The first major Lausanne conference in Europe since a landmark event in 1974 has taken place.
More than 1,000 evangelical influencers listened to plenary speakers and discussed issues like ‘Christian identity in the era of identity politics’, ‘Reaching university students’, and ‘The gospel and the city’.
The Lausanne Europe Online Gathering was the first major Lausanne conference in Europe since the original congress called by Billy Graham in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1974. It became a watershed event in the history of Christian mission. The Lausanne Covenant, which is recognised as one of the most important church documents of the 20th century, resulted directly from that first congress.
The covenant is a pan-denominational confession, in which the 2,300 signatories profess their shame at having failed to spread the gospel of Jesus. It specifically affirms the beliefs in the Nicene Creed. The signatories of the 15-point document – who included the chair of the drafting committee, John Stott – expressed their intention to be more committed to spreading Christianity throughout the world
Since then, the Lausanne Movement has functioned as a relational network and a theological platform. A key initiative of the online gathering was to set its future course: from now on the gathering will function as a digital platform for ideas and initiatives on strategic mission.
Kate Coleman, who was chair of the Evangelical Alliance Council and is a former president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, challenged the delegates to leave their ‘upper room’ and engage with people where they are. Most Europeans are not members of a church.
In a sweeping speech, Lindsay Brown (former International Director of Lausanne), who has written extensively on European church history, reminded the delegates of how Christianity transformed pagan Europe into a Christian civilisation, which shaped much of the world for a millennium, and how destructive secular philosophies and worldviews have replaced European culture with empty consumerism, shallow self-centredness, and a devaluation of human life.
The challenge was highlighted as being to let the dynamic gospel restore Christian Europe, one soul at a time. In the concluding session, Luke Greenwood, who leads an innovative youth ministry across Europe, said: ‘Young people are ready to go.’
The Revd Dr Israel Olofinjana (see photo) is director of the Evangelical Alliance’s One People Commission, which exists to celebrate diversity while promoting unity. He said: ‘The recently organised Lausanne consultation on the theme of Dynamic Gospel – New Europe was a significant milestone in terms of evangelical Christians in Europe.
‘I salute Lausanne for having the courage to engage the diaspora people of Europe in this consultation, both in its implementation and execution. The consultation was also significant in terms of thinking about what God’s mission could look like in today’s Europe that is increasingly secular, multi-faith and, in the pandemic context, with conversations on national identities.’
