Preamble | Audio Reading of The Seoul Statement

This is an audio reading of the Preamble to the Seoul Statement, reflecting on the Lausanne Movement’s 50-year legacy in global evangelism and addressing ongoing challenges facing the global church.

To read the full text, visit lausanne.org/statement/the-seoul-statement.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Lausanne Movement audiopresents the Soul Statement.
The Seoul Statement was designed asa companion to the State of the Great
Commission report and other Lausannefoundational documents, such as the
Lausanne Covenant, Manila Manifesto,and Cape Town commitment with the
intent to offer a resource to helpthe global church reflect and engage

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on essential theological gaps thathave emerged over recent years.
To learn more about the Anne movement.
Visit our [e-mail].
Preamble,
the fourth Lausanne Congress held aninch on South Korea, marks the 50th
anniversary of the birth of a remarkablemovement committed to global mission.

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The first Lausanne Congress in1974 brought together 2,700 church
leaders from over 150 countries.
Who affirmed their shared convictionthat the whole church must take the
whole gospel to the whole world.
Following the first Congress, the globalchurch did more to collaboratively
accelerate worldwide evangelization thanat any other period in history, resulting

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in unprecedented growth of the church asmillions in previously unreached regions.
The gospel and experience itstransforming power, we rejoice
over what God has done through thechurch's commitment to the great.
Apostolic priority of proclaiming thegood news of Jesus Christ in order to
bring salvation to people lost in sin.

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Even so, the task of evangelizationremains urgent as billions remain
outside the reach of the messageof God's love and grace in Christ.
Moreover, in the face of this expansivegrowth, the church in many parts of
the world has struggled to effectivelynurture the faith and discipleship of
millions of first generation Christians.
In the commission of the Lord Jesus to theapostles in Matthew 28 18 through 20, he

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made clear that the mandate given to thechurch to make disciples of all nations
involve two equally important priorities.
The evangelistic task of baptizingthem into the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, andthe pastoral task of teaching them to
obey all that Christ had commanded.
Both these priorities are evident in theApostle Paul's mission strategy in the

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Book of Acts, and in his many epistles.
He was passionate about reaching thelost with the message of salvation,
and he was equally passionate aboutstrengthening the faith of believers
so that they lived lives worthy of thegospel and were able to oppose false
teachings that threatened to underminethe truth of the gospel As he summarizes
in Colossians 1 28, we proclaim him.

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Warning everyone and teachingeveryone with all wisdom that
we may present everyone perfect.
In Christ.
We regret that during the last 50 yearsof evangelistic harvest, the global
church has not adequately provided theteaching necessary to help new believers
develop a truly biblical worldview.
The church has often failed to nurturenew believers to obey Christ's call

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to radical discipleship at home,at school, in the church, in our
neighborhoods, and in the marketplace.
It has also struggled to equip itsleaders to respond to trending social
values and to distortions of thegospel, which have threatened to erode
the sincere faith of Christians andto destroy the unity and fellowship
of the church of the Lord Jesus.

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Consequently, we are alarmed by the riseof false teachings and pseudo Christian
lifestyles leading numerous believers awayfrom the essential values of the gospel.
For 50 years, the Anne Movement hasbeen guided by the 1974 Anne Covenant.
The 1989 Manila Manifesto and the 2010Cape Town Commitment, the sole statement

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of the fourth Lausanne Congress fullyaffirms those earlier Congress documents
and builds on their firm foundation byrenewing our commitment to the centrality
of the gospel as seen in section one ofthe statement, and to the faithful reading
of scripture as seen in section two.
Only in this way can we meet the specificchallenges that now face the global
church as seen in sections three to seven.

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As we seek to bear faithful witnessto our crucified and risen Lord, from
everywhere to everywhere, for the sakeof generations to come, let the church
declare and display Christ together.
I.