This week in Christian history: Lausanne Conference, Tim LaHaye dies

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, July 25, 2021

Lausanne Conference ends – July 25, 1974

Participants arrive for the International Congress on World Evangelization (Lausanne 74) at the Palais de Beaulieu in Lausanne, Switzerland. | Courtesy of BGC

This week marks the anniversary of when the First International Congress on World Evangelization, also called the Lausanne Conference, concluded its inaugural meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The multiday gathering was organized by a committee that was headed by the Rev. Billy Graham and had approximately 2,300 evangelical leaders from around 150 countries in attendance.

The theme of the gathering was “Let The Earth Hear His Voice,” and featured several plenary sessions, as well as discussions and debates over theology and methods of evangelism.

Follow-up gatherings would be held in subsequent years, with the conference eventually adopting influential modern church statement of faith known as the “Lausanne Covenant.”

“Therefore, in the light of this our faith and our resolve, we enter into a solemn covenant with God and with each other, to pray, to plan and to work together for the evangelization of the whole world,” stated the Covenant.

“We call upon others to join us. May God help us by his grace, and for his glory, to be faithful to this our covenant! Amen, Alleluia!”