[RE]EVANGELISE 2017

[re]evangelise || big issues, bigger gospel

Saturday 11 February 2017

What are the BIG ISSUES facing the (re)evangelisation of Australia in the next 10 years?
Encounter global wisdom emerging from the historic 2016 Lausanne World Evangelisation Movement’s Younger Leaders Gathering (video here),
and re-imagine a BIGGER GOSPEL able to transform our land.
This is what we hosted at Malyon College on Saturday 11th February 2017, with our T.E.D. talk-style exploration,
strategising for gospel influence in your local context.
All talks (manuscripts, video, mp3) below … read on!

What:

In a rapidly changing context, we need global wisdom to inform local action.

That’s what [re]evangelise is all about.

Imagine 1000 courageous influencers from 150 countries, connected together to consider the state of the world and how leading missional ideas might be lived out in local gospel witness. That’s what happened in Jakarta, August 2016 with the historic Lausanne World Evangelization Movement’s Younger Leaders Gathering (YLG2016).

Now’s your chance to eaves-drop on this dialogue!

Through the following talks, you can join the conversation we had at Malyon College on Saturday 11th February, 2017, as we interacted with Queensland participants who attended this amazing gathering. Together we discussed:

What are the biggest issues facing the
(re)evangelisation of Australia in the next 10 years?

Hosted by Traverse—the Malyon College Centre for Bridging Church & Culture—[re]evangelise helps you see complex situations with clarity, judge what should be going on, and empower you to act with wisdom at the intersection of gospel and culture.

We explored global trends in evangelism, secularism, mental health, LGBTIQ+ issues with the church, diversity, multiculturalism and mission. We faced big questions our culture is asking of Christianity, and that Jesus is asking of his witnesses in this time and place.

To equip you for this conversation, each participant was given a copy of “The Lausanne Legacy: Landmarks in Global Mission” book.

 

 

(Download the handout here.)

We kicked off with worship and an introduction to the Lausanne Movement and the Younger Leaders Gathering, before raising key challenges facing the re-evangelisation of Australia in the next 10 years. We then launched into 4 x 45 minute blocks of discussion:

  • 10 minute T.E.D. style-talk responding to a central question & issue
  • 10 minute Q&A, initiated by another YLG2016 participant
  • 20 minute small group discussion, working from your own experience and stories to see, judge, and act more faithfully in response to this issue for the re-evangelisation of Australia:
    • SEE: What’s going on and why?
    • JUDGE: What should be going on?
    • ACT: How will I/we respond?
  • 2 minute personal silent reflection to plan for more truthful action
  • 3 minute prayer in pairs

Sarah Starrenburg, from the United Bible Societies, explored “Australia and Global Evangelism”:
What’s changed when it comes to global evangelism, and why does it matter?
(video; mp3; manuscript; ppnt slides)

Daniel Paterson, itinerant apologist/evangelist for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, will chart a path for
“Speaking to the Secular”: What does Christianity offer a secular person? (video; mp3; manuscript)

Rebecca Yin Foo, Educational and Developmental Psychologist and author, will offer wisdom concerning “Embracing the Excluded”: How can those who feel neglected or ostracised from Christianity—especially people with mental health issues, and those identifying with the LGBTIQ+ community—be better reached by the church?
(video; mp3; manuscript … apologies, sound dies at 22.56 in recording)

Andy Donaldson, Campus Worker, Strategist and Missional Catalyst for Power to Change (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ), will delve into “The Whole Gospel To The Whole World”: How can we communicate and live out the gospel without loading it with our own cultural norms, both in a global missions context and our own multi-cultural society?
(video; mp3; manuscript)

The day finished with a panel discussion and Q&A on big issues those attending were grappling with (MP3 here: again, apologies, sound dies at 21.35), before crafting a personal plan of action in response, and prayerful dedication for more faithful and effective witness in our local context.

Facilitated by: