimi Haddad, Convener More than at any other time in history, Christians around the globe today are rigorously examining what the Bible says regarding gender.  As a result, we observe a burgeoning of literature and great discussion at a global level.  The Lausanne 2004 Forum for…

  • The 12/25 Challenge Reaching the Youth Generation

    Preface As part of the Lausanne hosted Forum in Pattaya, Thailand, Sept 29-Oct 6th, 43 youth leaders from 23 countries in all continents gathered to share, pray, discuss and plan together ways of reaching the youth generation world wide with the good news of Jesus Christ.  It was our…

  • Reconciliation as the Mission of God

    INTRODUCTION by Chris Rice, Issue Group 22 Convenor This Lausanne Occasional Paper on “Reconciliation” is itself the product of a hopeful journey of Christian unity, shaped by a group with deep divides in our very midst.  The Paper is the outcome of intense work over 2003-2005 by 47 Christian…

  • The Impact on Global Mission of Religious Nationalism and 9/11 Realities

    Section A: Religious Nationalism 1. INTRODUCTION History is the story of nations.  History includes the stories of culture, language, politics and religion.  Down through history, religion has played a major role in shaping nations and society.  Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity Islam and other religions have had great impact on their…
  • Islam

    Understanding Muslims

    1.  INTRODUCTION: CHANGING CONTEXTS In 1978 the Glen Eyrie Report (Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 4) had probing questions to consider concerning missions to Muslims.  The health of missions to Muslims was not encouraging.  There was a sense that the Church had made many mistakes in taking the gospel to…
  • Media

    Media and Technology: The Rainbow, the Ark and the Cross

    Executive Summary The media was widely used in biblical history.  Noah used the Ark, Moses used the staff, Nehemiah used the city wall, Jesus used mud for healing the blind and God used the rainbow, the dove and the cross.  The media has been a symbolic means to signify…
  • Children and FamilyChildren at Risk

    Evangelization of Children

    FORWARD The main focus of this paper is the evangelization of children who have never heard the Good News of Jesus Christ.  But there is another significant group that is addressed: those children within our church communities who, while evangelised, remain un-impacted.    Definition: For the purposes of this…
  • Arts

    Redeeming the Arts: The Restoration of the Arts to God’s Creational Intention

    PROLOGUE For an established and respected mission organization to recognize the arts as strategic to the life and mission of the church, and to commission a paper about the arts in the context of faith and redemption, is both visionary and long overdue.  Apart from a small number of…
  • ContextualizationCulture and Society

    Religious and Non-Religious Spirituality in the Western World

    1. PREFACE In the Western world there is a growing sense of need to have some spiritual orientation in life.  However, those who pursue this quest for spirituality are uncomfortable with institutionalised religion.  They are also disturbed by explanations of life that are based on scientific reductionism, as well…
  • Research

    The Two Thirds World Church

    1. Introduction The following document describes a very important step in the process of better understanding the church in the majority world, in order to open opportunities to strengthen it through corporative effort among the various regions included. From the beginning of the process, the convenor tried to keep…
  • Church PlantingResearch

    The Realities of the Changing Expressions of the Church

    INTRODUCTION Over the past thirty years new varieties of church have emerged all over the world.This study is based on cases from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America.Each of these churches considers themselves to be authentic expressions of the Body ofJesus Christ. Beyond that they might appear…
  • PrayerSpiritual Warfare

    Prayer in Evangelism

    Introduction The vision of Issue Group 13 on ‘Prayer in Evangelism’ was to ‘Embrace God’s agenda for World Evangelization through Prayer in Evangelism.’ Its purpose was to ‘Reawaken, encourage and equip the church to be involved in world evangelization through Prayer in Evangelism.’ The group planned to: Define the…
  • Leadership

    Future Leadership

    1. The Vision: A Global Movement for Developing Christ-Like Leaders Imagine a worldwide church where every leader is mentoring younger leaders,where leadership is both Christ-like and contextual,where leaders partner together across boundaries,where millions of future leaders are emerging—bringing the whole gospel to the whole world. Where would it lead?What…
  • Workplace Ministry

    Marketplace Ministry

    1. Introduction (a) Mind the Gap between the Church and Marketplace Ministry Many may have had the experience of stepping onto a train in London, Sydney or elsewhere, to the ritualistic incantation of the words ‘Mind the Gap’ warning you not to fall between the platform and train.2 This…
  • Tentmaking

    The Local Church in Mission

    Part A. The Local church and the Great Commission 1. Introduction This paper is the outcome of the work of thirty leaders from many parts of the world, deliberating together from across the globe for six months via email, followed by seven days of discussions in Pattaya, Thailand, September…
  • Collaboration

    Partnership and Collaboration

    Statement of intent of the Issue Group participants When Jesus was preparing to leave this earth, a key element of His prayer in the 17th Chapter of John dealt with "unity." This is familiar to all of us. And our inability to fully realize Jesus' prayer is too. This…
  • Cities

    Towards the Transformation of Our Cities/Regions

    1. Introduction Christianity was first and foremost an urban movement. However, for much of the history of the Church that has not always been true (Conn and Ortiz: 39-43). In June 1980, a fresh missiological movement with the large cities of the world was born in Pattaya, Thailand during…
  • Men and Women

    Non Traditional Families: Reaching families with the Good News

    This document is available as a PDF download. From the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization Pattaya, Thailand, 29 September - 5 October 2004 Download [402.27 kB]
  • Disability Concerns

    Ministry among People with Disabilities

    1. Introduction In South America, a woman with cerebral palsy has been lying in bed for 7 years in a back bedroom of a cinder-block home. In Africa, a young girl with Down syndrome is left on a river bank to perish because her parents believe she is a…
  • Least Reached Peoples

    Hidden and Forgotten People Including Those Who are Disabled

    1. Introduction: Why the “One-Fourth” World has little access to the Gospel In 1963, some said that the Age of Missions was over and that missionaries were only to go where local Christians invited them. Yet, 1970 figures showed that 44% of the world lived in unreached people groups.…
  • Children at RiskDisability ConcernsFreedom and JusticeIntegral MissionMental Health and Trauma

    “At Risk” People

    1. Introduction Jesus’ approach to people is counter-intuitive, even shocking. Instead of the King of all consorting with rulers and dignitaries, He preferred to spend his time with those that nobody else wanted to be with – let alone touch. As we, the ‘At Risk’ People Issue Group of…
  • Integral Mission

    Holistic Mission

    Introduction By Dewi Hughes This Lausanne Occasional Paper begins with a general introduction to holistic mission by René Padilla, which was written as a common foundation for the work of the Holistic Mission Issue Group at the Lausanne Forum held at Pattaya, Thailand in the autumn of 2004. Dr.…
  • Persecution and Religious Liberty

    The Persecuted Church

    Executive Summary Beginning with the Lausanne Covenant of 1974, the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (LCWE) has consistently expressed a concern to pray and work for the freedom of those who are suffering for their faithfulness to Christ as well as to seek religious freedom for all people. Despite…
  • Culture and SocietyTruth and Pluralism

    The Uniqueness of Christ in a Postmodern World and the Challenge of World Religions

    1. Introduction1 “So are you saying there’s such a thing as absolute truth?” the student confronts the pastor after his talk. “I don’t believe there is absolute truth. I think you can believe whatever you want to believe. All religions are the same, so whatever is good for you is…

  • Globalization and the Gospel: Rethinking Mission in the Contemporary World

    1. Introduction Rethinking Gospel, Mission, Church and World The primary purpose of this paper1 is to identify the principal opportunities and challenges globalization presents the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the very composition of this paper, one certain but double-edged implication became clear: globalization presents Christians with a rare…
  • Spiritual Warfare

    Spiritual Conflict In Today’s Mission

    Preface This Lausanne Occasional Paper contains one person's perspective on the proceedings of the "Deliver Us From Evil" Consultation held in Nairobi, Kenya, in August 2000. Space limitations preclude this LOP from presenting all that took place at the consultation. The main intention here is to focus on the…
  • ContextualizationCulture and Society

    Modern, Postmodern and Christian

    PREFACE Three basic contexts of Christian mission have been identified in today's world. These are secularised peoples, resistant peoples and responsive peoples. (‘Living Word for a Dying World’ Consultation, Forum of Bible Agencies, De Bron, Netherlands, April 1994.) It is widely acknowledged that the first context - located in…
  • Media

    Radio in Mission

    I. INTRODUCTION Since the beginnings of the Church the great Commission has remained unchanged. Yet the environment in which the Church functions today is considerably more complex than in the days of the apostles. Not least is the enormous challenge we face of a burgeoning world population. Happily God…
  • Collaboration

    Cooperating in World Evangelization: A Handbook on Church/Para-Church Relationships

    Foreword Recent years have witnessed a rapid increase in the number of Christian organisations around the world. These specialised ministry groups have, for the most part, grown out of a genuine desire to help fulfil the task of world evangelization. But they have not always been seen in that…
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