Lausanne Nigeria to Host 5,000 Christian Leaders in Abuja for 2026 National Congress
About 5,000 church leaders, missionaries, theological educators, young Christian leaders and marketplace professionals are expected to converge on Abuja for the Lausanne Nigeria Congress 2026, the first national Lausanne gathering in Nigeria in more than a decade.
The four-day congress is scheduled to hold from October 27 to 30 at the National Ecumenical Centre, Abuja, under the theme, “Let the Church Declare and Display Christ Together.”
The organisers said registration for the congress is currently open and will attract delegates from major Christian denominations and the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
The gathering will serve as Nigeria’s national expression of the Fourth Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation, which brought together more than 5,000 Christian leaders from over 200 countries in Incheon, South Korea, in September 2024.
According to the organisers, the Abuja congress will provide a platform for church leaders, missionaries and other Christian professionals to deepen collaboration and develop strategies for advancing Christian mission in Nigeria and across the world.
The programme will feature plenary teaching sessions, issue network deliberations, intercessory prayer, intergenerational dialogue and a public commissioning.
Key areas of discussion will include frontier missions and unreached peoples, theological education, faith in the public square, business as mission, media and digital innovation, diaspora and migration, as well as student and youth ministry.
Speaking on the significance of the congress, the National Chairman of Lausanne Nigeria and General Secretary of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. Dr. Yunusa Sabo Nmadu Jnr, described Nigeria as both a mission field and an emerging mission force.
“Nigeria is no longer merely a mission field. She is a mission force. More than fifteen thousand Nigerian missionaries are already serving in over fifty countries, while within our own borders more than forty peoples still wait for the gospel,” he said.
Nmadu said the congress was intended to bring together the wider Nigerian Church rather than a select group of Christian leaders.
“This Congress is not for a select few. It is for the whole Church, the whole gospel, the whole world,” he added.
Similarly, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Lausanne Nigeria Christian Missions, Most Rev. Dr. Henry Chukwudum Ndukuba, called for greater unity and collaboration among Christian denominations, mission agencies and different generations of leaders.
“For too long we have laboured in parallel. Denominations building alone. Agencies running alone. Generations praying alone. This is our God-given moment to come together as one body, one gospel and one mission force for the nations,” Ndukuba said.
The Lausanne Movement traces its origins to the 1974 International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland, convened by renowned evangelist Billy Graham.
The 1974 gathering attracted about 2,400 Christian leaders from 150 nations and produced the Lausanne Covenant, drafted under the chairmanship of British theologian and pastor John R. W. Stott.
The organisers said the partnership between Graham and Stott helped shape the global Christian mission movement, with subsequent milestones including the Manila Manifesto of 1989, the Cape Town Commitment of 2010 and the Seoul Statement of 2024.
The forthcoming Nigerian congress follows a series of engagements aimed at strengthening collaboration among church, mission and marketplace leaders in the country.
In March 2026, Lausanne Nigeria hosted the Global Executive Director of the Lausanne Movement, Dr. Michael Oh, in Abuja for a Global Mission Conversation focused on strategic collaboration for global impact.
The October congress is expected to build on that engagement by bringing the conversation to a broader national platform.
Registration
Registration for the congress will close on September 30, 2026.
Nigerian delegates are required to pay ₦50,000, while international delegates will pay US$200.
The organisers said group registration is available for denominations, mission agencies, seminaries and professional fellowships sending multiple delegates.
Sponsorship opportunities are also available for individuals and organisations willing to support the participation of frontier missionaries, younger leaders and delegates from under-resourced regions.
Institutions seeking deeper involvement can apply to serve as Hosting Organisations for the congress.
Lausanne Nigeria Christian Missions said it is the national expression of the global Lausanne Movement in Nigeria and operates as a registered Incorporated Trustee based in Abuja.
Its Board of Trustees is chaired by Most Rev. Dr. Henry Chukwudum Ndukuba, while Rev. Dr. Yunusa Sabo Nmadu Jnr chairs the National Leadership. Dr. Joshua Utele chairs the Central Planning Committee for the 2026 congress.
The global Lausanne Movement is a fellowship of Christian leaders committed to advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ in every nation and sphere of society. It is led by Global Executive Director, Dr. Michael Oh.
