September 17, 2024
Wheaton College President Philip Ryken Will Serve as Plenary Speaker
Pictured Above: View of the 1989 Lausanne Congress audience, photo courtesy of the Wheaton College Archives & Special Collections.
Wheaton College (IL) is honored to join the global Christian community at the upcoming Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Seoul-Incheon, South Korea, Sept. 22–28. Nearly 100 Wheaton students, faculty, staff, and alumni will join more than 5,000 Christians from around the globe in service to the Great Commission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Wheaton College has participated in this vital movement since the first Congress at Lausanne, Switzerland in 1974.
“We are deeply grateful for and blessed by the opportunity to attend this historic gathering, which draws together thousands of diverse voices from around the world to discuss global evangelism and Christian leadership,” said Wheaton President Philip Ryken ’88, who will serve as a plenary speaker. As one voice among many distinguished Lausanne speakers and participants, President Ryken will address “Christlike Servanthood—Lessons from Acts” at 9 a.m. (KST) on Friday, Sept. 27. He will offer reflections on biblical servant leadership, drawing from the Book of Acts.
Lausanne 2024 will feature an innovative hybrid format, combining an in-person gathering in Seoul with a virtual Congress experience. This approach aims to foster global collaboration and include many Christian voices worldwide. The Congress organizers expect about 5,000 in-person participants, including younger leaders, women, and marketplace professionals from various fields.
“The last three Lausanne Congresses have been pivotal gatherings in the history of missions and evangelism,” said Andy Cook, Executive Director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center and Co-Director of Lausanne North America. “Wheaton College Billy Graham Center is honored to lead the North American region of this global movement alongside a hundred Wheaton alumni and students who will actively engage in and support this event. Our prayer is for a new generation to devote their lives to strategies and collaboration to complete the Great Commission.”
A major achievement of the 1974 Congress was to develop The Lausanne Covenant. The Covenant has helped define evangelical theology and practice and has set the stage for many new partnerships and alliances. On the last day of the 1974 Congress, the Covenant was publicly signed by cofounder Billy Graham ’43. It has since been signed personally by thousands of believers and Christian organizations, and it continues to serve as a basis for Christian unity and a call to global evangelization.
Wheaton College Director of Ministry and Evangelism Jared Falkanger ’13, M.A.’19, said he could not overstate how excited he is to take students to Korea for the Fourth Congress. “This is such a unique opportunity to bring a future generation of leaders together,” Falkanger said. “They will never forget this opportunity.”
Katheryn Boyd ’28 will be among the undergraduate students attending. The daughter of American missionaries, she has spent all but three years of her life abroad and hopes that her Lausanne experience will inform her plans eventually to return to missions work in the United States or overseas. She is eager to meet and learn from other delegates and global mission leaders. “I want to learn what God has done in their areas and what he is doing for this generation who wants the world to know Jesus and to share with others,” she said.