It’s impossible to convey the full extent of how wonderful it has been to attend the Lausanne Fourth Congress in Seoul over the past week. I'll have much more to share, but just wanted to provide a brief update about my time away.
- 5000 participants
- 1000+ volunteers from the Korean church
- 200+ nations present
- 7 days packed to the brim with joy, friendship, prayer, praise, learning, being challenged, collaborating, dreaming, repenting, and committing—as a body—to better declare and display Christ together.
The congress:
- 🙏🏼 FOCUSED DAILY on a different area to help close the gap on the great commission (i.e., the global church together in God’s mission; the work of the Holy Spirit; missional community; persecution and global mission; Christian witness in the workplace; leadership as servanthood; global mission).
- ⚡️ CREATED SPACE to collaborate on key gap areas (I participated in the area of ‘Discipleship in a Digital Age’).
- 💡 WELCOMED PARTICIPANTS to attend issue network presentations covering an enormously diverse set of areas (too many to name).
- 🤲🏼 INVITED 5000 Christian leaders to commit to declaring and displaying Christ together.
My table group was a particular joy, consisting of people from Saudi Arabia, USA, Gambia, Korea, Rwanda, and Australia. Our fields spanned: the local church, NGOs (World Vision), government, the marketplace (medical), mission agencies, and the academy. Another joy, one evening session, was a presentation of the Korean church in dramatic form relaying their story.
The congress was so much more than a few pithy quotes or stories—and it seems somewhat superficial to highlight any—but here are a few of my favourites:
- FARSHID FATHI recalled that he was imprisoned for five years not long after he attended the last Lausanne congress upon returning to Iran. He said, that “suffering and persecution are not the END of the story, they are PART of the story”. He said, I didn’t see the sun for over a year when they put me in solitary confinement, but the Lord was my light and my salvation”. He also quipped—with humility and a smile—that hopefully the same thing doesn’t happen again after this congress!
- S D GORDON: “You can do more than pray after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” [quoted]
- JOCABED SOLANO MISELIS: “I watered the tree not because I would eat of the fruit but because the future generations would need it.” [quoted]
- JULIA GARSCHAGEN: “Witnessing in the workplace is woven into the DNA of mission in the early church.”
- PASTOR SON YANG-WON’s story was shared one night. During the Yeo-Sun incident of 1948, his two sons were killed by communist soldiers. Practicing the forgiveness of Christ, Rev’d Son adopted the man who killed his sons as his own son.
- PHILIP RYKEN: “Before we declare and display [Christ] there must be our desire to serve Jesus.”
I’m returning with a reenergised commitment to prayer, mission as one body, the call of discipleship, and that the church is better together. It was also wonderful to behold some of the beauty of South Korea’s places and people. Can’t wait to see my family and be back with my brothers and sisters at St Bart’s. I’m so thankful to so many people who supported and prayed for me (and the congress).
If you would like to know more, you can watch some daily catch-ups online and all of the material will also become available in the coming weeks. https://www.youtube.com/@lausannemovement/videos
Adam Lowe
