In every sphere…

Thursday 26 September

Christ in Cities

The majority of the globe lives in cities and by 2050 it is estimated that 68% of the world will live in cities.

Bob – USA

Bob Doll is Board Chair of the Lausanne Movement and Movement.org

In the book of Acts this week, we see the importance of cities in the gospel movement. More than 8 billion people inhabit this planet with over half of them living in cities. God used cities in the early days of Christianity to grow the faith. Today we see modern gospel movements in cities. Church and agencies are making a difference.

In 2010 Movement began. I was part of the three-legged stool. Minister, missionary and market place leader. What do we bring? Our first movement day was before Lausanne 3 in Cape Town. Many of us in this hall came from three days in Singapore where we launched a five city campaign.

Mark – India

I’m from Chennai India. I came to the city and found a group of city leaders praying that God would use them to reach their city.  What started from there, was we wanted to take the gospel to the cities across India and South Asia. In 2017, we had 1,000 city leaders in Cheani to see how we could take the whole gospel to the whole city. There are now 6,000 churches working together. They have a 10 years plan by 2030 to have 10,000 churches to grow the percentage of Christians from 8 to 10%. 

By 2020 we had gone to 500 cities across South Asia and we have established 35 city movements just in India alone.

SONA - UAE / Armenia

Sona has served the church in Dubai since 2000, working to bring Movement Day to Dubai and the Middle East.

I am an Armenian born in city. One of the stories, we came across was Dr Pat and Marian Kennedy. In 1960, infant mortality rate was one in 50. The sheikh invited them to help the nation. At that time one in three women were dying in childbirth. Marian donated her own blood to her patients.  They were able to develop a tolerance ministry to help the 200 nationalities to live together across Dubai. We hosted leaders to learn how to love their city.

Mac Pier - USA

Dr Mac Pier founded the Church Multiplication Alliance and Movement Day organisation with Tim Keller, and is the author of ten books.

I live in New York City. The gathering in Cape Town 2010 was transformational. In 2013, I had the privilege of becoming a catalyst for Lausanne. As we have looked at what God has done over the last 14 years, we have seen God mobilise leaders all over the world in cities.  Leaders are gathering city by city and making remarkable difference.

Division in the church breeds atheism in the world. Unity in the church brings the aroma of Christ.

If the great commission is going to be fulfilled, a central element will be unity in the church. Church growth in New York happened because leaders had the intention of being united. We need to ask, what could God do in our city if we pay the price to become united.

We hope you will catch a glimpse of what is happening in our cities. We are witnessing collaboration between churches, marketplaces and civic leaders. Our prayer is that every person in this congress becomes an ambassador for Christ in their city. How well do you know your city? Do you pray for your city? Are you engaged in your cities? Cities matter for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you don’t have a city movement, start one.

Faith in the Workplace

Dr Khara Collymore-Lashley- Barbados

Khara Collymore-Lashley is a doctor from Barbados who is passionate about medicine and global mission. She is currently the YLGen representative on the Lausanne Board.

Every day as I go into work, I invite God’s Holy Spirit to be with me. Some days I sing songs of faith to a scared child who has to have repeated surgeries. One of the greatest joys is to be able to be with people when they are at their most vulnerable and to treat them as the image bearers of Creator God. Other days I might pull a colleague aside and ask what is wrong, finding out that they have marriage problems.

The greatest challenge was the Covid pandemic. I worked in isolation. I worked with patients. Many days I cried. Initially, I would cry on my way home from work. Then I started crying on the way to work. Eventually, I cried with patients.  I saw so many people die in that 18 months, more than anyone should see in their entire lifetime. I thought I did not belong in medicine or in the church. But God was able to use me to start a small group of doctors through the International Christian Medical Association. We studied God’s word and prayed together and were comforted by the Holy Spirit.

My challenges with Covid helped me to identify with Jesus as the wounded Saviour because I was a wounded healer.

I challenge each one of you. In any way that you feel broken and wounded, allow Jesus to use you.

Merari Peña Vidal - Puerto Rico

Merari Peña Vidal is an entrepreneur with a successful fashion jewellery business. She leads Oasis Empresarial, a non-profit empowering business women with biblical principles.

In 2007 I started a business out of my garage to support my father’s missionary work. And in 2010 when I had the opportunity to be in the congress in Cape Town, I leant about business as mission. My business is jewellery design. We decided to be in retail because there are so many opportunities.

One of our joys is using our voice to make gatherings of business women and show them their purpose in the kingdom. We do table discussions and we ask them, “How is your heart? How is your work life balance?” Stable entrepreneurs build stable businesses. No success at work can compensate for failure at home.

As a creator of jewellery, I know that crystals don’t shine by themselves. As ministers in the workplace, we must let Jesus shine through us.

Joanna Ng - Canada

Joanna Ng is a master inventor with more than 20 academic papers and 49 patents to her name. Her work with IBM Canada and Devarim Design has pushed the boundaries of augmented cognition and artificial intelligence. 

We are already called. We are already where God wanted us to be. We are like a torch that people need in a dark forest. Without a battery, there is no point. We need to carry the light. I see boundaries can be pushed like a composer has a song in his head. I cannot explain how it happens because that is how God wired me. . When I pursue and pressed in ideas would come to me. I was working according to God’s design of me and it felt like I was being a co-creator with Jesus. At one time I felt guilty when listing the co-inventors. I asked my patent lawyer can I list God as the co-desiger?

I chose to work out an Artificial Intelligence agenda that blesses rather than joining the agenda that generates fear. I create digital assistants that can provide help for people and I am working to create guard rails of truth.

Divine wisdom is greater than Artificial Intelligence. 

I feel obligated as a technologist to say that if discipleship is the heartbeat of the church, is the heart beating? When the priesthood of the 99% is downgraded to volunteers and spectators, the heartbeat is weak. When you build with gold and silver, your reward in the Lord will be big. How do you know a coach is a good coach? When the players win.  When the 99% goes to work, the coach is a good coach.

If you are serious about being in the marketplace, you have to be a person who has been with Jesus, Otherwise your torch has no battery. Soak in the word. Be a disciple making disciple. This is what we call an infinite loop. Who started that? Jesus with His 12 disciples.

 Arslan Arif - Pakistan

Arslan Arif serves with the Prison Department in Pakistan, helping to bring transformation in the lives of prisoners through the Word of God. He also distributes Audio Bibles to illiterate Christians.

I am thankful to Lausanne for giving us the opportunity to talk about our faith at work. Since my university days, I wanted to become a government officer. There are few who are working at high position. The Lord put me at the second highest place and I am the only Christian there.  I wanted to uplfit my community and I want to motivate them.

I show the love of Christ at the prison and tell them that there is a hope. I say, “The living Lord is waiting for you. Turn away from your sinful life and see the miracles of the Lord in the life.” Sometimes prisoners say that I am the supreme authority. I reply, “I am nothing;  the supreme authority is the Lord.”

I challenge you to faithfully show your faith in the workplace. Whatever you do, do it for Christ. Show the love of Christ through your actions and your character.

Workplace Track – Jospeh Vijayam

The workplace ministry is central to the efforts of God’s people to take His love and His message to the end of the earth. Ordinary workers like carpenters, fishermen, traders, even tax collectors were witnesses and carriers of the gospel. The Lausanne movement has been at the forefront of re-igniting workplace ministry in the gobal church.

L2 spurred the creation of numerous ministries dedicated to integrating faith and work. At L3 the workplace was affirmed as not merely a secular endeavour but part of God’s plan.

The Global Workplace Forum in 2019, brought together leaders and practitioners from around the world. In the Cape Town Commitment we see a comprehensive vision for workplace ministry.

Samson, a Lausanne younger leader attended the forum in Manila. He is a banker. However, his commitment to maintaining high ethical standards meant that he was not given the position of senior manager because he refused to compromise. Feeling disillusioned, he found encouragement and renewed his perspective on his work through conversations and prayer at the forum. Despite the on-going challenges, he remains a beacon of integrity. He is being salt and light in his workplace.

At this congress, we are highlighting workplace ministry. One third of participants are not working in the church or parachurch organisation. This afternoon, we are launching the global day of faith at work observed on the 1 May every year. We are excited about the future of workplace ministry in all nations of the world and we ask you to commit to praying and equipping those who you know who are serving in the workplace.

The market place is where most of us live our faith. If we fail there, we fail the mission.  The workplace is the frontline of the gospel.