Lausanne Nigeria Congress Opens in Abuja with Call for Unified Witness

By Danjuma Auta

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Lausanne Nigeria Congress 2026 opened this week at the International Christian Centre in Abuja, gathering church leaders from across Nigeria and beyond under the theme, “Let the Church Declare and Display Christ Together.”

The Congress Chairman, Rev. Inusa Sabo Nmadu, in his welcome remarks, appreciated delegates from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and other nations, saying their presence showed the Nigerian Church is ready for a renewed mission push.

Rev. Nmadu traced the Lausanne Movement to 1974, when Billy Graham and John Stott convened 2,400 evangelical leaders from 150 nations in Lausanne, Switzerland, birthing the Lausanne Covenant.

He noted the movement’s subsequent global congresses in Manila in 1989, Cape Town in 2010, and Seoul in 2024, affirming Nigeria’s consistent participation in the story.

Expounding the theme, Nmadu said “Let the Church” speaks of the whole Body of Christ, not a single denomination.

“The Nigerian Church has grown in number but shrunk in influence. We have more churches on every street but less credibility in the street. If we cannot demonstrate unity here for three days, we cannot preach unity to Nigeria,” he said.

He defined “Declare” as a return to Christ-centred evangelism, noting that of Nigeria’s over 230 million people, more than 90 million have yet to hear the Gospel in a way they can understand and respond to.

He urged that the Church proclaim Christ rather than its own brand, church names, or General Overseers.

“Display,” he said, is the lived Gospel integrity in public office, refusal of bribes, honesty in business, fidelity in marriage, peacemaking in communities, and care for the vulnerable.

Citing the Seoul Statement, he added: “Declaration without display is hypocrisy. Display without declaration is incomplete.”

On “Together,” Nmadu warned against denominational empires, saying no single ministry can evangelize Nigeria alone.

He emphasized the need to engage young people, who make up 70 percent of the nation, noting: “They are not the Church of tomorrow. They are the Church of today.”

He called for intentional mission in every sphere: church, government, business, arts, media, education, and family.

The cleric said the Nigerian Church must close critical mission gaps if it is to fulfill its calling.

He pointed to the geographic reality that over 100 of Nigeria’s 515 ethnic groups remain unreached and unengaged, mostly in the North-West, North-East and parts of the Middle Belt, alongside a generational gap where young Nigerians who constitute the majority of the population are increasingly absent from church life and drawn to the Japa emigration wave.

He also highlighted what he described as mile-wide evangelism but inch-deep discipleship, a persistent unity gap marked by competition and rivalry, a marketplace gap where the vast majority of believers who are not full-time church workers remain undiscipled for their vocations, and a display gap of compassion and justice in a country burdened by over 20 million out-of-school children and millions of displaced persons, widows and orphans.

Explaining the urgency of the congress amid insecurity, hunger, division, and youth hopelessness, he quoted Martin Luther King Jr.: “If not now, when? If not here, where? If not me, who?”

He said the three-day gathering is a congress, not a conference, that will produce an “Abuja Declaration” outlining what the Nigerian Church will do together in the next 10 years.

“At a conference you are an audience; at a congress you are a delegate,” Nmadu said, closing with John Stott: “There is a kind of evangelism that is all words and no deeds… We want a Gospel that is both declaration and display.”

The opening session featured goodwill messages from the Global Executive Director of the Lausanne Movement, Michael Oh; the Christian Association of Nigeria, represented by the Primate of the Anglican Church Nigeria, Most Rev. Henry Ndukuba; and Nigeria’s First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, who said the theme aligns with the nation’s need to display godliness and righteousness.

The President of the Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA, Rev. Dr. Job Ayuba Bagat, offered special prayers for Nigeria.

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