CCA General Secretary addresses General Assembly of Church of Christ in Thailand

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

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18 October 2016

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In the presence of more than one thousand five hundred participants – delegates, representatives of ecumenical mission agencies and churches from abroad, missionaries working in Thailand, and former missionaries to Thailand – the 34th General Assembly of the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) was opened at a solemn ceremony on Monday, 17 October 2016.

The Rev. Dr. Thawesak Mahachavaroj inaugurated the General Assembly during the opening worship service; the Assembly is being held from 17-20 October 2016 at the Bangkok Christian College.

The General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, while addressing the General Assembly stated that, “the CCT has been demonstrating its ecumenical commitment and witness during the past several decades. The CCT’s accompaniment to found a fellowship of Asian churches started with the first meeting of Asian church leaders, who met in 1949 in Bangkok to discuss the possibility of a more organised structure for the Asian ecumenical movement.”

“The CCT has been continuing its journey with the CCA ever since the East Asia Christian Conference (EACC), forerunner of the CCA, was founded in 1957, and even the first headquarters of the CCA was established in Bangkok and hosted by the CCT,” recollected CCA General Secretary.

“The faithful accompaniment of the CCT with the CCA during the past decades of its life and witness will be remembered gratefully by Asian churches, and they are all proud to testify that there is special place for the CCT in CCA’s history and vice versa; no other church in the CCA fellowship can claim such a unique privilege,” said Dr. Mathews George during his address at the opening session of the CCT Assembly.

“Every Assembly and its deliberations provide special opportunities to reflect on its ongoing mission and witness, undertake a self-examination of the church’s role, and search for a new vision to help revitalise the church. I pray and wish that the 34th General Assembly will be a blessing, which will enable the CCT to respond to God’s call for mission and witness at this crucial time of history in Thailand,” the General Secretary added.

 The theme of the Assembly is “Go and Make Disciples of All Nations” (Mathew 28:19).  Various sessions of the Assembly on the first day were led by Elder Surapong Mitrakul General Secretary CCT, Dr. Rung Ruengsan-Ajin Vice Moderator CCT, Elder Koosak Sarakitiphan Treasurer CCT, and Dr. Prawete Khid-Arn Director for Ecumenical Relations.

The assembly will conclude on 20 October 2016.