On the evening of October 30, 2025, the 14th General Assembly of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) concluded in Seoul with the inauguration of Advocate Botrus Mansour as the new WEA Secretary General, the election of Godfrey Yogarajah as the new Chairman of the International Council, and the addition of 10 new members to the International Council.
At the closing ceremony, Secretary General Mansour remarked, "Asking someone like me, a Palestinian Christian from Israel, to be the secretary general is something special at this time when there's a ceasefire in our region after two years of war."
Mansour emphasized the responsibility he feels in being selected as WEA's Secretary General and the power of serving together as a team within the World Evangelical Alliance.
Regarding the WEA General Assembly theme, "The Gospel for Everyone by 2033," Mansour described 2033 as a nice target. "We celebrate it, it does not have eschatological meaning, but it's a lovely milestone that we can look into, seek to in 2000 years that we will reach the whole world with the gospel. What greater present can we give to the Lord Jesus?" he said.
Mansour stressed that impacting the world with the Gospel begins with Christians practicing the Great Commission that Jesus gave to His disciples. He explained that the word "evangelic" means good news. "We are the evangelicals, we are the bearers of that good news," he said. "The original name of evangelical is the bearers of good news, and we want to be really bearers of good news to the whole world."
Additionally, Mansour highlighted the work of the WEA advocacy team, which tirelessly collaborates with the United Nations and other entities to ensure that people have the freedom to worship, pray, and evangelize.
Mansour also emphasized the importance of disciple-making in spreading the Gospel. "When we want to impact the world with the gospel, it does not only mean that we share the good news verbally or tell people about Jesus and ask them to become believers to put their trust in him," he said.
He went on to highlight that the Gospel is ultimately about the kingdom of God, so that the value of the kingdom will be there. "This means a holistic understanding of the gospel. The gospel comes to change our whole life, our families, our work, our workplace, everything. So we also want to do that, as when we come to impact the world with the gospel," he said.
Pastor Rick Warren then shared a message and led the congregation in the Eucharist.
Originally published by the Christian Times
- Translated by Elena Li
