Evangelism is the proclamation of this powerful message in all its fullness and with all its implications. Apart from gospel proclamation there is no gospel transformation. The gospel is the “gospel of the kingdom” (Mt 24:14). Therefore, apart from the gospel there is no kingdom influence, indeed there is no holistic mission. This is why every person on planet earth needs to hear the gospel and be taught to live out the gospel.
If Lausanne were to define itself more singularly in terms if evangelism, it would not be a betrayal of holistic mission. It would merely mean focusing its energies more concertedly on the task of evangelism; the kind of evangelism that leads to discipleship and missional engagement with our world.
We must sadly recognize the tendency of the church drift away from a commitment to evangelism. It is thus all the more urgent for Lausanne to be that voice and vehicle for global collaboration in the task of world evangelization as no other organization can be. The call for world evangelization coming out of Lausanne should ring forth with clarity and not be lost amidst a chorus of other worthy causes.
