A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article, with a picture of John A. Vissers, appears below.
We found our way through the Singapore airport to immigration and customs at about 1:00 a.m. We had been travelling for twenty-eight hours, and with the twelve hour time difference we arrived almost two complete days after leaving Toronto. The first thing to greet us as we left the airport building was a blast of hot and humid air. But then we saw the banner, WELCOME TO SINGAPORE ’87, and we knew we were among Christian friends. After a few hours of sleep I was sitting over a breakfast table and discussing the life of the church with brothers and sisters from Latin America, Portugal, Ghana, India, and the Middle East.
From June 1st to 10th it was my privilege to participate in Singapore 87, an international gathering of some 300 younger emerging Christian leaders committed to the task of world evangelization. Representing approximately sixty-five to seventy countries, we met at the National University of Singapore under the sponsorship of the Lausanne Committee For World Evangelization. The Lausanne Committee arose from the International Congress on World Evangelization convened in 1974 by Billy Graham at Lausanne, Switzerland. Out of that congress came the Lausanne Covenant, a statement on the mission of the church under which many different Christian groups have been able to work together in the common task of world evangelization.
For ten days we met together considering the themes of Christian leadership and world evangelization. The stated purpose of the conference stressed the need for a new generation to take the torch of leadership in the task of evangelization in our world today:
Recognizing the urgent and complex tasks facing the church in reaching a lost world, we seek to inspire and encourage emerging leadership worldwide to accept the challenge of boldly, creatively and faithfully serving the church in reaching this generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It was hoped that one of the results of the conference would be a network of fruitful friendships and relationships which would enhance cooperation in the worldwide work of mission. At Singapore 87 I certainly made many new friends. And as a result of our time together I came away with a new perspective on the church around the world, and with that new perspective has come a renewed vision for my own country, my own church, and my own generation.
My time at Singapore 87 has given me a new perspective on the church around the world. I learned a great deal in the Bible studies, the plenary addresses, the discussion groups, the workshops and seminars, but more importantly I came face to face with the church around the world. I can no longer listen to a television new report on Sri Lanka without thinking about Ajith who gave the Bible expositions the first week of the conference. Whenever I read about Beirut in the Globe and Mail I wonder about how John and his family are getting along as they serve Youth For Christ in Lebanon. I can no longer talk about the problems of South Africa without remembering Caesar and Joshua, two young Black Christian workers engaged in youth evangelism in Soweto. Whenever I begin thinking about the problems we face in Canada in proclaiming the Gospel to our culture, and the state of the church in our land, I am reminded of the many brothers and sisters in Europe who are working for the church of Jesus Christ in the face of Marxism and secularism. And I rejoice daily when I think of Juan Pablo and others from Latin America who shared with us how God has been pouring out his Spirit in their midst.
My time at Singapore ’87 has given me a new perspective on Christian leadership, which was the focus of the first week of the conference. Leighton Ford perhaps best summed up the thrust of that week with the words, “God is calling a new generation of leaders to be seekers of the Kingdom of God and not builders of their own empires.” 1 am convinced that the leadership of our generation must be marked by the humble and servant-like attitude of our Lord, and by the integrity of the Gospel. Our task is to point people to Jesus Christ, humbly, creatively, strategically, and faithfully.
My time at Singapore 87 has given me a new perspective on the task of world evangelization. The church today has the same world mandate for mission given to it by the Lord Jesus himself (Matthew 28:18-20). And we have the same power for the task, the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). But we live in a world that is very different from the world in which the apostles ministered. We face ever-increasing information, communication, and transportation technologies. The world population has reached the five billion mark. Family roles continue to go through revolutionary changes. National wealth is shifting as some parts of the world refuse any longer to sit idly by while being exploited by other nations. Worldviews which oppose the Gospel of Jesus Christ are gaining strength in certain parts of the world, including North America. Some countries are becoming politically closed to the Gospel. And the church of Jesus Christ has truly taken on a global nature as congregations of believers spring up all around the world. These are just some of the issues which must be addressed as we consider the task of evangelization in a global context today.
My time at Singapore ’87 has given me a new perspective on the worship of God. We began every morning and evening plenary session with a time of worship. It is hard to put into words what it was like to worship God in that worldwide congregation. We sang traditional western hymns of the faith together with the newer Scripture-in- song pieces and Christian songs from different parts of the world. We sang in English and Spanish and a variety of other languages. There was a freedom of worship I have seldom experienced. Some raised their hands and looked heavenward while others simply bowed before the Lord in praise. Whatever the case, there was a tremendous sense that we were in the presence of the living God. I am convinced more than ever before that worship is a crucial element of renewal in our churches today.
My time at Singapore ’87 has given me a new perspective on prayer. Although prayer was a prominent feature of the entire conference, one whole day was given over to its consideration. We learned about many of the prayer movements for mission which are springing up around the world. But we also prayed! We prayed individually, we prayed in small groups with one or two others, and we prayed in regional world groups. We prayed specific prayers of intercession for the needs of our world. I was encouraged to know that many others have made prayer a priority, as we have sought to do in the Renewal Fellowship through our Prayer Calendar.
My time at Singapore ’87 has given me a new perspective on the relationship between theology and evangelism. I had the opportunity of meeting with some twenty-five theological professors from Bible colleges and seminaries around the world. One of the things we discussed was the need for a solid theological basis for evangelization, and the need for theologians to take evangelism seriously in their work. It was James Denney who once wrote that “if evangelists were theologians, or theologians evangelists, we should at least be nearer the ideal Church.” I left Singapore more determined than ever to see my own work in this light, and to work at developing a theology of evangelism for our church.
My time at Singapore ’87 has given me a new perspective on renewal. I discovered that our concern for the renewal of the church is shared by many others around the world. Some see renewal in terms of the charismatic experience of the Spirit. Others see renewal as a recovery of strong theological and biblical foundations. Still others emphasize a renewal of the structures of the church — the need for new wineskins. But amidst this diversity there was a tremendous sense of unity in the Gospel, and a deep concern for the church of Jesus Christ. It gave me a sense that we are moving in the right direction in the Renewal Fellowship in our concern to see renewal as a spiritual revitalization and a doctrinal and structural reformation.
My time at Singapore ’87 has also given me a new perspective on the Christian church in Canada. It was important to see the resistance of our culture to the Gospel in terms of what God is doing around the world. It was important to understand the struggles of the Presbyterian Church in Canada in terms of the struggles, successes and failures of other churches. It was important to see that we must be praying for a new younger emerging generation of Christian leadership here in Canada. Some of these concerns were shared by the other Canadian participants at the conference, and it was these concerns that resulted in the statement, “Younger Leaders on World Evangelization: A Canadian Agenda” (included in English and French in this issue of Channels).
Where do we go from here? In 1989 a major Lausanne congress on world evangelization will be held in Singapore. It promises to be an important event. But in the meantime it is my prayer that God would use those of us who had the privilege of attending Singapore ’87 as catalysts to identify, call, encourage, and develop a new generation of younger Christians and Christian leaders for the work of world evangelization today. The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance . .. pray therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth labourers into his harvest field (2 Peter 3:9; Matthew 9:36,37).