Priorities - Essential Elements of Global Evangelization | The Lausanne Global Conversation

http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/11455

This was a really great message by Paul Eshleman at the Lausanne Third Congress on World Evangelization that has just finished in Cape Town, South Africa. It calls us to stay focused on what Ralph Winter called the congress to do at the first Lausanne Congress, to reach the yet unreached people groups left in the world. An unreached people group is a group of people with a specific language and culture who generally don't have any Christian witness among them. Some define an unreached people group as less than 2% evangelical Christian. People groups are what are spoken of in the Great Commission when it says we are to "make disciples of all nations". Eshleman says it is simply wrong that today there are still thousands of people groups unreached with the gospel. We need to go where the church is not. One thing I don't agree with Eshleman is the idea of 'from everywhere to everywhere'. God calls who He wills to do missions wherever He wants, but generally speaking, Christians from everywhere going everywhere is not a good strategy. Basically, it can result in a waste of money and it often skips over the ministry efforts of the locals, not to mention it distracts from reaching the unreached. I'm confused why he can say we need to go where the church is not and then allow from everywhere to everywhere to be a valid missions strategy.