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.

  • Nominalism

    Christian Witness to Nominal Christians Among Protestants

    There could be hundreds of millions of nominal1 Christians among Protestants around the world. It is impossible to get a precise figure; and in this matter, we are aware of the danger of appearing proud or judgemental. As we considered our task, two things became clear. First, we are…
  • CitiesFreedom and JusticeIntegral Mission

    Christian Witness to the Urban Poor

    1. Description of the People A. Overview Worldwide In 20 years from now, the world's population will have increased by 2 billion people. In 20 years, 80% of the world's population will live in the Third World countries. In 20 years, 12 of the 15 largest cities will be…
  • Freedom and JusticeIntegral MissionProclamation Evangelism

    Evangelism and Social Responsibility: An Evangelical Commitment

    Foreword Evangelicals and evangelism have always been bracketed. So much so that the adjectives 'evangelical' and 'evangelistic' have often been identified in the popular mind. It is not at all surprising, therefore, that whenever evangelicals have become concerned about social issues, some eyebrows have been raised, and questions have…

  • An Evangelical Commitment to Simple Lifestyle

    Exposition and Commentary by Alan Nichols The Reverend Alan Nichols, Th. Schol., is Executive Director of the Mission of St. James and St. John, an Anglican family welfare agency in Melbourne, Australia, and secretary of the Social Responsibilities Commission of the Anglican Church of Australia. He is the author…
  • Nominalism

    Christian Witness to Nominal Christians among the Orthodox

    1. Introduction The history of the Orthodox churches goes back to the early centuries. Throughout many centuries of persecution, these churches bravely proclaimed the gospel and were very much alive. This history reflects the reality of the often-quoted axiom, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the…
  • ContextualizationCulture and SocietyEnglish, Portuguese and Spanish AfricaFrancophone Africa

    Christian Witness to People of African Traditional Religions

    Introduction This paper is divided into two major sections. The first deals with a general understanding of African Traditional Religion (ATR) and our attitude toward it. The second deals with a selected comparison between ATR and Christianity and suggests some strategies for the proclamation of the gospel in a…
  • CaribbeanContextualizationCulture and SocietyLatin America

    Christian Witness to Traditional Religionists of Latin America & Caribbean

    1. Introduction Much religious expression throughout Latin America could be defined as "traditional religion," including Catholicism and even Protestantism as popularly practiced by the masses. In this study, however, we are limiting the term to two situations: a) indigenous societies which retain elements of pre-Columbian religion, though these may…
  • ContextualizationCulture and SocietyEast AsiaOceaniaSouth AsiaSoutheast Asia

    Christian Witness to Traditional Religionists of Asia and Oceania

    Introduction In a time of rapid urbanization, the revitalization of Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism, and the spread of secular materialism, it is easy to overlook the fact that there remain many millions of people on the fringes of the great religions in Asia and Oceania. These include tribes scattered…
  • Buddhism

    Christian Witness to Buddhists

    Introduction This report deals with the two basic schools of Buddhist thought: Theravada (Hinayana, the Southern Schools) and Mahayana (the Northern Schools). Representatives taking part in the study group came from Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Japan, and Korea, as well as from countries such as Brazil and the United…
  • Hinduism

    Christian Witness to Hindus

    Introduction We give thanks to God Almighty for his gracious act of salvation in Jesus Christ, which has made possible the entrance into the Kingdom of God for over 565 million Hindu people dispersed throughout the world, with the majority in the Indian sub-continent. We rejoice in the fact…
  • Islam

    Christian Witness to Muslims

    Introduction The seventy participants in our Consultation have come from twenty-six different countries—many of them countries in the Muslim world. We have realised how much we owe to the stimulus of previous conferences, such as those in Lausanne in 1974 and in Colorado Springs in 1978; and we have…

  • Christian Witness to Marxists

    Introduction Marxism today is not monolithic. First, there is the post-revolutionary Marxism of the Eastern European bloc of nations, including the Soviet Union. Secondly, there is the potentially revolutionary situation of the Third World of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. And, thirdly, there is the theoretical and parliamentary Marxism…
  • ResearchSpiritual Warfare

    Christian Witness to New Religious Movements

    Introduction New religious movements are springing up in the wake of worldwide religious ferment. In some cases, dying embers of old religions have suddenly burst into new flames. In other situations, religious "seed" transported, accidentally or intentionally, from one continent has taken root in another. Elsewhere traits from several…
  • Nominalism

    Christian Witness to Nominal Christians among Roman Catholics

    Introduction Among approximately one billion people in the world who are classified as "Christians" it is recognized that many still need to be evangelized. They are "nominal Christians" who have not committed themselves to Jesus Christ and do not acknowledge his claims on their lives. These nominal Christians are…
  • Cities

    Christian Witness to Large Cities

    Introduction Realistic strategies for world evangelization must inevitably confront the awesome urbanization of the world. The Consultation on World Evangelization, therefore, recognized that challenge in designating "Christian Witness to Large Cities" as one of its 17 mini-consultations. Our initial goal was to study 135 "world-class cities" (cities over one…
  • Culture and SocietyNominalism

    Christian Witness to Secularized People

    Introduction This document focuses primarily on strategy for reaching the secularized with the gospel. Initially, we shall attempt a broad definition of the concepts of "secularization" and "secular" in order to identify the target groups. Moreover, we have, in the work of the groups, found that not only the…
  • Jewish Evangelism

    Christian Witness to the Jewish People

    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

    Christian Witness to the Chinese People

    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

    Christian Witness to Refugees

    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

    The Glen Eyrie Report: Muslim Evangelization

    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…

  • An Exposition and Commentary by John Stott

    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

    The Willowbank Report: Consultation on Gospel and Culture

    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

    The Pasadena Consultation: Homogeneous Unit Principle

    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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