China Missing From Global Table as Cape Town 2010 Congress Opened Sunday in South Africa

Third Lausanne Congress is Most-Representative Event in Church History as 4200 Delegates from 198 Countries Reflect Diverse Richness of Christian Church

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 18, 2010 - As participants gathered in Cape Town for the Third Lausanne Congress on
World Evangelization that began here Sunday evening, organizers received news
that the second largest delegation - more than 200 Christian leaders from
China - were disallowed by their government from attending.

"It is with profound regret that we, as the host country for Cape Town
2010, have learned that the Chinese authorities have disallowed the Chinese
invitees to exit China to attend the Congress," said Peter Tarantal, chair of
the South African Lausanne Committee. "The absence of the Chinese delegation
is a great disappointment, and the loss of shared experience and
participation from our Chinese brothers and sisters is particularly acute
given that South Africa and China enjoy such good bilateral relations. The
much-anticipated Africa - China dialogue scheduled to take place at the Cape
Town Congress is now postponed."

Cape Town 2010, being held October 16-25, is the latest global congress
sponsored by The Lausanne Movement, begun by Billy Graham in 1974. Despite
the lack of full representation encompassing the breadth and vitality of
Christian communities in China, the Congress is possibly the most
representative gathering of the Christian church in history. In addition to
the 4200 participants from 198 countries meeting together in South Africa, it
extends to another anticipated 100,000 individuals at nearly 700 GlobaLink
sites in more than 95 countries around the world.

"Lausanne Congress participants selected for Cape Town 2010 express
wide-ranging theological and cultural diversity of the Church in every
country," said Doug Birdsall, executive chair of The Lausanne Movement. "The
selection criteria and process used by indigenous leaders in China was the
same used by other national and regional selection teams around the world.

"The Lausanne planners have no intention of challenging the Chinese
government's principle of independent, autonomous and self-governed
churches," Birdsall continued. "We recognize the nature of the Christian
community and their contribution in Chinese society while respecting China's
established institutions. We very much regret that our intentions and the
decentralized invitation process to our Chinese brothers and sisters have
been wrongly perceived."

The Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda and
honorary chair of the African Host Committee will preside over a long-planned
program Monday evening highlighting the church in China. He echoed the
profound disappointment and sense of incompleteness among Congress leadership
in knowing that Christians from China will not be able to join in the
gathering.

"It is an amazing privilege for Africa, which is fast becoming a center
for world missions, to host men and women whom God is bringing from around
the world as we begin a new chapter for the 21st Century," Archbishop Orombi
said. "Our African leadership was looking forward to developing closer ties,
friendship and mutual understanding with our Chinese brothers and sisters in
a spirit of love, humility, fraternity and support. Not having them here is
like not having Brazil at the World Cup - it is unimaginable. We want them to
know that this community reflecting the worldwide Body of Christ stands with
them as they gather in spirit with us here."

Rev. Morley Lee, General Secretary of The Chinese Coordinating Center of
World Evangelization serves as International Deputy Director of The Lausanne
Movement for the Chinese World. "We are shocked that the Chinese participants
cannot join the Congress, but we are blessed by their peaceful and calm trust
in God," he said. "We believe God still sits on His throne and that 'He works
all things for the good of those who love Him.'"

Mr. Tarantal added, "As a black South African who once tasted the bitter
pill of injustice through Apartheid, it is especially painful that in this
day and age there still exists the need to struggle and persevere in the
fight for freedom. We say to our Chinese family, 'Your absence is our loss
and your non-participation will leave a great void.'"

International news reports have prompted many friends and Christian
leaders to express their support to Congress organizers; some have also
voiced their sincere and solemn concern to Chinese authorities about their
decision to prevent the Chinese leaders from participating.

According to Birdsall, at the last Lausanne Congress in Manila in 1989,
200 seats reserved for the Chinese church were left vacant as the delegation
was prevented from leaving the country. But much has changed since then, and
over the past two years in-country selection coordinators carefully worked
through relationships to include representation of all Christian communities
in China, including observers from the China Christian Council (CCC) and
Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) and participants from rapidly growing
urban house fellowships and large rural churches.

It is a major disappointment to participants from 198 countries that at
this Congress, once again the Chinese delegation is conspicuously absent.
Though all registered participants had proper documentation, including
current passports and visas, most were detained at airports or passport
control as they attempted to depart China en route to Cape Town.

"The surprising and unfortunate restrictions placed on our Chinese
colleagues may represent mere caution on the part of their government, due to
the international nature of this gathering and the global networking that
will take place," Birdsall concluded. "We certainly hope this does not
reflect a precedent for a 'new normal' of limitations on religious freedom in
their country. If so, Christian leaders and believers around the world will
have similar concerns that this action is inconsistent with the principles
upon which great nations and enduring societies are built."

Editor's note: for more information, or for media access to photographs,
news releases and audio/ video clips, email media@capetown2010.com, or go to
www.lausanne.org/news-releases

    FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Melany Ethridge +1-972-267-1111, melany@alarryross.com
    On-Site US Contact: A. Larry Ross +27-71-546-7263, alr@alarryross.com
    On-Site UK Contact: Julia Cameron +27-76-801-7329, jcameron@lausanne.org

Melany Ethridge, +1-972-267-1111, melany at alarryross.com, or On-Site US Contact, A. Larry Ross, +27-71-546-7263, alr at alarryross.com, both for Lausanne Congress; or On-Site UK Contact, Julia Cameron of Lausanne Congress, +27-76-801-7329, jcameron at lausanne.org