Dear 180 Family,

We are very pleased to announce that both Pastor Sam and Pastor Lydia have been accepted and invited to take part in The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization that is being held this year in Cape Town, South Africa! This is a milestone, not just in the lives of our pastors, but in 180 Church and the direction that God is taking us.

To explain, the Lausanne Movement was started in 1974 by Reverend Billy Graham in an effort to unite the world's Christian evangelical leaders to discuss and promote world evangelization. TIME Magazine called the Lausanne Congress "possibly the widest-ranging meeting of Christians ever held".

This year, in the Third Lausanne Congress, 4000 leaders from more than 200 countries will come together once again in Cape Town to confront critical issues and how the gospel applies on a global scale.

Now, to participate in such a historic event is no simple feat– it is by invitation only with a lengthy and highly selective process that involves two rounds and selections that are based solely on nominations by national and regional committees. Only 400 participants were chosen from the United States alone with just 40 leaders chosen from Pastor Sam and Pastor Lydia's age bracket. In addition, only 7 leaders were chosen from New York as as a whole, including Dr. Tim Keller from Redeemer Church and a handful of presidents from renowned "missional" agencies.

To be part of that small percentage and to be among the youngest leaders at the Congress is a huge honor and privilege. This is an opportunity that had to have been ordained by God Himself. God has been speaking to the both of them about the prophetic significance of the age 30. Now, coupled with many other speaking engagements and invitations to events that hold international weight, Lausanne is a bold confirmation of God's ever-expanding plans and purposes for them.

At Cape Town, they will be representing not just themselves, but everything that God has done and is doing in 180 and New York City. As they prepare to leave this October to South Africa, we as the church body have two big obligations in order to support them, love them, and even more, to join our pastors on this unprecedented journey:

The first is to support them financially. The Cape Town 2010 Team has asked the participating leaders to not pay out of their own pockets but instead to ask their churches to help pay for their trip as it is a symbol of the local church body joining the larger universal body of Christ and embracing and joining in the task of world evangelization!

Next, we need to cover them in prayer as they prepare for, leave for, and participate in Cape Town 2010. We can pray that God will cover their hearts and minds during the trip, for traveling mercies as they fly, and that they would fully experience everything that God has in store for them during the Congress.

This event is unquestionably the largest and most globally significant event that Pastor Sam and Pastor Lydia will have ever participated in. They will be hearing from and meeting with the top evangelical leaders in the world. This is the cream of the crop and our pastors are amongst this group of individuals ordained by God to influence the globe for Christ!

With grateful hearts, let's love, support, and pray for our pastors as they embark on this exciting new chapter of 180 Church.