The participants in the first study seminar after Porto Alegre issued a document expressing their joy that the seminar in Bossey focused on evangelism. Their impressions here.

Message from Bossey Seminar
Towards a new Ecumenical Agenda on Evangelism for the 21st Century
June 6-12, 2006

“ And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man shall attack you to harm you; for I have many people in this city.’ And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18,9-11)

We have been greatly enriched by participating in the WCC seminar “Towards a New Ecumenical Agenda on Evangelism in the 21st Century” which took place at the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey, 6-12 June 2006. It was both timely and a unique opportunity that the first major international study seminar of the WCC after Porto Alegre focussed on evangelism. We not only brought together what the world mission conference in Athens and the WCC assembly in Porto Alegre said in terms of unity in mission and evangelism, but also highlighted key themes and issues for ecumenical cooperation in evangelism for the 21st century. Thirty-six representatives from member churches as well as non-member churches of the WCC attended the seminar.

In the seminar we were reminded of the fact that the ecumenical movement as a whole is rooted in a common passion for the evangelization of this world and that the vitality of the ecumenical movement very much rests with its commitment to evangelism. We have become aware once again that in the ecumenical movement there are churches with a strong zeal for evangelism, growing churches and Christian renewal movements, as well as churches facing dramatic decline in membership and stagnation in evangelization; that there are churches with enormous capacities for mission and evangelism and other churches which ask for mutual ecumenical assistance and help in recapturing a holistic understanding and commitment to the proclamation of the good news (“come over to Macedonia and help us” Acts 16, 9).

In evaluating the strategic importance of this international ecumenical seminar at the beginning of a new working period of the WCC, and at the beginning of the new millennium, we would like to affirm the following convictions and proposals:

- Ecumenical cooperation in Evangelism should regain a high and visible priority in the working structure and study programme of the WCC in the post-Porto Alegre period. We are convinced that approaching the 100st anniversary of the world mission conference in Edinburgh in the year 2010 a common commitment to recapture the passion for evangelism for the future generation of ecumenical and church leaders lies at the heart of the ecumenical purpose altogether.

On the other hand, without giving evangelism a proper priority and prominent place in the work of the WCC, the urgently needed broader ecumenical approach and collaboration with non-member churches in both the Pentecostal and charismatic, and the evangelical tradition (which is also a driving force behind proposals for a Global Christian Forum) would be hindered in the future. A common concern for evangelism is a key theme and a strategic bridge for ecumenical cooperation between WCC member churches and the majority of non-member churches in the 21st century.

- We strongly encourage plans be made for an inclusive, diverse and participatory process of preparing for the 2010 centennial of the world mission conference in Edinburgh. This is a unique chance for bringing together again the dual commitment for Christian unity – even beyond the present constituency of the WCC - and the passion for world evangelization in the changed context of the 21st century.

- As the WCC has done a great work in putting together key documents on a common understanding of mission (collection of key documents on mission 1980-2005 produced for the 2005 Athens Conference on World Mission and Evangelism), we would encourage the WCC, in cooperation with other bodies (like IAMS), to project also for an international ecumenical textbook on evangelism to be made available on the occasion of the centennial in 2010. An international ecumenical textbook on evangelism should be produced for religious colleges, universities and theological institutions in general in order to more strongly include issues of evangelism in theological education and the formation of ministers in member churches and beyond. This international textbook on evangelism could contain key documents on evangelism from WCC history, major surveys on the understanding, models and practice of evangelism in various major Christian traditions including those not formally associated with WCC and perhaps a new convergence document on the meaning and ecumenical horizon of evangelism in the beginning of the 21st century.

- We were also very much concerned about the future of evangelism among youth and young adults that has been so prominent in the formative period of WCC and has been affirmed and highlighted in the most recent Athens Conference on World Mission and Evangelism. Also in Porto Alegre 2006 the participation of youth in the future of the ecumenical movement as a whole was very much highlighted. We would like to propose that in the preparatory process towards the 2010 centennial of Edinburgh a huge international ecumenical youth evangelization festival should be considered and planned for. An international ecumenical youth evangelization festival which would bring together several thousands of Christian youth and key people from vibrant and active youth networks from churches in the South and the North should accompany the official conference or festive event for 2010.

If in the midst of the old European context, which has been heavily struggling with processes of de-christianization and secularization, a massive international youth evangelization festival could take place, which would bring back the flame and passion of evangelization for a new generation to carry on the task into the 21st century, this would be a proper expression of faithfulness to the very origins of the ecumenical movement. All major Christian bodies and regional ecumenical organizations should be invited to participate in its planning. If the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the Council for World Mission, the Orthodox Syndesmos-Youth Network, the European Ecumenical Youth Council, the World Student Christian Organization, the World Evangelical Fellowship, the Charismatic Leaders Conferences, the Roman Catholic Church as presented in CCEE, and many others organizations and networks would cooperate in this regard this would really be a visible sign of strength and renewed ecumenical commitment. With this project and in cooperation with many others the WCC could also in public inspire a new generation at the beginning of this century and could rally some enthusiasm for continuing the missionary and evangelistic purpose it was founded for. The international ecumenical youth evangelization festival (IEYEF) could work as a “kick-off” for other simultaneously run evangelism youth events in different major places and cities in Europe and other continents.

- We also propose that the years 2010-2020 be declared as an Ecumenical Decade for Common Evangelism (EDCE) of which the IEYEF could be a starting point. An Ecumenical Decade for Common Evangelism following the Decade to Overcome Violence will witness to the integral and balanced commitment of the World Council of Churches both to social ethical concerns and to mission and evangelism. Having an Ecumenical Decade for Common Evangelism would certainly contribute to rekindle the flame of evangelism and empower Youth Movements that initially were at the origin of the ecumenical movement in Europe and other places in the world.

Projects like these could also be seen as one first visible and practical expression of the envisaged Global Christian Forum which can gain momentum if it develops an inspiring project also for the future generations of Christian leaders in mission and ecumenism in the 21st century.

- We also encourage that the materials of the seminar on a new ecumenical agenda for evangelism in Bossey should be made available for further use in WCC publications and communication spaces, such as the International Review of Mission (IRM), the Ecumenical Letter on Evangelism (ELE), the WCC website and the Ecumenical Network of Evangelists (in ecuspace.net).

- We suggest to continue organizing more Bossey seminars on ecumenical evangelism in the years leading to the 2010 centennial and beyond as a high interest was expressed to keep this unique ecumenical institute as an important international platform for mutual learning processes in evangelism between member churches and non-member churches in the 21st century.

- We also suggest to draft a press release on our Bossey Evangelism seminar and to make its results (Reflectors Report and Recommendations) widely known in international ecumenical, evangelical and charismatic circles.

- We put forward the request to celebrate the Peace Conference, approved by the Porto Alegre Assembly to end the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV), in the year 2011, in order not to overburden the year 2010 with too many major events.

The participants of the International Bossey Seminar
“Towards a new ecumenical agenda for evangelism in the 21st century”. Bossey, Geneva - June 12, 2006.

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto:

Be first to comment this article

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.