First International Congress on World Evangelization

{{Short description|Christian organization}}
[[Image:Lausanne-Beaulieu-Negative0-34-32A(1).jpg|thumb|[[Palais de Beaulieu]]]]

The '''First International Congress on World Evangelization''' ('''ICOWE'''), also sometimes called the '''Lausanne Congress''' or '''Lausanne '74''', was a [[Christian]] conference held from 16 to 25 July 1974 in Switzerland.

The conference is noted for producing the [[Lausanne Covenant]], one of the major documents of modern evangelical Christianity. The drafting committee of the covenant was headed by [[John Stott]] of [[England]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cameron|first=Julia|date=2014-07-25|title=John Stott and the Lausanne Movement: A Formative Influence|url=https://lausanne.org/content/john-stott-and-the-lausanne-movement|access-date=2021-06-03|website=Lausanne Movement|language=en-US}}</ref>

The movement claims to follow in the footsteps of the [[1910 World Missionary Conference]].

==History==
The congress started as a plan announced by American [[evangelism|evangelist]] [[Billy Graham]] in August 1972 to hold an international congress on evangelism as a follow-up to the [[1966 World Congress on Evangelism]] held in Berlin, West Germany.<ref>{{Citation | publisher = Wheaton College | work = Billy Graham Center Archives | title = Berlin '66 | url = http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/berlin66.htm}}.</ref> The conference was called by a committee headed by Graham and brought together religious leaders from 150 nations.<ref>{{Citation | publisher = Wheaton College | work = Archives | url = http://archon.wheaton.edu/?p=collections/controlcard&id=555| title = Home &#124; Archives of Wheaton College }}.</ref> Lausanne was selected for the congress in October 1972. The congress office opened in April 1973. The theme of the congress was "Let the earth hear His voice." 

Almost 2,700 [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] [[Christianity|Christian]] leaders attended the confernce at the [[Palais de Beaulieu]] in [[Lausanne]], [[Switzerland]] to discuss the progress, resources and methods of evangelizing the world.<ref> Mark A. Lamport, ''Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South'', Volume 2, Rowman & Littlefield, US, 2018, p. 451</ref>  The reports and papers at the congress helped to illustrate the shift of Christianity's center of gravity from Europe and North America to Africa, Asia and Latin America.

[[Millie Dienert]] chaired the prayer committee at the Lausanne conference.<ref>{{cite news|title=Churchwoman to give talk|newspaper=[[The Oklahoman]]|url= https://www.oklahoman.com/article/2553590/churchwoman-to-give-talk|date=October 26, 1996|access-date=March 10, 2021}}</ref> After the congress, the [[Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization]] was established.

The conference was attended by, among others, [[Francis Schaeffer]], journalist [[Malcolm Muggeridge]] and bishop [[Jack Dain]].<ref>[https://virtueonline.org/recalling-lausanne-congress-evangelism-1974 Virtue Online website]</ref>

==Legacy==

The [[Second International Congress on World Evangelization]] was held fifteen years later in [[Manila]].<ref>[https://www.lausanne.org/our-legacy Lausanne Congress official website]</ref>

The Third International Congress on World Evangelization was held in [[Cape Town]], South Africa, from 16 to 25 October 2010.<ref>[http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010/faq-basics.html Basics], FAQ, Cape town 2010: Lousanne Movement {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110807000000/http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010/faq-basics.html |date=August 7, 2011}}</ref>

A fourth congress is due to be held in Seoul, South Korea, in September 2024.<ref>[https://lausanne.org/l4 Lausanne Congress official website]</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.lausanne.org The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization]
* [http://www.lausanne.org/Brix?pageID=12891 Text of the Lausanne Covenant in English] and links to translations
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050708081957/http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/archhp1.html The Billy Graham Center's Record Index]

{{DEFAULTSORT:First International Congress On World Evangelization}}
[[Category:Christian missions|International Congress on World Evangelization]]
[[Category:1974 in Switzerland]]
[[Category:20th-century church councils]]
[[Category:1974 in Christianity]]
[[Category:1974 conferences]]
[[Category:Billy Graham]]
[[Category:Evangelicalism in Switzerland]]
[[Category:Evangelism]]
[[Category:Protestant councils and synods]]

[[zh:洛桑世界宣教大會#第一屆世界福音宣教大會]]