Background

The Cape Town Commitment is truly a commitment.  It is the fruit not only of The Third Lausanne Congress, but of the unhurried process of consultation which led up to it. The single purpose of this work was to discern, as best we could as fallen beings, what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church. Priorities for the Gospel and Media form Part llA Section 4 of The Commitment. We met in Norway to flesh out what should now be done in this arena.

The Commitment was not devised by a small group. It unites the voices of evangelicals from 198 nations. They fostered partnerships and strategic alliances; and brought new ideas to the table. The Commitment is a rich gathering of wisdom from the global Church. It merits being read and studied, talked about, prayed about, and then done about. Will you share in the task of making this happen?

What now? The Cape Town Commitment has become synonymous with The Lausanne Movement. It is our commitment – to one another, and to God. So we have produced a popular edition, a Study Edition, a churches’ curriculum, and an annotated bibliography for graduate-level study. The Commitment has gone into 25 languages, and is currently going into a further 20 languages.  We have also published the record of the Congress, Christ our Reconciler (IVP), which includes some of the sharpest thinking the Church has to offer. I commend it warmly. You can buy any of these books at our online bookstore.

The Gospel and Media is one of 12 major issues from the Commitment which we plan to address.

The Gospel and Media Consultation

The consultation in Gimlekollen was the first stage in a process, to bring new spiritual energy to the media. It drew the minds and hearts of producers, writers, analysts and strategists. We surveyed creative initiatives in film, social media, education; we saw ambitious productions coming out of small budgets in some of the toughest arenas. Two things were clear: God has given unusual talents to gospel-minded Christians in the media; and he has given a relentless desire for the Christian voice to be heard more clearly. We worked and prayed to produce Media and Gospel: A call to the Lausanne Community (‘the Call’).

In 2014 a wider group will meet, to take the Call into all continents.  Strategy will move into tactical planning as we work (i) to raise a new generation of Christians to enter mainstream media as well as media ministries; and (ii) to bring greater literacy to religious news reporting.

We commend the Call to you, as you reflect on the Gospel and Media in The Cape Town Commitment.

In due course, The Lausanne Movement will publish a major series of books as a fruit of the Consultations. This landmark series will include a volume on Gospel and Media. We will also publish other material, in print and online. In the meantime the Lausanne Global Conversation gives us a chance to share our best thinking on how we can each find our place in fulfilling the Call. Please be part of the conversation.