Looking Back: Evangelicals of the World to Unite?

From September 1974

Evangelism is the life blood of the Church, said Dr Billy Graham, the American evangelist, in a keynote speech at the International Congress on World Evangelization held this summer in Lausanne, Switzerland.

There were 2,700 participants from 150 countries at the congress, where Dr Graham’s official role was ‘honorary chairman’. He claimed that it was a ‘tragedy’ of the missionary movement that many Christians today doubted not only whether it was possible to ‘evangelize the world in this generation’ – the theme of the congress - but whether it was desirable.

At a press conference Dr Graham claimed that he had ‘warm relationships’ with the World Council of Churches but the executive committee chairman, Bishop Jack Dain of Australia, admitted that 90 percent of those coming to Lausanne felt a need for some ‘international forum for evangelical expression’.

Dr Graham denied that any organisation would be set up to ‘compete with the World Council of Churches’ and told questioners that a World Evangelical Fellowship already exists. A ‘continuing committee’ is likely to carry on the work of the Lausanne Congress but no similar conference is being planned.

According to the organisers the congress was ‘bathed with the devout prayers’ of more than a million people. About £1m has been raised towards the cost of the congress – estimated at £1.3m largely in travelling costs. More than 300 scholarships were given to participants from Third World countries.

One of the Scottish group at Lausanne was Church of Scotland lay evangelist Stephen Anderson, who summed up 'what came out of the congress’ as words ‘by the thousand, a covenant which was drafted in masterly fashion but perhaps more for the ears of men than of God and a vaguely formulated structure to ensure continuing unity and cross-fertilisation among Bible-believing Christians throughout the world'.

But he also spoke of the way in which ‘the spirit of God touched our hearts with his anguish for the lost, hurt and weary world’. He said: “Conditioned as we are in Scotland to accept the lie that the Church of Jesus Christ is on the decline it was thrilling to hear of spiritual life pulsating and exploding in outgoing love in Latin America, Korea, Indonesia, and East Africa….Although in Scotland we have lost the vision and so the power of Jesus Christ today yet God’s purposes will not be thwarted.”

Looking Back menu

Life and Work is the magazine of the Church of Scotland. Subscribe here.