Hundreds of Christian leaders gather for Lausanne this week

Thailand (MNN) — Nearly 1,800 Christian leaders from around the world will gather in Thailand September 29th for the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization. The gathering, which will focus on the task of global evangelism, is being convened by the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (www.lausanne.org) in partnership with the Great Commission Roundtable.

The 2004 Forum will be only the fourth time in the past 30 years that Lausanne has called such a comprehensive global gathering. Leaders also say that never before has a meeting sought to develop such specific action plans to combat the challenges facing the Church.

Through a comprehensive world-wide research effort, 31 specific issues have been identified as roadblocks to evangelism. The Forum will be the culmination of work done over the past year by 31 groups of leaders addressing those issues – with the goal of developing an action plan for the global church. Groups have been tackling issues such as:
– The Uniqueness of Christ in a Post-Modern World
– The Persecuted Church
– Holistic Mission (including poverty and AIDS)
– The Impact on Global Mission of Religious Nationalism and Post 9/11 Realities
– Confronting Racial, Tribal and Ethnic Conflict Within the Christian Community
– Hidden and Forgotten People
– Marketplace Ministry
– Future Leadership