In September I had the privilege of attending the Fourth Lausanne Congress in Seoul-Incheon, South Korea. The theme of the Congress was “Let the Church Declare and Display Christ Together.” It was an amazing six days of being together with 5000+ people from more than 200 countries. We sang. We were taught and challenged by a roster of excellent speakers. We were encouraged by stories of what God is doing in and through his people to establish his kingdom around the world.
I am an auditory learner, so enjoy a good lecture, sermon, and other forms of verbal presentations. As such, I loved listening to the various speakers featured at the congress who expounded on God’s word and/or gave testimonies of God’s grace and the power of the gospel in their lives and ministries.
I was genuinely encouraged and challenged by all of the speakers, but there were a few that stood out, and I have found myself returning to them in the past couple of months. (Fortunately, Lausanne is making many of these talks available on their YouTube Channel and on the Lausanne website.)
One of these is the talk given by Dr. Patrick Fung, the former General Secretary of Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF), titled, Courageous Faith: Sharing Christ Amidst Persecution. He reminds us that the severe persecution of the early church was the context for a mission breakthrough that saw the gospel spread from Jerusalem to Antioch, and beyond.
Here are a few key quotes from his talk:
If there is a key strategy or method that God has used again and again in church history for church growth, it is suffering and often persecution.
Persecution never kills the church, but a compromised gospel will.
I particularly appreciate the Chinese translation of Acts 8:4. With just four simple words 随走随传, meaning “as they go they proclaim.” These radical disciples were basically refugees on the run, yet they carried the gospel wherever they went.
Here is a gospel movement by God’s people, the unknown, unnamed, uncelebrated, ordinary disciples of Christ. A mission movement without borders was started by these unknown people of the early church. They lived to be forgotten so that Christ will be remembered.
God uses the unknown, the unnamed, and the uncelebrated to proclaim and display the gospel wherever they go.
Persecution can never kill the church, and yet how the church responds will make a huge difference.
I encourage you to watch/listen to the entire talk.
In a society and culture that values platforms and celebrity, may we be like the ordinary disciples of the early church—living to be forgotten so that Christ will be remembered.
Joann Pittman
Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs. Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China, as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University …View Full Bio
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