In 1910 there was very little church growth in Africa. But many people responded to the mission call to reach out to the continent of Africa. Today, 100 years later, the church has grown by 3000%. In 1910 it was a receiving church; today in 2010 the African church is a sending church. They are sending missionaries to
Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The 21st century is Africa's moment to shine. As the prophet Isaiah said: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you." (60:1) The fifth day of Lausanne culminated in an evening session focused on Africa as well as children and youth. And Africa shone brightly with colour, dance, music, and spirited messages. Surely God is on the move.
While the day ended with a joyful celebration of the expansion of the gospel thoughout Africa, much of the rest of the day was spent in serious reflection on some of the challenges the church of the 21st century faces. As we looked at Ephesians 4:1-16 we realised anew that there is much disunity within the world and also within the church universal. With the fall of the Berlin wall and the demise of Apartheid a few years later we recognise that there have been great strides made in fostering unity, peace, and reconciliation within the past century. Yet there are huge divisions which still grieves us, and grieves the heart of God. The Word of the Lord in Ephesians 4 urges us as churches to maintain the unity of the Spirit in a bond of peace. Not create unity, but maintain unity. Unity is a fact because of the saving work of Christ. We are called as churches to live this unity out in the context of our churches and communities.
Vaugham Roberts likened the church to a bicycle wheel. The closer we get to the hub, which is Christ, the closer we get to each other. Unity does not mean uniformity. As people, when we freeze water we create ice cubes -- every cube is uniformally the same. When God freezes water he creates snow flakes -- every flake is unique. And so in Christ, although we are all uniquely different, we are to pursue unity -- a unity which is deeply spiritual. Roberts warned the delegates that unity must never come by sacrificing truth. The ecumenical movement cannot sideline truth. Our bond is rooted in the truth (Eph. 4:15). This "truth" is a good reminder for us as evangelical churches as we seek to maintain the unity of the Spirit in a bond of peace.
The unity of the Spirit is not the only challenge the church faces in the 21st century. While previous Lausanne meetings stressed the importance of bringing the whole gospel by the whole church to whole world, there are still so many people groups in the world who are unreached by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. While there might be 100,000 Christian missionaries in the world, only 3% of them work among unreached people groups. There are still 3700 unreached people groups in the world. 86% of all Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims have no relationship with a Christian. We are talking about 3.5 billion people -- 50% of the world's population. The world needs the church to go where no one else has gone. The church needs to ask the questions: Where is the church not? And what are we going to do about it?
In Isaiah 60 the prophet continues: "See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." (2-3) May these words of prophecy be fulfilled in our day -- not just in Africa, but throughout the world, espcially among the unengaged, unreached peoples of the world. May the LORD rise upon the church of the 21st century and his glory appear over us. And may the nations come to the light which shines brightly in the church. May a new dawn for the church universal.