If you were present in either the 1974 or the 1989 congresses, please take a moment, think back, and tell us your greatest memories of Lausanne. This will be a small group, I bet. 1989 was 20 years ago. Brigada wasn’t even invented! Somehow, I managed to land a spot in Manila. Does anyone else remember that plane that skidded off the runway… was it the night before we were supposed to leave?
I remember walking by one room… and there was a crowd of people in there from dozens of lands, listening to a talk. The guy was talking about a movie about Jesus. I remember chuckling to myself, thinking, “What could be so interesting about that? There have been dozens of movies made about Jesus.” But when the guy started handing out videocassettes, people scrambled for them. And they’ve never stopped since. Paul Eshleman was introducing the Jesus Film. It was the first time I ever remember hearing of it. And now it has become one of the most watched films in all history… and has helped bring thousands… maybe hundreds of thousands to Christ.
Later, I walked past a small meeting room in which a group of thinkers were hatching out a plan called “AD2000 & Beyond.” Boring, I thought. And walked on.
In the main plenary sessions, we watched some of the best videos I had ever seen — about modernity, urbanization, unreached peoples, and more.
It was in Manila where I met several key workers… that ended up opening doors for our ministry and for partnerships with others.
What are *your* memories of Manila… or even Lausanne?
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