Research-based information on mission in Europe

There is no escaping the reality that Europeans are a minority voice in the Global Church. So as European missiologists and Co-Directors for Lausanne Europe, what did the Congress look like from here?

What has continued to hit me furiously since my experience at the Congress is a kind of ‘silent roar’, an embarrassing but also revitalizing one that comes powerfully from the Global South.

The report indicates that, at present, 31% of the world's population is Christian and lives out an active faith. In France this figure is only 1.5%! And yet, there are reasons to hope and reasons to mobilise all over again.

Attending the 4th Lausanne Congress in Seoul-Incheon took me far beyond my usual context of local and national church ministry in Germany to give me a sweeping, and at times dizzying, view of the global Church and its mission.

Growing up in Hong Kong, I was excited to see that East Asians are at the front of this global evangelical movement, with the Seoul gathering as the first ever Lausanne Congress held in an East Asian country.

Overall, Congress deepened my understanding of global perspectives and the greatest priorities for advancing global mission: intergenerational leadership, discipleship, and justice

Arriving in Seoul for L4, I was struck by the palpable sense of purpose and urgency. The conference was not merely a gathering but a call to action.

Singing the hymn ‘How Great Thou Art’ was a significant moment for me at the opening of Lausanne 4 in Seoul. It speaks of our history and legacy but will we sing its message with a loud voice in the future?

How do I, as an outsider yet sympathetic observer of the Lausanne Movement, evaluate the Seoul Statement? I notice a number of important aspects in the area of mission theology and with respect to the practice of evangelisation.

Europe stands as an important reminder that our current state and trajectory does not establish with any certainty the future of the church. Europe was the first continent to be completely Christianized, but it was also the first continent to be substantially de-Christianized. 

This article, and by extension the whole of this issue of Vista, seeks to explore the meaning and use of the word polycentric in Christian mission studies today and, more specifically, consider its implications for mission in Europe.

What matrix are we to use when thinking in terms of polycentric and multidirectional mission in Central and Eastern Europe? How can the churches kept in isolation and under national persecution stay connected with other similar churches or mission bodies around the globe?

Alongside Polycentric Mission, the leadership qualities required to enable organisations and networks to work in this way are described in the book ‘Polycentric Mission Leadership’, by Joseph Handley, based on his PhD studies on the topic. 

How do we shift our understanding of mission—and our association of mission with Western Christianity—to appreciate that God has called all followers of Christ to God’s mission and they can serve wherever in the world God wills them to minister.