1974－Redefining the Great Commission: The Lausanne Congress

1974-Redefining the Great Commission: The Lausanne Congress

Brian STANLEY

The Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization held in 1974 marks a turning point in evangelical approaches to world mission. Although convened by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association with the intention of countering the emphasis of the World Council of Churches on political liberation, the Congress turned out to be a platform for a new and more socially radical version of evangelicalism rooted in the experience of Christians in the southern hemisphere. This article examines the impact made on the Congress by three Latin American evangelicals – René Padilla, Samuel Escobar, and Orlando Costas – and by one Kenyan evangelical, John Gatu, who had made a controversial call for a moratorium on the sending of missionaries from the North for the sake of breaking the dependency of Southern churches on missionary personnel and external funding. The Lausanne Covenant, presented to the Congress by the Anglican leader, John Stott, reflected the influence of these new voices in its insistence on the holistic nature of Christian mission – an emphasis that is now widely accepted in many parts of the global evangelical movement.