November 1, 2010
More than 100 Christian and Missionary Alliance church and mission leaders from around the world participated in the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization held in Cape Town, South Africa, October 16-24. The 100 Alliance participants joined with 4,100 other delegates from around the world to discuss the issues and challenges facing the global Church in the next decade.
Rev. Arie Verduign, president of the Alliance World Fellowship, convened a special meeting of Alliance delegates during the Congress at which some 60 participants attended, including nationals from Canada, Congo, Gabon, India, Israel, Jordan, Netherlands, Philippines, Senegal, Serbia, United States, and Vietnam.
The Alliance World Fellowship (AWF) represents some 45 Alliance-related national church bodies from around the globe. The mission of AWF is to facilitate cooperation among its member churches as they work toward the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
As the Congress drew to a close, Dr. Robert Fetherlin, vice president of International Ministries for the U.S. C&MA, communicated the following message to Alliance international workers: “I am returning with some new friendships and connections, fresh ideas and new tools, and a deepened vision and greater love for Christ, His Church, and lost people. I was challenged, stretched in my thinking and understanding, and built up in Him.”
Also participating in the Congress was Dr. Martin Sanders, professor of pastoral theology at Alliance Theological Seminary (ATS) in Nyack, NY. Dr. Sanders was accompanied by a dozen student leaders from ATS who became exposed to the issues and challenges they will be facing as the church’s next leaders. In addition to his role as professor at ATS, Dr. Sanders directs a ministry called Global Leadership, which is committed to developing and empowering the next generation of effective Christian leaders for ministry around the world.
Dr. Sadiri Joy Tira, a Filipino-Canadian missiologist, serves as Lausanne’s Senior Associate for Diasporas. He also serves as Global Ministries Diaspora Specialist for the C&MA in Canada. Dr. Tira made a special presentation to the entire Congress. He believes that the Church needs a strategy for reaching the people of the diaspora, and it starts with the ministry of hospitality.
Dr. Fred Smith, professor of World Missions at Toccoa Falls College in Georgia, was fascinated with the broad representation of the global Church at the Congress. “Without doubt, the most impressive aspect of the weeklong meetings was the gathering of evangelicals of every stripe fellowshipping together without visible disunity. The one phrase of the conference that caught my attention was ‘we [the evangelical Church] need to develop a culture of grace.’ That spirit was exemplified with the unity I saw among the participants.”
Other Alliance representatives at the Congress were Rev. Jim Foster, vice president of Global Ministries for the Canadian C&MA; Dr. T.V. Thomas, director of the Centre for Evangelism & World Mission in Regina, Saskatchewan; and Dr. Ron Brown, missions coach for the Western District Office in Calgary, Alberta, and former Canadian Regional Developer for Africa (1998-2006).
—Doug Wicks, Donor Communications Manager for the U.S. C&MA
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