The head of Lausanne Committee for World Evangelism, one of the world’s most distinguished mission organizations, announced that he will step down from his position as president of another mission organization to concentrate more on the former.

The Rev. S. Douglas Birdsall, who has led the mission organization Asian Access for 16 years, said Monday that he will officially stop serving as the group’s president on Sept. 30 to devote more time to his position as LCWE’s executive international chair.

“After much thought and prayer, I realized that I could no longer effectively lead both organizations,” Birdsall said in a statement. “I am grateful for the evidence of God’s providence in using everything I’ve experienced up to this point to prepare me for this new role with Lausanne. I want to give it my all. more >>

One of the most respected and significant world mission conferences in history recently announced that it will hold its third international gathering in 2010 in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (LCWE) announced plans for the Third International Congress on World Evangelization to be held Oct. 16-25, 2010, according to an announcement Friday. “Lausanne III: Cape Town 2010” will convene mission and church leaders worldwide to discuss challenges and opportunities for the church in terms of world evangelism.

“There is no doubt we have entered a new era in global Christianity,” said the Rev. S. Douglas Birdsall, LCWE executive chairman, in a statement. “We need to strategize about how we can advance the spread of the Gospel around the world. more >>

Unity within the body of Christ and the common mission of evangelism were emphasized Thursday at a six-day Lausanne gathering in Malaysia.

Phil Butler, senior associate with the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and international director of visionSynergy, stressed the importance of collaboration in missions to the young Christian leaders at the Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering.

“We are in the middle of a revolution,” said Butler as he highlighted partnerships that are taking place around the world, according to Lausanne. As an example, Butler shared about a gathering of believers in Hong Kong who met to pray for Christianity to take root in the country of Mongolia. more >>

Young Christian leaders from around the world listened to a mission expert present about the rapid growth of evangelicalism, especially in the global South, at a Lausanne gathering in Malaysia this week.

Jason Mandryk – co-author of the mission prayer guide Operation World – presented on the status of the Christian faith around the world Tuesday during the plenary session “State of the Gospel” at the Younger Leaders Gathering.

Nearly 500 young leaders from over 110 countries have gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for six days, Sept. 24-30, for Christ-centered leadership development. The Younger Leaders Gathering is a ministry of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization where emerging leaders in churches, ministries and the marketplace ages 25-35 convene to learn new leadership skills, strengthen their spiritual life, and form networks with other young Christian leaders around the world. more >>

The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization has declared June 25 as an International Day of Prayer for North Korea.

In an announcement made on June 1, the Rev. S. Douglas Birdsall, executive chair of the organization, stated: “On behalf of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization and the Lausanne Movement, I declare June 25 to be an International Day of Prayer for North Korea and call on the church to pray for North Korea.”

The Day of Prayer will be staged as a climax to the Global Week of Prayer for North Korea, which runs from 19-25 June. more >>

A report released this month by the Lausanne Researchers’ Network highlights the profound southern geographical shift of global Christianity over the past hundred years.

USA Evangelicals/Evangelicals in a Global Context by Todd Johnson, Ph.D., Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, offers new data on the southern shift in the evangelical movement from its roots in the United Kingdom and the United States.

According to the study, over 80 percent of all Christians in 1900 were from Europe and North America, yet by 2005 it was under 45 percent. This statistic correlates with the finding that out of the estimated number of evangelicals worldwide – from 250 million to 688 million – most are increasingly found outside of the Western world. more >>