TEDS and Lausanne: A Shared Passion for Global Christianity

This month, the Lausanne Movement prepares for its fiftieth anniversary and the fourth global Congress in Seoul-Incheon, 2024. Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) faculty, staff, and alumni have been intimately involved in the movement since its beginning, from founding members like John Stott (visiting TEDS professor in the 70s) to the current executive director (Michael Oh, MDiv ’97).

Lausanne has sought to bring together global Christian leaders around pressing missional issues, embodying a spirit of collaboration and evangelical unity that resonates deeply with TEDS. According to current professors, this is no surprise: the ministries of TEDS and Lausanne complement one another.

The Lausanne Movement traces its origins to the 1974 International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland. Co-organized by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and John Stott, this first Congress sought to unite evangelical leaders and ministry practitioners from around the world. Leaders were invited to collaboratively address critical issues facing evangelism and global Christianity.

Many of the organizers for the first Congress had direct or indirect ties to TEDS. For example, Paul Little, a TEDS associate professor, was the program director. Ted Ward, who would later become dean of international studies, mission, and education at TEDS, served as a conference planner and speaker.

Other faculty and alumni contributed behind the scenes. Arthur Johnston (a professor of missions at the time) completed his doctoral research on the ecumenical movement. His work concerning the nature of mission within the ecumenical movement helped to prompt the need for a clear evangelical definition of Christian mission.

Tite Tiénou, research professor of theology of mission at TEDS, attended the first Congress. Though he had no ties to TEDS at the time, Dr. Tiénou reflects on the impactful collaborative nature of the event. The Congress, he says, was a working event. “All the papers were sent—in hard copies because you must remember, there was no email yet—to all participants ahead of time. We were encouraged to comment on the papers. This was a working conference for the gospel; those invited were united by their focus on evangelism and the work of the gospel in the world.”

Even in its early days, Lausanne was characterized by a value for global leadership. TEDS New Testament professor Steve Bryan has contributed to Occasional Papers for the Lausanne movement. “The first Lausanne Congress sought to highlight the need for “the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world,” he says. “That emphasis has produced much fruit over the years and has helped make the evangelical mission much more ‘polycentric’—a word that gets used a lot in Lausanne circles.”

Dr. Tiénou was a pastor in Burkina Faso when he received his invitation. “Significant place was given to people who were not from the U.S., Canada, Europe, or New Zealand,” he says. “Even at that first Congress, many of the plenary speakers were not American or European, and the first director of the Continuation Committee was a pastor from Ghana—Gottfried Osei-Mnemensa.”

“When we left the venue in July 1974, at least as a participant, I did not imagine it would become a movement of the sort that we think of today,” says Tiénou. “But the spirit of Lausanne was what made it unique.” That spirit, he says, is characterized by generosity of fellowship, cooperation, and a shared commitment to the gospel. Resonating deeply with the ethos of TEDS, that spirit would lay the foundation for a global movement.

The Lausanne Continuation Committee was formed to continue the work of the first Congress. The cornerstone of this committee, notes Tiénou, was the Lausanne Covenant. “This Covenant made Lausanne known and became the touchpoint for broader evangelicalism around the globe.” Together with TEDS faculty and alumni, Dr. Tiénou participated in working consultations to cover topics raised by the Congress and Covenant, such as the reality of unreached people groups, Muslim evangelism, and evangelism and social responsibility.

To continue addressing topics relevant to global missions between Congresses, Lausanne instituted the Lausanne Occasional Papers. TEDS faculty members, including Drs. Tiénou, Kevin Vanhoozer, Peter Cha, and Steve Bryan, would eventually contribute to these papers.

The seminary’s involvement with the Lausanne movement only deepened as Lausanne II convened in Manila in 1989. Dr. Tiénou was again in attendance, along with other alumni and faculty members like Arthur Johnston and Bill Taylor (professor of missions in the ‘80s).

Harold Netland, now a professor of philosophy of religion and intercultural studies at TEDS, was also present at the Congress. A missionary in Japan at the time, Dr. Netland attended with the Japanese delegation. “Lausanne congresses are the broadest representation of the global evangelical church in one place at one time,” he says. “What amazed me in ‘89 is that you’re able to visually see—and hear, through worship—the diverse expression of the body of Christ globally in one place at one time…. It was encouraging to see that it was no longer the United States alone controlling these events. We were just one participating body.”

Dr. Netland also recalls witnessing the drafting of the Manila Manifesto. Robert Coleman, director of the school of world mission at TEDS in the 80s and 90s, and author of The Master Plan of Evangelism, played a significant role in crafting the manifesto. The Manila Manifesto continued to emphasize global collaboration. “It was clear that the Lausanne Movement was solidifying its role as a global evangelical network,” Netland says.

As the third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town (2010) approached, Dr. Tiénou was invited to join the advisory committee. By that time, Tiénou reflects, Lausanne had truly become a movement. “As a movement, Lausanne depends very much on the goodwill of those who decide they share the vision and want to run with it.”

Peter Cha, who was in attendance in 2010, was struck by the significant presence of TEDS faculty and alumni. So, he decided to throw together a last-minute alumni gathering. More than fifty TEDS alumni came to the gathering. Cha says, “It was a visible reminder of how global our alumni network is and how our alumni serve as strategic leaders in their countries.”

Cha says the Congress significantly shaped how he returned to TEDS as a professor. He says, “This was around the time Mosaic Ministries was beginning to take shape at TEDS. Going to that Congress and hearing about the important work of the gospel as expressed through reconciliation was a moment of deep reflection for me. In many ways, the Congress contributed to how we shaped Mosaic Ministries on campus.”

A key theme of the Congress was diaspora missiology—how God might be using migration around the world to spread the gospel. “Inspired by this,” Cha says, “I began to teach a class called ‘Diaspora Missions Around the World.’ That course has become one of the standard classes in my department.”

The fourth Lausanne Congress will fall on the fiftieth anniversary of the first Congress. Although the issues facing missions have evolved, the commitment and collaboration of global Christian leaders lives on through the movement. Five thousand global ministry practitioners are expected to attend the fourth Congress, with an additional five thousand attending virtually.

In advance of the Congress, Lausanne has prepared to address pressing global challenges while maintaining its core commitment to evangelism and unity around essentials. For TEDS faculty and alumni, this has provided a unique opportunity to engage the global church and its shared mission. For example, Drs. Tienou, Vanhoozer, and Craig Ott will contribute chapters to the “State of the Great Commission Report – Theological Foundation Papers.”

Professors Bryan and Vanhoozer have also both contributed through a Theology Working Group. The group produced working papers and a section to the upcoming Seoul Statement, which, according to Dr. Bryan, will “seek to reaffirm the movement’s commitment to the authority of Scripture, and highlight biblical insights, imperatives, and implications for our time.”

From his experience on the Working Group, Dr. Bryan notes, “One of the significant features of the fourth Congress has been the degree to which non-Western evangelicals have been at the forefront. This feature has highlighted the global impact of Trinity. One of the co-chairs of the Theology Working Group is Ivor Poobalan from Sri Lanka, who earned his ThM at Trinity in 2004.”

“We met over nine months to pull the statement together,” Dr. Bryan says. “Of the nine in the group, Dr. Vanhoozer and I were the only Westerners, but four were Trinity grads.” In addition to Poobalan and Bryan, Steve Chang (North Korea, MDiv ‘96, MA/NT ‘97) and Eiko Takamizawa (Japan, MA/ICS ‘98) also completed graduate work at TEDS.

TEDS alumni and staff have also played significant roles in organizing the Congress. The current global executive director, Michael Oh, earned his Master of Divinity from TEDS in 1997. You can learn more about Michael Oh and his vision for Lausanne through the video below.

Further, Jae Hoon Lee (ThM ‘08) is senior pastor of Onuri church in South Korea and co-chair of the host committee in South Korea for the event. Jonghoon John Park (PhD/ICS ‘23), director of the Faith and Works Initiative Asia at TEDS, also serves as an executive member of the Lausanne Global Diaspora Network.

According to Dr. Tiénou, this extensive partnership should serve as no surprise. “The Lausanne Movement is a place where evangelicalism, united around essentials, can have broader collaborative possibilities. Trinity’s vision fits very well with that ethos. It makes sense.”

Dr. Netland agrees: historically, TEDS has always been committed to the global church. “Of course, we are an Evangelical Free divinity school, but the attitude has always been that the gospel is bigger than the Free Church alone, and so the seminary has served as a gift from the Free Church to the global community. That’s why international students are such a huge part of the school. TEDS has a reputation globally for training leaders for the global church. And you see this reflected, then, in our partnership and leadership with Lausanne.”

Looking ahead to the fourth Congress, Dr. Cha finds that the shared sense of vision between Lausanne and TEDS continues to be relevant and important for issues facing the church today. “There are so many parts of the world where God is doing amazing things. The task of learning from one another is very important. We live in a world where there is a resurgence of nationalism that goes against global partnership. But the church cannot do that. The church needs to be doing the work of the gospel worldwide.”

“So, pray for this gathering,” Dr. Cha says. “Pray for the leaders, many of whom are TEDS alum. Pray for God’s wisdom from above to guide them as they make decisions. I know our leaders serving in those roles will be encouraged to know we’re praying for them.”

Since its beginning, TEDS faculty, staff, and alumni have continued to play crucial roles in shaping and supporting the Lausanne movement. The partnership is a natural one, as the seminary seeks to prepare the next generation of ministers and academic leaders shaping the present and future of evangelical Christianity across the globe. TEDS, a broadly evangelical school, prides itself on theological diversity and encourages respectful engagement in difficult conversations and topics while remaining committed to the authority of the inerrant Scripture. TEDS seeks to teach creative and critical thinking while upholding gospel fidelity in an effort to fulfill the age-old adage, “in the essentials unity, in the non-essentials liberty, and in all things charity.”

Noting how the ministries of Lausanne and TEDS complement one another, Dr. Cha says, “TEDS has always been a school that reflects that notion of unity and diversity. We have students from different denominations and backgrounds, and yet unity around the authority of Scripture and cardinal doctrines. Trinity really fits Lausanne and vice versa: Lausanne is, like Trinity, broadly evangelical. Trinity, like Lausanne, is very committed to missions.” In that way, Cha observes, Trinity embodies the spirit of Lausanne. “I believe that it’s not accidental that many of the key leaders of Lausanne came from Trinity. It’s not accidental that we are, historically, very good partners.”

Reflecting on the history of Lausanne, Dr. Tiénou, one of only a few to have participated in Lausanne since the first Congress in 1974, shares a hope for the TEDS community. “What I think I would want this generation to know is that the rallying point as we were leaving in July 1974—even beyond the statements, or the papers, or the meetings—the rallying point was the spirit of Lausanne. And it is the spirit of Lausanne I hope the TEDS community will continue to share.”