The Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization concluded on September 26, after seven days of gathering. More than 5,200 participants from 202 countries signed the Collaborative Action Commitment to accelerate the gospel commission through global collaboration, once again emphasizing that unity is the key to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Signing the Collaborative Action Commitment: Seizing Opportunities, Ending Isolation
The conference concluded on Saturday morning with the signing of the Collaborative Action Commitment as a culmination of each participant's intention to join together in the Great Commission. The pledges included “Filling Gaps and Seizing Opportunities,” “Building Relationships and Unity with Leaders,” “Eliminating Duplication and Silos,” and “Identifying Existing Collaboration Programs” to face the challenges of the global church together.
This year's conference included 25 plenary sessions and a number of regional, national, and inter-ministerial sessions designed to promote deeper collaboration in the global church. Several speakers reiterated that the future of the global church lies in cooperation and that the Lausanne Movement has done a great job in facilitating meetings, recognitions, and networking to accelerate the gospel mission.
Dr. Michael Oh: Repentance and Fulfilling the Unfinished Great Commission
In his closing remarks, Rev. Michael Young-Suk Oh, Global Executive Director and CEO of the Lausanne Movement, called for “sobriety and repentance” to face the unfinished task of the Great Commission and to reflect on American theologian Ralph D. Winter's 1974 challenge to reach the unreached with the Gospel. Pointing out that ministry isolation and competition slow down the preaching of the gospel, Oh urged everyone to engage in humility, unity and meaningful action. Using the biblical metaphor of “one body in many parts,” he called on believers to recognize and use their individual gifts to accomplish the mission together.
Emphasizing the importance of communication, contextualized compassion, and cooperation, he concluded by inviting the participants to fully dedicate their lives to God's mission, trusting Christ to multiply their efforts.
Brazilian Missionary Calls for Courageous and Unhindered Evangelization
That morning, Brazilian missionary Ronaldo Lidório shared the importance of Christians' willingness to travel to the end of the world. Working in Indigenous communities, he backed up his arguments with practical action, urging those present to 'preach the gospel boldly and without hindrance', emphasizing that we cannot do it with our strategies, but only with the power of the Holy Spirit.' He pointed to the impact of the gospel in transforming, redeeming, or confronting sinful patterns in any society.
Pastor Rick Warren: 10 Action Steps to Fulfill the Missionary Assignment
Pastor Rick Warren, founding pastor of the Saddleback Church in the United States, drew from the book of Acts to present ten action steps to fulfill the missionary assignment. These include: praying for God’s power, translating God’s Word for everyone, appreciating diversity, training every believer to preach the Good News, applying God’s Word personally to finish the task, modeling love to the world, returning to using homes, worshipping as a joyful witness, sharing everything, and making financial sacrifices.
Collaborative Platform COMIBAM Inspires Latin American and World Mission Activities
Allan Matamoros, from Costa Rica and now living in Spain, presented the mission experience of the collaborative platform COMIBAM, which has inspired missions from Latin America to other parts of the world. He emphasized the importance of integral mission, citing Ecuadorian theologian René Padilla and renowned Latin American theologian Samuel Escobar, both of whom have an important place in the history of the Lausanne movement.
Global Younger Leaders Gathering 2026
The next global meeting of the Lausanne Movement will be the Younger Leaders Gathering 2026, designed to bring together thousands of leaders under the age of 40. The last conference was held in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2016.
