Building Bridges Across Generations

The panel emphasizes the vital role of intergenerational discipleship in advancing God’s mission. Speakers share their experiences of fostering collaboration between older and younger leaders. They highlight the power of mutual vulnerability, modeled by Jesus, in building authentic and deep relationships. Panelists offer personal stories that illustrate how different generations bring unique perspectives, combining wisdom and energy to strengthen disciple-making efforts. They stress the importance of intentional mentoring relationships, where younger leaders learn from seasoned mentors, while older leaders benefit from the passion and creativity of the next generation. The session challenges participants to seek both mentors (like Paul) and mentees (like Timothy), fostering connections that reflect mutuality and respect in Christ’s mission.

Talk Outline

00:00 Introduction: The Challenge of Youth Leaving the Church
00:48 The Power of Friendship in Faith
02:12 Revival Through Generational Collaboration
02:58 Building a Cohort for Spiritual Growth
08:17 The Role of Vulnerability in Discipleship
14:59 Indigenous Perspectives on Mutuality
25:12 The Importance of Intergenerational Collaboration
28:44 Practical Steps for Overcoming Generational Barriers

This recording is from the Fourth Lausanne Congress, held in Incheon, South Korea in September 2024. This gathering brought together global church leaders to collaborate on mission strategies for advancing the gospel. Through plenary sessions, table group discussions, and collaborative workshops, the Congress focused on addressing critical gaps in global mission today.

Latin America: From Mission Field to Mission Force

Allan Matamoros

10:09

Africa’s Acceleration of Global Bible Translation

Michel Kenmogne

28:23

Persecution and Resilience

Gideon Para-Mallam & Riyadh

13:53

Empowering Every Believer for Global Mission

Efraim Tendero

Speakers' Bios

Nana Yaw Offei Awuku

Global Associate Director for Generations

Nana Yaw Offei Awuku serves as the global associate director for generations. In this role he leads the Lausanne Younger Leaders Generation initiative (YLGen). He was previously the Lausanne regional director for English, Portuguese, and Spanish-speaking Africa (EPSA) for over five years until September 2016.

Nana was on staff with Scripture Union Ghana for over 20 years till 2017 and served on the senior management team as the director for field ministries. His primary ministry foci are evangelism, discipleship, and leadership development.

Nana is trained professionally as a chemical engineer and organization development consultant. He graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Massachusetts, US) with an MA in evangelism and world mission, and is currently a PhD candidate with Biola University. Nana is married to Beth, and they have three children: Christy-Joy, Eben-Joy, and Laura-Joy.

Sam Couper

Sam Couper has dedicated his career and his life to reaching the unreached in Europe, through his role as field coordinator for Revive Europe.

Jocabed R. Solano Miselis

Catalyst for Freedom and Justice

Jocabed is the director of Indigenous Memory and a missionary at Unidos en Misión. Currently she is pursuing a PhD in theological studies at NAIITS. She is from the Gunadule indigenous nation and is Panamanian.

Ravil Mashanlo

As development director of Central Asia at Luke Services International, Ravil Mashanlo is passionate about an all-embracing global church that welcomes all backgrounds and cultures for the sake of the gospel.

Ole-Magnus Olafsrud

Chair, YLGen Mentoring Team

Ole-Magnus Olafsrud is from Norway and serves with the Lausanne Movement and Barnabas Focus, after years with The Navigators. He and his team work to mobilize mentors for generational disciple-making through equipped whole-life mentoring of younger leaders for global mission. He and his wife have 13 grandchildren.