Observing a paradigm shift: An Asian in Europe's perspective on L4

The Seoul gathering was the first ever Lausanne Congress held in an East Asian country. Growing up in Hong Kong, I was excited to see this coming - that East Asians are at the front of this global evangelical movement. The leadership of Lausanne’s management also reflects this shift - where Michael Oh, a former Korean American missionary to Japan, took up the role of Chief Executive Officer in 2013.(1)

Because of this year’s location, it is not surprising that Asians were the majority in the Fourth Congress (L4), making up 34.9 per cent of the total delegates, a much higher proportion than those from North America (25.5 per cent) and Europe (13 per cent).(2) The higher number of Asian attendees illustrates the shift of gravity of Christianity from the Global North to the Global South.(3) Of course, since this data is generated based on the delegates’ country of residence, Asians in Europe are considered as ‘Europeans’, rather than Asians in this sense. This phenomenon also highlights the complexity of discourses on the correlation between ethnicity and missiology.

“Asians in Europe are considered as ‘Europeans’, rather than Asians in this sense. This phenomenon also highlights the complexity of discourses on the correlation between ethnicity and missiology.”

The programme of the Fourth Lausanne Congress fully embraced the themes of polycentric mission - ‘from everyone to everywhere’ - highlighting mission in the workplace, in the digital world, and in various communities.(4) As a first timer in this global conference, I felt encouraged yet humbled to see many leaders participating in spreading the Good News of God. As a researcher who has studied public theology in Hong Kong and its relation to mainland China, I was delighted to witness a hundred mainland Chinese leaders attending the Lausanne Congress for the first time since 1974. Their powerful testimonies displayed Christ’s presence in their ministry, despite their lack of financial resources and governmental censorship. I am reminded of the words of the Co-chair of the Theology Working Group, Ivor Poobalan, who wrote that just because we sometimes may serve in a vacuum, God is at work in some mysterious ways.(5) The privilege of learning from and praying for each other is definitely one of the highlights of this conference.

“The privilege of learning from and praying for each other is definitely one of the highlights of this conference.”

The diversity of themes and people in this congress implies varied theological approaches and preferences of different leadership styles. Although I have heard about the divisive opinions on LGBTQ+ issues in South Korea, I am genuinely surprised how this was shown in the daily protests outside the exhibition hall and the open letter by various Korean evangelical leaders. This indicates that even within the same country, with similar theological trends, evangelical communities are not necessarily unified in terms of social issues, and I personally think this is a healthy dynamic in all types of organisations. However, this also implies that leaders in Christian organisations and churches must listen to the people they serve. Throughout the conference, I had an impression that some participants did not feel their voices had been heard or their opinions taken seriously by the leadership, whether it was about the Seoul Statement, the logistics of this congress, or the transparency of making decisions in this global movement. While Asian Christians tend to prefer an authoritative figure to guide them along the way, we should also be sensitive when the leadership style has become authoritarian rather than genuinely working for their people. Humility is deemed essential for us all if we are to follow Jesus’s example to serve the crowd.

One thing I appreciate about the composition of the speakers and leadership in Lausanne is their multiculturality and their attentiveness to this matter that may affect the messages and evangelism. In the past, Asians tend to assume that Christianity is a white religion and converting to Christianity implies the embrace of Western culture.

“The Fourth Lausanne Congress demonstrates a paradigm shift that Christianity does not belong to North Americans or Europeans, but to everyone on earth”

The Fourth Lausanne Congress demonstrates a paradigm shift that Christianity does not belong to North Americans or Europeans, but to everyone on earth, who is made in God’s image, humbly learning God’s Words and following God’s way. The hybridity of our identity does not diminish our experience with God just because we are not ‘Western’; instead, it enriches our understanding of God for how God is at work in all contexts. The strength of hybridity, that we are both Asian and European, is that it equips us both in language and culture to serve the communities Jesus calls us to.(6) When God’s people are on the move in the globalised world, I pray that we are continuously moved by the Spirit to serve and testify Christ to the end of the age.

Calida Chu
Teaching Associate in Sociology of Religion at the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Nottingham
Member of the Lausanne Theology Working Group

Endnotes

Naomi Frizzell, 'Lausanne Movement Appoints Michael Oh as New CEO’, Lausanne Movement, 5 February 2013, https://lausanne.org/news-releases/lausanne-movement-appoints-michael-oh-as-new-ceo.
In more detailed statistics, 13.4 per cent of the delegates live in East Asia, 10.3 per cent in South Asia, 9.6 per cent in South East Asia, and 1.6 per cent in Eurasia. Morgan Lee, ‘Fourth Lausanne Congress Embraces Younger Leaders, “Marketplace” Christians, and Technology’, Christianity Today, 24 September 2024, https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/09/fourth-lausanne-congress-seoul-statement-korea-evangelism-digital-young-leaders-marketplace/.
Hwa Yung, ‘The Shift of the Center of Gravity of the Church from the West to the Majority World’, Transformation 39, 2 (2022): 77–85.
Allen Yeh, Polycentric Missiology: 21st-Century Mission from Everyone to Everywhere (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016), 5.
Chris Wright and Ivor Poobalan, ‘Theology and Mission: A Conversation with Dr. Chris Wright and Dr. Ivor Poobalan on the Lausanne Movement’s Theological Influence on Global Mission’, The Lausanne Movement Podcast, 23 October 2023, https://lausanne.org/podcast/theology-and-mission-a-conversation-with-dr-chris-wright-and-dr-ivor-poobalan-on-the-lausanne-movements-theological-influence-on-global-mission.
Courtney T. Goto, ‘Hybridity: Retrieving the Real-Life Messiness Erased by a Reified Concept’, Journal of Asian/North American Theological Educators 2, 1 (2016): 16–31.

Read more here:

European Perspectives

· As Seen From Europe – Reflections on the Fourth Lausanne Congress

· This Silent Roar coming from the South: A Spanish Perspective on L4

· Reasons for hope - a French perspective on L4

· Bigger than you think - A German Perspective on L4

· Challenges and Opportunities for Global Mission: an African Missionary in Europe’s Perspective on L4

· Unity of the church in evangelism: A Ukrainian perspective on L4

· "How Great Thou Art": A Swedish Perspective on L4

Reflections on the Seoul Statement

· Participant Perspective: Building on a firm foundation

· An Outsider Perspective: A Kind of New Mission Model and a Clear Position on Ethical Issues