Health For All Nations
Health for All Nations promotes a synergistic vision of the Great Creation Mandate (Gen 1:28; 2:19) the Great Commandment (Mt 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20). This convergence actualizes God's work of reconciling all things to Himself (Col 1:20) and making all things new (Rev 21:5) through those He has chosen to be ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19) to heal earths multiple alienations. Technology and social innovation already fuel our natural inclination to collaborate on complex problems and be led by God in sustainable and transformational solutions. To realize Health for All Nations:
1. Create greater unity toward this vision through the Lausanne Health for All Nations Issue Network (https://lausanne.org/networks/health-for-all-nations). Through the collaborative work of this network, we have produced an excellent Global Classroom, a 13-week video series involving some of the leading thinkers and practitioners in the Christian global health arena. This has an accompanying study guide which can be used by any group to explore the importance of health from a biblical perspective and how the Church can be involved in ministries of health, healing, and wholeness in every people group. We anticipate significant representation from our associates to impact health-related vision statements for the upcoming Lausanne 4 meeting in Seoul, South Korea in 2024.
2. Expand knowledge, understanding and wisdom in addressing the health needs of people in all nations, especially through research, reflection, and communication. The editorial mentoring and peer review of Christian Journal for Global Health (cjgh.org), training webinars on research and writing, and the popular evidence-based Best Practices in Global Health Mission web site (https://bpghm.org/) are examples of how research will be promoted from an integrated Christian mission perspective.
3. Mobilize greater and greater numbers of healthcare professionals who are called to serve the most marginalized in the most unreached areas of the world with a deeply sustainable vision. In collaboration with the International Christian Medical and Dental Association, the Christian Global Health in Perspective course was completed in 2021, refined, and has been taught to 4 global cohorts with very positive feedback. It is a 12-week distance learning academic course designed and guided by seasoned healthcare missionaries and scholars. Some have described the course as paradigm changing and inspirational. This course will be expanded to help mobilize more healthcare professionals and other Christian workers toward global mission and will be a key component in their sustainable engagement and preparation.
4. Solidify the Church's foundational calling to help people live healthy lives. This is accomplished through the Christian Global Health in Perspective course, guest lectureships, papers presented at missiological societies, and published in mission journals (eg. IBMR, EMQ, Missiology, Transformation) and engagement in strategic dialogues (eg. Fuller Seminary 2021)and consultations with key institutions (eg. WEA, Micah Global, Missio Nexus) and church leaders.
5. Create new means to engage diverse, globally representative thinkers in complex systems analysis and solution development. Opportunities to co-create new innovations at the edges of missions can be accomplished through our partnership with the RDW Launch Lab via Peer consultations, Jumpstarts or Transformation Collaboratives.
6. Establish a new common reference and guide schools that educate pastors and church leaders, Christian learning institutions and seminaries, as well as Christian health science schools, on integrating a biblical understanding of health, healing and wholeness into their curricula.