Seven Mountains
CML was also influenced by the "Seven Mountains Movement" that emerged after a meeting in 1973 between Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (CCCI), and Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth with a Mission (YWAM). A consensus emerged from their meeting stating that if post-modern secular western countries where going to be re-evangelised, then the wider church needed to take seriously sending advocates into various secular spheres rather than encouraging them to leave such spheres of influence and serve the church. This was not a negative attitude towards the church, but it recognised that the church had retreated from cultural engagement and aimed to readdress this issue. Seven areas of strategic influence were highlighted, namely arts and entertainment, business, education, family, church, government and the media. These fields are seen as particular culture shapers that are especially influential within the post-modern era. As the Seven Mountains movement emerged, the church was encouraged to repent for its retreat from these places of influence and instead infiltrate and permeate these areas as strategic mission outposts.
We recently had Dr Lance Wallnau to lecture at CML about the Seven Mountains. Dr Wallnau founded the 7M University, to practically equip Christians to enter strategic spheres of influence. At CML we see the Seven Mountains Movement as an inspiration for Christians to see themselves as missionaries in each and every sphere of life.
