The Great Co-Mission

Taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, in obedience to the Great Commission, is an inescapable imperative. A definition of world evangelization that has won assent from Christians of all stripes was memorably summarized in the Lausanne Covenant—the document substantially crafted by John R. W. Stott and affirmed by the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in 1974: “Evangelization requires the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.”

The “three wholes” in this ringing phrase had been part of Christian discourse for some years before Stott drafted the covenant. Indeed, they go back to the apostle Paul, if not to the patriarch Abraham.

Read the rest of the story by Christopher J. H. Wright on ChristianityToday.com.

from Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All

http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

I’m back! Chicago was cold and snowy, but I survived. I’d like to share with you what I experienced at the first-ever Mission Conference prior to the Midwinter. This event brought together Covenant World Mission department leaders, Covenant missionaries, overseas partners, pastors, people who serve on local mission committees, seminary students–a very diverse group who all share one common passion: Christ’s mission. And it was fantastic! Challenging, stimulating, inspiring, stretching, refreshing, renewing–I can’t find enough superlatives to express how rich and meaningful this conference was. Let me describe it for you briefly, and who the presenters were. Then I want to list a bunch of the principles, perspectives, comments, and some rather unorthodox thoughts and approaches that these Covenant leaders offered, based on biblical, theological, and very practical experience.