A3 community gathers at Lausanne 4 congress in Seoul
On Wednesday, September 23rd at the 4th Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization—halfway through the weeklong event—A3 held a special dinner for friends of the movement. 80 people attended, with a dozen more on the waiting list. As everyone gathered, the room was buzzing with conversations.
There was a high energy level as people realized this was an amazingly diverse group of people tied to the A3 movement. Some were National Directors for A3 in their respective countries. Others were marketplace leaders who are a part of the A3.business initiative. Still others were board members. Some were donors who have invested in A3. A few were faculty members who teach at A3 sessions. Women in Ministry, Missional Partners and A3 alumni were spread throughout the crowd.
People were seeing friends they had not seen for a long time. and others were meeting people in the movement for the very first time. Collaboration was happening across the room.
And then there was a great lineup of those sharing. Doug Birdsall, former CEO of the Lausanne Movement. David Bennett, the congress director for this Lausanne gathering (and A3 board member). And Jeyakaran Emmanuel (“Jakes”), who was announced only that day as the new Vice President for Global Ministry for A3.
Each shed insights on the significant ways God was using A3.
Doug Birdsall
Doug served as the emcee because, unfortunately, Joe Handley (CEO of A3) was not feeling well and so was quarantined in his hotel room. Doug, who was president of A3 from 1991 – 2007, shared about how significant it was that A3 released him to move on to be the CEO of Lausanne, and how that allowed the 3rd Lausanne Congress to happen in Cape Town in 2010. In God’s providence, it was also the time for Joe to become the A3 leader and take it to a whole new level, growing and expanding beyond Asia.
Jeyakaran Emmanuel
Jakes shared about how excited he is to be stepping into this new role as VP for Global Ministry, and how having been a part of A3 for over two decades, he still is captured by our 4 outcomes. The room applauded his appointment and clearly showed their love for Jakes and eagerness to see him take this responsibility.
David Bennett
Then David Bennett, the current Congress Director for Lausanne 4, weaved together an amazing tapestry of the ways A3 has put its fingerprint on the Lausanne movement. He shared about how his own involvement with Lausanne was very much interweaved with his history with A3. And several A3 board members and staff played key roles in both the Lausanne Congress in Cape Town and now in Seoul.
Growing A3 Leaders Network
This was a first-of-a-kind gathering where the greater A3 Community, in all its diversity, met in one room.
As the evening drew to a close, it was clear that this very diverse group was held together by a common set of kingdom values embedded in both A3 and Lausanne. Though everyone needed to get to the night’s plenary session for Lausanne, many lingered, wanting to have a few more conversations with others who were connected to A3 in unique and diverse ways. It was an energizing evening.
A3 is a global network of leaders striving to influence Spirit-led change.
Elliott Snuggs serves as Executive Vice President for A3. In addition to working alongside Joe, assisting the board of directors, and spearheading A3's strategic planning, Elliott has invested significant time and expertise in helping start the R&D pilot project we call A3.business and building it to be a growing leader development program for the marketplace in several countries. Elliott has been with A3 since 1983.
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