The Lausanne Movement unites evangelical Europeans

A thousand church and mission leaders from some forty countries will meet next week to think and pray together and seek a way forward for mission in Europe.  Named The Gathering, a conference was planned by Lausanne Europe for November in Wisla, Poland.  The Corona pandemic prevented a physical event, so an online Gathering will take place instead from 17-20th November.  Lars Dahle, the chair of the organizing committee says that an online Gathering will enable more people to attend than the 800 delegates originally invited.

In preparation for the November gathering, Impact Groups have met monthly for a year and a half across Europe.  They have read articles and papers especially prepared for them and debated and prayed over issues related to mission and evangelism in an increasingly secular Europe.

Now the Impact Group members will meet with others and consider the issues together.  Migration and its impact on Europe is one of the key topics to be discussed in a wide seminar programme. Christian leaders from the majority world living in Europe, will share insights and experiences from ministry in a rapidly changing environment.  An evangelical response to climate change and gender issues are among other topics to be discussed in some 70 seminars.

From their homes and churches the participants will attend plenary sessions listening to Bible teaching from Philippians and participate in seminars. Some national groups, such as the German and the Norwegian delegations will meet physically in their countries and participate in parts of the online program together. Many national groups will meet towards the end of the conference to process and discuss the way forward. The conference language is English, but simultaneous translation into German, French and Spanish is available.

Ample time is also set aside for networking, where people can meet in smaller groups online and even have lunch with a favorite speaker. This is all made possible by a team of IT experts. They and the conference organizers will work out of Southampton Lighthouse International Church in the UK.

In 2024 the Lausanne Movement will mark its 50^th anniversary.  Billy Graham initiated the original conference in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1974. This conference resulted in the Lausanne Covenant, deemed one of the most important church documents in the 20^th century.  The Online Gathering in Europe is one of a series of regional conferences around the world leading up to the forward-looking global celebration of the Lausanne Movement in 2024.

Learn more about the Lausanne Movement Europe, and the LE20/21 Gathering of 17-20th November 2021.