The event was organised by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation (LCWE) in partnership with the Great Commission Roundtable. It was only the fourth time in the last thirty years that Lausanne has gathered together in this way.
During the global gathering, a theme was promoted of “A New Vision, A New Heart and a Renewed Call”, and the leaders split into groups to discuss separately thirty-one issues that are considered to be causing the most obstruction to evangelism during a comprehensive worldwide research effort.
To tackle the thirty-one issues, the same number of Issue Groups were assigned – and these were also placed under three categories of “The Whole World”, “The Whole Church”, and “The Whole Gospel”.
The “Whole World” groups discussed methods of addressing world globalisation as it reaches marginalised people groups, “The Whole Church” groups sought ways in which to empower the Body of Christ to participate in reaching out to everyone with the Good News, and “The Whole Gospel” groups tried to find ways in which to meet the needs of people and to share the Christ through all appropriate and available means.
On the closing of the Forum, Rev. Doug Birdsall, the Executive Chair of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation encouraged the participants to continue to push forward towards the vision of “The whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world.”
Dr. Paul Cedar, the outgoing Lausanne Executive Chair, challenged the participants to take up the banner of world evangelisation by encouraging, motivating and mobilising others for the task, as well as reflecting personally on the activities that took place during the Forum.
The final service for the Forum also saw the “passing of the baton” of Lausanne leadership form Dr. Cedar to Rev Birdsall, as well as the International Director position moving from Dr David Claydon to Dr Tetsunao Yamamori.
Cedar said, “These past six years have been times of prayer, transition, blessing and growth in the Lausanne Movement, leading up to the 2004 Forum.”
Cedar also confirmed that he believed that the most significant contributor of Lausanne was the Lausanne Covenant - a declaration agreed upon by more than 2,300 evangelicals during the 1974 International congress. The covenant urged churches and Christian organisations to work together to make Christ known to the whole world, and for people’s thoughts towards evangelisation to become more global.
Several new Regional Deputy Directors were also appointed at the closing of the gathering:
- East Asia: Dr. Paul Choi (Korea), Seoul Theological Seminary.
- South Asia: Rev. Adrian de Visser (Sri Lanka), Kethusevana National Church Planting.
- Eastern Europe: Dr. Fiodor MoKan (Russia), St. Petersburg Theological Seminary.
- Latin America: Dr. Norberto Saracco (Argentina), Pastor and Seminary President.
Francopone Africa: Mr. Kadebe Daniel Bourdanne (Ivory Coast), International Fellowship of International Students.
- English-speaking Africa: Dr. John Azumah (Ghana), Presbyterian Minister.
Final reports and reflections from the Forum will be available soon on the Lausanne Website