Lausanne Covenant

The Lausanne Covenant is a July 1974 religious manifesto promoting active worldwide Christian evangelism. ^[1] One of the most influential documents in modern evangelicalism, ^[2] it was written at the First International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland, where it was adopted by 2,300 evangelicals in attendance. ^[3]

History

In July 1974, the original Lausanne conference brought together approximately 2,700 Christian religious leaders from over 150 countries and was called by a committee headed by the American evangelist Billy Graham. ^[4] The drafting committee for the 15-point document was chaired by John Stott of the United Kingdom. ^[5] In addition to the signing of the covenant, the conference also created the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.^{[ citation needed ]} The covenant is in the form of an ecumenical confession, ^[6] in which the signatories profess their shame at having failed to spread the Gospel of Jesus. ^[7] The covenant specifically affirms the beliefs in the Nicene Creed. The signatories express their intention to be more committed to spreading Christianity throughout the world.^{[ citation needed ]}

The original document is in English and has been translated into at least twenty different languages. In 1989, fifteen years after the original Lausanne conference, the Second International Congress on World Evangelization (sometimes called "Lausanne II") convened in Manila, Philippines, and adopted the Manila Manifesto, an elaboration of the Lausanne Covenant.^{[ citation needed ]}

The introduction of the covenant is:

We, members of the Church of Jesus Christ, from more than 150 nations, participants in the International Congress on World Evangelization at Lausanne, praise God for his great salvation and rejoice in the fellowship he has given us with himself and with each other. We are deeply stirred by what God is doing in our day, moved to penitence by our failures, and challenged by the unfinished task of evangelization. We believe the gospel is God's good news for the whole world, and we are determined, by his grace, to obey Christ's commission to proclaim it to all mankind and to make disciples of every nation. We desire, therefore, to affirm our faith and our resolve, and to make public our covenant. ^[8]

References

1. Melton 2005b.
2. Wright, Christopher J H (4 September 2009), Christianity Today
3. Melton 2005a, p. 295; Melton 2005b.
4. Onyinah 2014, p. 419.
5. Melton & Baumann 2010, p. 1695; Padilla 2010, p. 6.
6. Stott 2009, p. 6.
7. Howard 2011, p. 217.
8. Stott 2009, p. 11.

Bibliography

• Howard, Michael C. (2011). Transnationalism and Society: An Introduction. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. ISBN   978-0-7864-8625-0.
• Melton, J. Gordon (2005a). "International Congress for World Evangelism". Encyclopedia of Protestantism. New York: Facts on File. pp. 294–95. ISBN   978-0-8160-6983-5.
• ——— (2005b). "Lausanne Covenant". Encyclopedia of Protestantism. New York: Facts on File. p. 334. ISBN   978-0-8160-6983-5.
• ———; Baumann, Martin, eds. (2010). "Lausanne Movement". Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. Vol. 4 (2nd ed.). CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 1693–96. ISBN   978-1-59884-204-3.
• Onyinah, Opoku (2014). "A Pentecostal Perspective on the Lausanne Movement". In Dahle, Lars; Dahle, Margunn Serigstad; Jorgensen, Knud (eds.). The Lausanne Movement: A Range of Perspectives. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock. pp. 419–25. ISBN   978-1-4982-1722-4.
• Padilla, C. René (2010) [1985]. Mission Between the Times: Essays on the Kingdom (2nd ed.). Carlisle, England: Langham Monographs. ISBN   978-1-907713-01-9.
• Stott, John (2009) [1975]. The Lausanne Covenant: Complete Text with Study Guide. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers (published 2012). ISBN   978-1-59856-874-5.

Further reading

• Gros, Jeffrey (1999). "Review of Making Christ Known: Historic Mission Documents from the Lausanne Movement, 1974–1989, Edited by John Stott". International Review of Mission. 88 (350): 313. doi:10.1111/j.1758-6631.1999.tb00161.x.
• Hunt, Robert A. (2011). "The History of the Lausanne Movement, 1974–2010". International Bulletin of Missionary Research. 35 (2): 81–85. doi:10.1177/239693931103500203. S2CID   147864675.
• Padilla, C. René (1985). "Evangelism and Social Responsibility: From Wheaton '66 to Wheaton '83". Transformation. 2 (3): 27–34. doi:10.1177/026537888500200311. S2CID   147790374.
• Padilla, René; Sugden, Chris (1985). How Evangelicals Endorsed Social Responsibility. Cambridge, England: Grove Books. ISBN   978-1-85174-009-3.
• Steuernagel, Valdir R. (1990). "Social Concern and Evangelization: Our Journey Since Lausanne I". Transformation. 7 (1): 12–16. doi:10.1177/026537889000700105. S2CID   149317312.
• Stott, John (2006). "Evangelism Plus". Christianity Today. Vol. 50, no. 10. Interviewed by Stafford, Tim. Archived from the original on 15 October 2006. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
• Sugden, Christopher (1990). "Theological Developments Since Lausanne I". Transformation. 7 (7): 9–12. doi:10.1177/026537889000700104. S2CID   149002531.
• Swartz, David R. (2011). "Identity Politics and the Fragmenting of the 1970s Evangelical Left". Religion and American Culture. 21 (1): 81–120. doi:10.1525/rac.2011.21.1.81. ISSN   1533-8568.

External links

• Christianity portal

• Text of the Lausanne Covenant