On September 23, the first missiological engagement plenary of the Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization entitled “God’s Mission Empowered by the Holy Spirit” was held in Incheon, Korea. Speakers demonstrated dynamic testimonies and rational experience of churches led by the Spirit, highlighting that “God is at work.”
The “missiological engagement” is one of the three sessions lived through the Fourth Lausanne Congress, each day focusing on one topic such as “God’s Mission Empowered by the Holy Spirit," “God’s Mission through the Witness of His People," “God’s Mission in Cities and the Workplace," etc.
Dr. Billy Wilson, the president of Oral Roberts University and the Global Chair of Empowered21, the first speaker of this session, gave a speech named “Revival and Movement," emphasizing the church should be accelerated and united with the Holy Spirit to do God’s mission effectively.
By noting the reality that the world is encountering a series of accelerations, technology, invention, science, and especially the exploding world population, but the growth of the Christian percentage of the population is declining during the last century, he reminded all attendants that “we must have an acceleration of our mission and evangelistic effectiveness.”
He then explained why the early church can make the supernatural spread of the gospel to the known world these days without any convenience like technology or mass media today, lies in the five qualities: they had conviction, flexibility, obedience, dependence, and unity.
Detailedly speaking, the early Christians were convinced of the resurrection of Jesus, and he is the absolute answer to salvation, with which truth they lived to die; they were flexible and expandable so that persecutions or trials were changed into opportunities to preach and testify; they radically obeyed; they boldly depended on the holy spirit, his guidance, empowerment, and strength; they had unity, and the unity was rational, missional, and spiritual.
He believed all these happen as long as churches were empowered by the Holy Spirit, only then could the vision of Empowered21 be possible, which calls for moves to let every person on earth have an authentic encounter with Jesus Christ by Pentecost 2033.
“Together in unity, we may rise to take the good news of our savior, Jesus, the son of the living God, to everyone. Amen. “ He finally exhorted.
Rev. Kwabena Asamoah Gyadu, the president of Trinity Theological Seminary, Ghana, presented an African perspective on the ministry of the holy spirit with the speech entitled “On Not Being Orphaned.”
By recalling the beginning story of the Musama Disco Christo Church, the largest independent church in Ghana, which was established by a pre-methodist who experienced a spiritual revival with vision and prophecies in prayer and so was expelled from the denomination for colliding its orders at that time, Rev. Kwabena emphasized that African churches rose as a critique of historic western mission churches and their ordered and cerebral forms of ecclesiology, but the revival of Africa told the world that God’s spirit is an inclusive spirit that “no one holds that spirit of God in their custody.”
He then pointed out that the Holy Spirit was not imported into Africa later; the truth is, Africa was already there at the Pentecost through the context of Acts 2.
Returning to the title, he explained that “orphan” means without support, comfort, counsel, and backbone, but Jesus said, “I will not leave you orphan; I am coming to you," directing to the presence of the holy spirit who could be our comforter, advocate, and counselor.
Rev. Kwabena stated then that there was no doubt that unexpected mission development was arising in Africa, and all this dynamism and vibrance could be only explained in the work of the holy spirit.
He specified the reason why the spirit-empowered phenomena happened in Africa in three simple sentences: “(the people) believe the promise. Believe the promise will be fulfilled. Believe the promise can be experienced.”
Holding the same faith in the promise of the same God, he finally called all the audience to go in the same spirit and work together to expand God’s kingdom.
While Rev. Kwabena showed the audience an African revival story and explanation, Bishop Emeritus Yung Hwa of the Methodist Church of Malaysia zoomed in on the spiritual revival tides in the tribe of Lun Bawang in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia, with his speech of “The Spirit Outpoured in the Borneo Jungles.”
Since the gospel was planted in Lun Bawang in 1928, four spiritual revivals rose in the tribe as well as the whole state of Sarawak and the neighboring state of Sabah. The indigenous lives changed from “drunk to die." People wept in prayer, spun down to the earth that could not stand up forcibly until repentance came; miraculous healings, visions, prophecies, and signs came out; plastic bags and water changed to ingredients like flour, oil, sugar, etc.; and even cooked food like Chinese “Youtiao” and Amerian donuts, feeding 5,000 people at once.
More importantly, said Bishop Yung Hwa, more than one million believers have been added to the church in east Malaysia since then, according to the government data. The signs and wonders continue, as well as the local 4 am prayer meetings.
In the end, Bishop Yung Hwa would like to awaken all Christians with three questions: “First, for those of us who have been taught that the Holy Spirit no longer does miracles today, how does this story differ from what we read in the New Testament? Second, are we aware that this is not an isolated story but has been repeated in many places in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East in the past 100 years? Third, how much space do we give the Holy Spirit in our ministry of evangelism, mission outreach, church planting, strategic planning, and the like?”
Sarah Breuel, the international fellowship of evangelical students executive director of Revive Europe, followed with a passion-provoking speech named “A Global Call for Repentance.”
After examining renewal movements in Christian history, revival stories in the scripture, and the revival societies’ changes, especially the so-close awakening of the Ausbury campus revival in 2023, she concluded, “Repentance paves the way for revival.”
“God alone sends revival,” she continued, “but we can posture ourselves for it, pray for it, and remove impediments with personal and corporate repentance.”
Digging out from the Biblical wisdom and personal prayer experience, she concreted that it is travailing prayers, “wordless groans," weeping, and the kind of prayer like Jesus in Getsemani that could bring true spiritual revival.
Emotionally and full of passion, she called to each continent, being grateful for the mercy and strength God had shown; no matter south or north, east or west, all churches unite in repenting prayer and stand up for Christ.
