Lausanne Occasional Papers

Launched in 1975, the Lausanne Occasional Papers series serves as a repository of insightful reflections, scholarly analyses, and practical insights emerging from the global dialogues and consultations convened by the Lausanne Movement. These papers delve into diverse theological, missiological, and practical topics, providing a platform for thought leaders, practitioners, and theologians to contribute to the ongoing conversation on world evangelization.

  • Jewish Evangelism
    1. Why Go To Jews? Whereas the theme of COWE Thailand, 1980, is "How shall they hear?", we call attention to the fact that although application of this text is made to all people (Romans 10:12f.), the context of the passage is Paul's discussion of Israel. By Israel, we…
  • Diasporas and MigrationEast Asia
    Introduction The Chinese constitute the largest single segment of the human race. Their unbroken history of more than five thousand years marks a culture that is durable and resilient. They have survived the ravages of countless internal struggles and foreign invasions and remain today a distinct people. And yet,…
  • Diasporas and MigrationFreedom and JusticeIntegral Mission
    1. Introduction The plight of the refugees around the world has provoked our Consultation to reflect upon our responsibility, as Christians, to them. The following paper represents the fruit of that study and is intended to serve the church of Jesus Christ in the following ways: to inform the…
  • Islam
    Introduction: The Background During mid-October 1978, a week-long consultation was convened at Glen Eyrie, Colorado, to explore the responsibilities of North American Christians toward the Muslim World. This was part of a continuum that began with the International Congress on World Evangelization at Lausanne 1974. At that time many…
  • Preface A theologian who teaches in Asia has written about the Lausanne Covenant, "History may show this Covenant to be the most significant ecumenical confession on evangelism that the church has ever produced." It is a bold statement. As he says, only history will tell. In the meantime, while…
  • ContextualizationCulture and Society
    Introduction The process of communicating the gospel cannot be isolated from the human culture from which it comes, or from that in which it is to be proclaimed. This fact constituted one of the preoccupations of the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in July 1974. So the Lausanne Committee's…
  • Culture and Society
    1. Introduction: The Setting A discussion of the "homogeneous unit principle" of Church Growth theory was held under the auspices of the Lausanne Theology and Education Group from May 31 to June 2, 1977, in Pasadena, California. Five faculty members of the Fuller Theological Seminary School of World Mission…
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