IF THEY KNEW THEY WOULD BE THERE

Today I drove by a church in Cerritos, CA that was holding a Globalink extension site for the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.  I only saw 5 cars in the parking lot.  I think if most Christians had a good understanding of what was going on with the global Church, they would understand how crucial events such as these are.  There should have been about 10,000 people there, conservatively speaking.  All too often there is a small turnout to the most important Christian events, while some of the least important Christian events see the biggest turnout.  If only they knew...

One Promising Form of Business as Missions

I attended a Globalink event yesterday at Biola University in Los Angeles.  It was an extension of the Lausanne Congress that was going on in Cape Town, South Africa.  One breakout session I attended was "Business as Mission: Good Business, Great Ministry" with Dr. Tom Steffen & Rob Tribken.  Usually, I am not a fan of business as mission, not because I don't think it will work, I'm just skeptical of it being effective enough that it can be worth all the time and effort.  All those details will be explained on our website later.  The one promising form of BAM I would be willing to support hands down right now would be business training or consulting.  Savvy businessmen and women can go to developing countries and share their knowledge of business with fellow believers in the churches.  This will empower the native believers to prosper in the business world, so that they can in turn have additional money to support their local ministry and mission efforts.  The Bamers don't have to get tied up in one place for years establishing one business.  They can travel around teaching and equipping thousands through seminars, etc.  Plus, it also helps the indigenous church become more self-supporting.

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.

Lausanne Global Conversation

The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization began yesterday.  It is a gathering of 4,200 missions and ministry leaders from around the world.  It is being held in Capetown, South Africa to discuss the current state of the world through the lens of God's heart for the world.  It began with Billy Graham's passion to "unite all evangelicals in the common task of the total evangelization of the world," but now also encompasses other activities of the Body of Christ.

The great thing about this congressional meeting is that with improvements in technology, it is more global and interactive than ever!  There are over 600 globalinks across the globe.  But even if you miss out on a globalink, there is an amazing forum online that you can participate in.  It's a great opportunity to connect with other mission leaders and mission minded people from around the world.


http://conversation.lausanne.org/en