An international Christian conference in Cape Town, South Africa, has Bishop Claude Alexander Jr. of The Park Church on a mission to spark missions.

In mid-October, Alexander traveled with three members of his congregation to the South African coastal town for the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization. Nearly two months later, he is still in awe about what he experienced and the divine call he feels it has on him and his church.

The event brought together 4,000 Christian leaders from 198 nations, along with an online audience estimated at 100,000. Of the 4,000 present, 400 came from the United States, 40 were African American, and four were from The Park Church.

World partnerships

The goal of the conference, like that of the first two (Lausanne, Switzerland in 1974 and Manila, Philippines 1989) was to develop partnerships between churches and Christian agencies around the world for the purpose of reaching people with the message of Christ.

Dealing with issues of poverty, HIV/AIDS, world religions, unreached groups and the persecution of Christians in various nations, the congress left attendees with a charge to more actively engage in world evangelism in every area of society -- media, business, government, etc.

What that entails for Alexander is greater impact on the world through The Park.

Alexander said his congregation has been doing overseas missions since 2000, focusing mainly on the cities of Nairobi and Isiolo in Kenya. In September, the church sent to Isiolo a team of 15 members under the leadership of ministers Sonji Pass and Sonya Crawley, who on behalf of The Park have led 16 missions to Kenya over the last six years.

The Park also has sent missions to Malawi and Brazil. But what Alexander realized in Cape Town was that much more can be done.

Reaching the unpreached

“With the Cape Town experience, one of the things that I was made aware of is this notion of unreached groups,” he said.

Alexander said there are Christian agencies that look at where the Gospel is not being preached in each country.

“One of the things that I noticed in many countries was the deaf population,” he said. “Sizable unreached. Even in the United States there is a sizable population of the hearing impaired that is not receiving the Gospel. That is going to be a major focus for us in the upcoming year.”

Alexander said that wherever The Park ventures, its sign language ministry will accompany.

Since returning from South Africa, Alexander has held three, weeknight sessions on global missions for his congregation. The sessions averaged 150 to 200 people.

“Coming back here and seeing some ‘ah hah’ in the eyes of members in the congregation as they have been exposed to some of the sessions and seeing something stir up within them... I really think that investment of time in Cape Town for me was to be able to come back and be a catalyst for others here,” he said.

The sessions were designed around three questions: What do I understand (about global evangelization)? How do I see this playing out in my life? What should I do as a response?

Attendees were asked to fill out questionnaires that centered on those questions.

3 Traits of a good missionary

When developing mission teams, The Park looks for three characteristics in candidates, Alexander said:

First, people who have a sense that God has called them to take part in the endeavor.

Second, people who are open to being taught. The church hold preparatory sessions to unearth fear and anxiety about a place and its people.

And third, candidates must be flexible, Alexander said, because things never go 100 percent as planned.

Even more important, he said, is the ability to pray.

“You are really involved in a level of spiritual warfare, and people need to know how to pray through some things,” he said. “Sometimes you are going into areas where Christianity is not wanted, and you are entering territory that is both physically and spiritually where you are not wanted, and sometimes the greater resistance is not physical but spiritual.”

While at the conference, Alexander Tweeted to his congregation the story of a young woman whose father was murdered for being a Christian. He also told of the 200 delegates from China who raised money and paid all expenses related to the Cape Town trip but were denied travel by the Chinese government.

'Unusual connections'

Alexander said God’s call for The Park to evangelize on a greater scale has been confirmed by way of some “unusual connections,” some of which he made before attending the conference.

Two of those connections are Shalom Outreach in Ghana and an Indonesian ministry he met in Cape Town. Alexander said The Park will work with both during the next year.

In fact, he said, his invitation to the conference itself was the result of an unusual connection. Alexander said he had never heard of the Lausanne Congress for World Evangelization prior to being invited, and that his receiving an invitation is still somewhat “hazy” to him.

What he does know is that he was recommended to the selection committee by Evangelist Leighton Ford of Leighton Ford Ministries. Ford is an honorary life chairman of the congress and is a brother-in-law of famed evangelist Billy Graham, who headed the first committee in Switzerland.

“Why did the Lord put it upon Leighton’s heart? I have no idea,” Alexander said. “But He did, and it was a significant investment to me. There are things that God does for which you have very little explanation outside of the fact that He did it. As you walk through it, you come to understand it a little bit more, and I think that is what has happen here.”
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Michael Gentry covers the local faith community. Let him know what's happening in your congregation. Email churches@qcitymetro.com.

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