The Lausanne Covenant, a historic mission document crafted by John Stott in 1974, includes the phrase “evangelization requires the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.” All Christ-followers play a crucial role in bringing the Gospel to every man, woman and child worldwide.
We live in an era of global Christianity. The whole Church today includes followers of Jesus on all continents and in every country. Roughly two thirds of all Christians now live in the non-Western global South. For mission, this means that an increasing number of church leaders and cross-cultural workers will come from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
To speak of the whole Gospel is to realize the Good News comes from the entire Bible and not simply a portion of it. From beginning to end, Scripture tells the story of God’s desire and plan to redeem and restore His creation.
The whole world, nearly 7.8 billion people, is a mosaic of languages and ethnic groups. In Genesis, God promised that all peoples on earth would be blessed through Abraham. In the fullness of time, God sent Jesus as Immanuel to be with us. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:5-7), leading us into restored relationship with God as we await the full expression of His coming Kingdom—where every nation, tribe, people and language will gather together in worship (Revelation 7:9-10).
Look at a map and consider the rich breadth and depth of the body of Christ in places like South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. How might God be calling you to participate with the global Church in taking the whole Gospel to the whole world in the coming year?
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