Greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ!  Today, I want to begin to introduce you to Cape Town 2010 and the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization which is coming up in just under a year.  This congress will be a meeting of a select group of 4,000 Christian leaders from 200 nations with the purpose of confronting the most critical issues of our time so that God's church can more faithfully take the whole Gospel to the whole world.

     In God's mysterious wisdom, TIBM has been given a seat at the table for Lausanne III and, God willing, I (Cody) will be in Cape Town as an on-site participant.  While this is a tremendous and befuddling honor, it is also a great responsibility.  Will I just be an ineffectual mass of flesh at this conference, or will the Lord use me to really contribute to His Church and Kingdom through the congress?  Clearly, I need your fervent prayer.

     Over the next several months, I'll begin doing several things to prepare for and engage in the work of Cape Town 2010.  First, I'll begin raising financial support to cover the cost of travel, lodging, food, etc.  My goal is to raise $5,000 for this trip--a very insignificant amount for Yahweh Yireh, our provider.  Secondly (or perhaps simultaneously), I'll be seeking to mobilize a base of prayer supporters that will intercede on my behalf with the Father related to this congress.  Finally, I'll begin to participate in the global conversation of Lausanne III.  This will be a largely on-line process of reading, writing, and otherwise dialoguing with believers around the world.  As a matter of fact, this post itself serves as my official entrance into the conversation. 

     Now, if you are ready to dig in deeper into the purpose and work of Lausanne III, please check out the links in this article and the video below.  I find this clip to be a nice introducation to the work of Cape Town 2010, it features John Stott.  I'll also be creating a number of future blog posts related to the congress and trying to add some features right here on TIBM.org that will help you begin to participate in the work of taking the whole gospel to the whole world.