Of the beauty and babel of L4

Last September 22-28, I had the privilege of participating in the Fourth Lausanne Congress (L4) held in Incheon, South Korea. You can find other websites that better explain the significance of this global gathering, so go ahead and visit them.

It was fascinating. One of the first things I learned from L4 is that, statistically, the global Church’s numbers have stayed static for centuries. I’m not sure what to make of that, but here’s a video discussing the state of the Great Commission more:

That week in September was historic and distinctive.

I felt much gratitude. (Particularly towards Nana Yaw, who nominated me for L4 and Kuya Dags Miguel, who nominated me for YLGen). It’s because of these men that I got to see the beauty and the babel of the global Church with my own eyes. I can still remember buzzing over multiple individual stories I heard reflecting facets of His grace, kindness, and humor. And I also remember the misalignment, the anguish, the heartache.

Sounds about right when speaking about the global Church, huh? L4’s theme is below:

The Beauty

Congregational Worship

I’ve been to global conferences before, but never at L4’s scale.

And when you have over 200+ countries and territories represented, with over 5,000 voices strong worshiping God onsite and thousands more online, the energy is astounding. I especially loved the traditional Korean drums and the enthralling voices of the Korean choir composed of singers from different local churches. My goodness, what a sight to behold—probably a glimpse of “every tribe, every tongue, and every knee bowed down” I’ll see in this lifetime.

Table Groups

Did I think table groups were the best? Yes.
Do I have a WhatsApp group named C59 best table!!! with my table mates? Of course.

The countries we represented were USA (hi, T), Canada (hi, J) , Australia (hi, A), Cyprus (hi T), and the Philippines. We were supposed to have another lady in the group, but she was assigned to a different role, and got me and J to co-lead our table group.

Being in L4 means keeping company with servant-leaders, so J (who serves as a pastor in Canada) seamlessly started to facilitate conversation around the table. And fine, fine, my table doesn’t have to be the ‘best’, but it was certainly special to me. 🙂

This was US-T’s fourth Lausanne Congress, and Cyprus-T’s third. I just wanted to listen to them share about God’s movement in their lives—I hoped to glean from their wisdom. Cyprus-T actually gifted me with a book elaborating on his ministry; while US-T shared his thoughts on whether or not local churches are actually willing to sacrifice to honor God and His people.

J and A were my most constant table group mates. They were engaged, generous, and relational; we talked about some of the heartaches we have as church leaders and my gosh, don’t we all just want Jesus to win in our lives and in the lives of our congregations? I respect the sacred, deep, and heavy work of relationships, and the unending complexities of people, especially my own. J asked us a follow-up question post-Congress in our WhatsApp group, and what a joy to keep that conversation open. I hope I see these gentlemen again.

“I feel so pastored.”
“Oh, Najee. I don’t see us as pastoring you because we are all leaders at the table, listening, sharing, and encouraging each other as brothers and sisters.”

Grateful for the humility around our table. 🥺

Diverse friendships and reunions

You know the adage “love grows over time”? Being in L4 was like bearing witness to love all around. From every corner and turn, I would see friends saying hi, hugging, slapping each other’s backs affectionately. I would see the recognition, the shock, the immediate familiarity, the cross-cultural joy. Some haven’t seen each other in decades. They live in different countries, and L4 brought them together again. And as much as I love new friendships forming, there’s nothing quite like old friends. 🙂

Is friendship my favorite ship or what?

(It is. Sometimes I think about worship being my favorite ship, but no, it’s really friendship. When it comes to the Lord, of course the proper response is worship, but my goodness, He calls me friend!)

My friends at MFN, new and not-so-new, have a natural bond to each other (all those meetings and collaborate sessions!), and I’m so curious about the road ahead for this team.

Cheers in particular to my catalysts Redina Kolaneci and Kehinde Ojo—may your leadership always be under the shadow of the Holy Spirit.

South Korean Church

I cannot believe the local Korean church members. The word I’d use is “doting”. They doted on the global church coming to their shores. Their smiles were so bright and big. They were stupendously artistic, excellent, friendly, prayerful, protective, and pure?! Despite the language barrier!

Those “God bless you” signs on the last day of the Congress truly melted my heart.

Volunteers would be up early to greet you ‘good morning’ when you ride your shuttle to the Convensia, then, when you arrive, they say ‘welcome back’. Their friendliness helps make a huge convention center feel a little homier. In the evenings, they make sure you’re in the right bus (and tell you to wear your seatbelts). I felt so cared for. 🥺

I’m so grateful for the Korean church. They prayed for YEARS for this global gathering. South Korea is the second largest sending nation of missionaries in the WORLD, did you know? I learned so much from this body of believers about hospitality (and from a Filipino, that’s saying something I believe), and can only praise the Lord.

Bus Rides

I challenged myself and talked to every seatmate I had—even during the evenings when my social battery was low. If I had a seatmate, I made it a point to say hello. That’s the beauty of knowing the person beside you is a fellow servant of the King. Oh, these were such beautiful moments of conversation. But I have a funny one, too:

Korean volunteer: “PLEASE WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS! Korean roads, might be fast driving! Might be dangerous!”

Behind me: “Is she kidding? She hasn’t been to Cairo, Egypt!”

Me: “Um, have you been to the Philippines??”

In front of me: “It’s the worst in India!”

Locals being locals, amirite? 😆

I talked to three Africans, one Southeast Asian, two East Asians, one South Asian — and each conversation would revolve around how God is faithful, times can be tough, but He is moving in their lives, families, ministries. I would also try to ask for the story of how the Spirit quickened them from death to life. And I got to pray for some of them! 🙂 What a privilege. Thank You, Lord.

Filipinos: Mga kababayan ko

I came back from South Korea loving Filipinos more. Maybe not my government, maybe not my nation per se, but so much love for the Filipino people. I love laughing, and I laugh loudest with my countrymen. I wonder if that’s the same for all nationalities?

Because I was regularly volunteering with MFN, and attending meetings, and my hotel was rather far from the Convensia (farther away from the rest of the Filipinos), I didn’t really get to hang out with them much sadly. But I’m also so glad, because I have more reason to meet and connect back home. 🙂

I’m so happy to have met new Filipino friends because of L4.

Iba talaga ang Pinoy, wala akong masabi. Sobra ang pighati, sobra ang pag-asa, sobra ang paghanga, sobra ang galing. I was also proud to see friends on stage (hi Ian!), sharing stories of God’s faithfulness. 🙂

We came into L4 as individuals and friends, we came home as LForce (the Filipino cohort did a whole reunion and everything already. I really love Pinoys haha.)

Lord, please, glorify Yourself through Your Filipino church.

The Persecuted Church

On September 25, the theme of the Congress revolved around the persecuted Church. It was a day full of head-shaking and tear-shedding, if I’m being honest. I was spiritually spent, sensing all the joy and endurance and perseverance I did not have, and the grief that came with that realization. One of the speakers from Iran said that he didn’t see sunlight for almost a year, and he was imprisoned for five because of his faith.

T (from my table group) also mentioned about how we usually hear from believers who endure and live to tell the tale of persecution, but on the other hand, thousands recant their faith, too. We need to be praying for them as well. We did.

May it be so with us.

Prayer Space

The Prayer Space was the dark horse of the Congress.

I had met Katherine Lorance online some years back, as she usually leads prayers in Lausanne events. I was happy to finally meet her in person. She encouraged me to visit the Prayer Space in Convensia, and I did exactly that. It was quiet, and I was alone going through the space.

It was designed with specific prompts allotted in stations, I remember thinking, “Oh, this is so beautiful and so thoughtful.”

And looking back now, I think gatherings like the Lausanne Congress want to achieve in a larger scale what the Prayer Space did for me: a powerful encounter with God, a broken heart for people who don’t know Jesus, and a deepened reliance on the Holy Spirit.

What a time.

(I could share about the babel, too, but perhaps better to discuss in person. Constructive criticism in private, loud praise in public, and all that jazz. 😉 I’ve been so blessed that despite our own shortcomings, God’s got us covered. Onwards.)

“For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

Hebrews 11:14–16 ESV

Over to you: Were you there in L4? What were your favorite parts?

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• Appreciation
• Documentation
• Introduction
• Reorientation