This October, 4,000 Christian leaders from 200 countries will gather for 10 days in Cape Town, South Africa, to address 6 issues of paramount importance to the global church in the 21^st century.

The goal of Cape Town 2010 is to launch a movement among a new generation of Christian leaders to lead the global church in the next century.

Cape Town 2010 will be the third – and largest – global congress held since Billy Graham and John Stott first convened 2700 Christian leaders from 150 countries in 1974. Time Magazine said then that the first Lausanne Congress “may be the widest ranging meeting of Christians ever held!”

It has been 21 years since the second Lausanne Congress was held in Manilla in 1989. Missing from that congress were 100 delegates from China prohibited by the communist government from attending.

This time China will send 150 delegates – the second largest group attending from any single country – and over 1,000 delegates will represent all the countries of Africa, making Cape Town 2010 one of the most significant global gatherings of the Church in the past 2,000 years.

Learn more at www.capetown2010.com/, or participate in the Lausanne Global Conversation at conversation.lausanne.org/en or view the ten-day congress schedule here.

Six Core Issues

The Lausanne global leadership team has identified six core issues they believe are the global issues of the day.

Truth – how do we make the case for the Truth of Christ in a postmodern, pluralistic society.

Reconciliation – how do we build the Peace of Christ in our broken and divided world?

World Faiths – how do we share the Love of Christ with people of other faiths?

Priorities – what should be the church’s priorities for proclaiming Christ in the 21^st century?

Integrity – what are the obstacles to the message of Christ within the church?

Partnership – how does the Body of Christ partner together towards a new global equilibrium?

Desired Outcomes

Cape Town 2010 will shape the agenda and the ethos of the global church for the next generation in three profound ways.  First, the church will be united and strengthened through the shared experience of this congress, which will serve both as a “church council” and as a “global catalyst” for world evangelization.

Second, the church will move from a sense of increasing ambivalence about the truthfulness of the Gospel to a position of bedrock confidence in the Gospel.

Third, participants pray for a clear sense of priority in addressing challenges and opportunities that require new partnerships and renewed commitments to advance the work of world evangelization.

Indeed, if Lausanne III creates unity, clarity, and priority for world evangelization – along with a new generation of global leaders who are united in shared vision and values in the “spirit of Lausanne”- then the Congress in Cape Town in 2010 will equip the church take a great forward step in the work God has entrusted to our care.

Delegates

The composition of the Congress participants will reflect the demographic, theological and cultural realities of the global church.  Nearly 70% of the participants will come from the majority world.  One-third of the participants will be women.  As a forward looking congress, 50% of the participants will be younger leaders – men and women in their late 20s, 30s and 40s.  Fully 400 of the participants will come from the realms of business, government, education, medicine and the media.

Lausanne III will naturally be global in its scope and intentionally younger in its ethos.  At the same time, we trust that the Congress will reflect the spiritual dynamism and cultural flavor of the host continent of Africa.

Why is Cape Town 2010 important to American evangelicals?

We are part of the global Church, and the issues facing around world are very much the same issues facing the church in America. From learning how to grasp onto the truth of Christ, to dealing with pluralism and courageously engaging world faiths, and renewing our commitment to partnership, the six core issues being addressed at Cape Town 2010 each have a particular importance to evangelicals in America.

The truth of Christ; the erosion of the truth claims of Christ is primarily happening within Western Christianity, not in the rest of the world.

Reconciliation; America is a growing cultural mosaic, and the American church needs a clear vision of the power of Christ to reconcile us to each other, and hope in the peace of Christ to heal our broken and divided society.

World Faiths; religious pluralism is a relatively new phenomena in America that we are still learning to respond to, and radical Islam in particular is a significant threat to our own safety and security.

Priorities; the US church still possesses a majority of resources available to support the growth of the Church, so how we steward our wealth, lead our seminaries, and wield our creativity and religious freedom will greatly affect the future of the church. We must discern carefully the will of Christ as we prioritize our resources.

Integrity; the US church has been easily captivated by culture and consumerism, and sometimes our lack of integrity within the Western church has been the biggest obstacle to the message of Christ, or has caused the most damage within the church. For example the prosperity gospel was conceived in the US, but when transplanted to Latin America and to Africa its errors have spread like a malignant weed.

Partnership; Our self-sufficiency and entrepreneurial spirit have inhibited the church’s ability to partner well in our own cities and communities, and the Church is weaker because of it. Not only must we learn how to partner globally, but the church in America must learn these skills and adopt this value for the sake of our country.

Cape Town 2010 and Minnesota

While there are 15 delegates from Minnesota participating in the congress, this movement has engaged many, many people in study and discussion of these issues even before the congress meets. Minneapolis-St. Paul was one of 12 US cities to host a forum as part of the Global Conversation in April, and will be one of six US cities to host a follow up Global Conversation in 2011.

This will truly be a global congress. Using technology, individuals and groups in Minnesota will be able to participate in Cape Town 2010 through GlobaLink, an internet platform that will offer video downloads of every session, advance copies of speakers notes, and additional links, multimedia presentations and resources related to these topics. GlobaLink is interactive and anyone can participate in online discussion forums on topics ranging from human trafficking to unreached peoples to missions in urban cities.

The GlobaLink site will remain after the congress and will become an immense library of multimedia, written and discussion resources available to colleges, seminaries and local churches to use.

In preparation for Cape Town 2010 the delegates from Minnesota are meeting in September to begin praying and exploring how to use what is begun in Cape Town to help serve the church in Minnesota. Following Cape Town, many of the delegates will give a report to local church leaders at a forum on December 8.

The goal of Cape Town 2010 is to launch a movement among a new generation of Christian leaders to lead the global church in the next century.

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