In 2010, The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization featured children and youth for the first time in both the agenda as well as the Congress statement. The resulting Cape Town Commitment, speaking on behalf of children, asks the global church to ‘take children seriously through fresh biblical and theological enquiry’; ‘seek to train and provide resources to meet the needs of children worldwide’; and ‘to expose, resist, and take action against all abuse of children’ (CTC II-D-5). Particular emphasis is placed on the plight of Children at Risk (CAR), especially those living in extreme poverty. By 2020 Lausanne is expecting to hear from the CAR issue network—how have we inspired and equipped the global church to engage in mission ‘to, for, and with’ children at risk?
From 14-17 May 2017, global influencers will gather at Lancaster Bible College, located in Pennsylvania, USA, for The Second Lausanne Forum on Children at Risk. The goal of the forum will be to promote sustained collaborative action within the global church community and to respond to both the Quito Call to Action and the Lausanne Occasional Paper on Children at Risk (produced at the Quito Consultation on Children at Risk in November 2014). We desire participants to join with the CAR issue network to respond to these foundational documents and to collaboratively discover ways ‘to educate, unify, and mobilize the global church to mission to, for, and with children at risk . . . empowering them as vulnerable agents of God’ (Quito Call to Action).
By invitation only. For more information, please send an email to: lausannecarforum2017@gmail.com.