The 2004 Forum for World Evangelisation in Thailand has grandly opened on Wednesday 29th September, with around 1,800 Christian leaders from 127 nations gathered. The forum is organised by the World Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation in partnership with the Great Commission Roundtable. This will be only the fourth time in the past thirty years that the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation has called such a comprehensive global gathering.

Following the Thai custom of cutting a ribbon of flowers and banging a gong, the 2004 forum was officially opened on Wednesday night by the Forum Programme Chairman Mrs. Robyn Claydon.

The forum is one with rich historical background. In 1974, the world renowned evangelist Rev Billy Graham established the International Congress in Lausanne, Switzerland. Christian leaders from 150 countries attended the Congress, out of which developed the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelisation. Their vision is “The whole Church taking the whole Gospel to the whole World.”

Passing on the same spirit, today’s 2004 Forum aims to examine trends and issues facing worldwide evangelisation, with 31 issues impacting world evangelisation that have already been identified, the Christian leaders from all over the world will try to form strategies and develop specific action plans for overcoming these 31 significant roadblocks to evangelism.

Keynote speaker for the evening, Dr. Roger Parrott, 2004 Forum Chairman, urged the participants to allow the Holy Spirit to guide the direction of their ministries and their work at the Forum.

Parrott reminded participants that the same wind of the Spirit blew at Pentecost, blew again at Lausanne 1974 and can once again blow across the 2004 Forum if the participants' sole desire is to live, work and relate to each other.

Mrs. Vonette Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, International, offered prayers for God’s guidance for participant discussions and for the long-term impact of the Forum on global evangelisation.

Rev. David Ruiz, International Coordinator of the Great Commission Roundtable, encouraged the participants to “share, learn and dialogue” as they experience “A new vision, a new heart and a renewed call.”

According to the Media and Communications Team member, Andrew Brumme, the intercessory prayer team of the 2004 Forum is to cover the forum in 24 hour prayer. In addition, he referred to the Bible the Book of Acts Chapter 15, the 2004 Forum is just like the Council at Jerusalem, where apostles and other church leaders came together to tackle several barriers to the spread of the gospel to the gentiles.

Recalling the first Lausanne gathering in Switzerland 30 years ago, Billy Graham stated the simple purpose of the gathering at the opening address, “...to seek how we can work together to fulfill Christ’s last commission as quickly and as thoroughly as possible.” Today the spirit of Lausanne has still been inherited well.

Till 5 October, the leaders will be formed into Issue Groups of 30-70 people, in which they will focus on one of the 31 specific issues. Each group will define their issue, conduct research, collect information on ministries engaging the issue and then prepare an implementation action plan for the church to address the concern. All the findings will be shared later at the forum.