Missiological contestations of the Lausanne Movement, 1974 – 2024: Implications for the discipline

In September 2024, in Seoul, South Korea, the Lausanne Movement (LM) held its fourth congress and also celebrated fifty years of existence. Since 1974, its activities have revolved around a series of four large-scale “congresses” bringing evangelicals from around the world together to advance mission globally. While attempting to demonstrate evangelical unity, at the same time each congress has highlighted missiological contestations within global evangelicalism, as well as with other Christians. Contestation within a community is generally a healthy sign, unless polarization sets in. This article will trace contestations about hermeneutics, church, culture(s), evangelism and social responsibility, pneumatology, religions, eschatology, sex and sexuality, creation care, prosperity gospel, peacemaking versus justice, and technology over half a century. The results also raise questions for the discipline of missiology itself: its methods, its scope, and its credibility.