The Rev'd Doug Birdsall, Chairman of the Lausanne Movement, stated that the six Bible expositors will reflect the demographic, theological and cultural composition of Cape Town 2010. 'The Congress will be truly global while at the same time being distinctly African in nuance and feel. Two hundred years ago, William Carey proposed a congress of similar scope for Cape Town, South Africa,' he said. 'In a very real sense, Cape Town 2010 will be the fulfilment of his dream. Each day, the Congress programme will begin with expositions from the book of Ephesians. The six Bible teachers we have invited to Cape Town 2010
come from six different regions of the world and represent some of the finest Bible expositors of our generation.'
The expositors have been named as Ajith Fernando, Director of Sri Lanka Youth for Christ; Calisto Odede, Associate Pastor of Nairobi Pentecostal Church, Kenya; John Piper , senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis , US; Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe's Church, Oxford , UK; Ruth Padilla DeBorst, General Secretary of the Latin American Theological Fellowship (Costa Rica); and Ramez Atallah, Director of the Egyptian Bible Society, and his wife, Rebecca, who has a grassroots ministry among children and Sudanese refugees in the 'garbage village' in Cairo.
Lindsay Brown, Lausanne Movement International Director, spoke of his hopes for the Congress: 'We are hoping for clarity on the nature of evangelism and for clear-sightedness on the critical issues to be faced by the Church in the next 20 years,' he said. 'We want to see many new international partnerships formed, such as characterise The Lausanne Movement. More than that, we are looking for new initiatives and decisive action as the gospel is taken to the ends of the earth –that is the geographical ends of the earth, and every area of society.'
The Congress will draw 4,000 participants onsite, from 200 nations. In addition, capacity is being built for virtual participation by churches and theological colleges around the world, through the Cape Town GlobaLink.
From October this year (2009), the Church on each continent is invited to join The Global Conversation at www.lausanne.org, the first of its kind to draw the world's evangelicals together in engaging critical issues in world evangelization.
Peter Brierley, founder of the UK body 'Christian Research' said, 'I suspect this will be the best-planned, technologically-led global conference ever.'