CCA’s member churches, the United Church of Christ in Japan and the Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa enter into mutual mission agreement

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).

No preference updated.

29 October 2018

NR Final_UCCJ & GMIM

Two member churches of the Christian Conference of Asia, the United Church of Christ in Japan (Nihon Kirisuto Kyodan) - [UCCJ] and the Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa (Gereja Masehi Injili di Minahasa) - [GMIM] entered into an historic mission agreement during the 41st General Assembly of the UCCJ held at the Metropolitan hotel in Tokyo, Japan from 23 to 26 October 2018.

The signing of the mission agreement between UCCJ and GMIM was witnessed by more than 400 delegates of the UCCJ General Assembly, international guests, representatives of ecumenical and ecclesial organizations, as well as representatives of GMIM congregations in Japan.

In a special ceremonial service on the second day of the assembly Rev. Ishibashi Hideo (Moderator of UCCJ), Rev. Toru Akiyama (General Secretary of UCCJ),  Rev. Dr. Hein Arina (Moderator of GMIM) and Rev. Dr. Henny William Booth Sumakul (former Moderator of GMIM) signed the partnership agreement.

As per the mission partnership agreement, the members of GMIM and UCCJ will be mutually involved in joint mission initiatives both in Japan as well as in Indonesia.  

CCA General Secretary Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, who presented on the occasion of the ceremonial signing of the UCCJ-GMIM agreement during the assembly, said that he was privileged to be present and witness the historic process of entering into mission agreement  by two CCA member churches from Japan and Indonesia. 

The CCA General Secretary congratulated the leadership of UCCJ and GMIM for their sustained interest and vision of mutual partnership in the mission which will involve descendants of early Indonesian migrants in Japan, who are referred to as “Nikkei” Indonesians and have settled permanently in several parts of Japan.

Dr. Mathews George Chunakara earlier addressed the  assembly and recollected UCCJ's long tradition of supporting CCA and the Asian ecumenical movement.

Quoting the Epistle of Galatians 3: 23-26, the General Secretary of UCCJ Rev. Toru Akiyama said, “the UCCJ has partnership agreement with several other churches also in a spirit of mutual recognition based on our firm conviction and common belief that we are all one in Christ; we celebrate today  God’s divine guidance in our  new partnership with GMIM”.

“The relationship between UCCJ and GMIM started during World War II through the role UCCJ played in pacification of the conquered areas. The signing of the mission partnership agreement between UCCJ and GMIM was the result of past ten years of dialogue and cooperation”, Rev. Akiyama added.

Indonesians from the Minahasa region started working in Japan mainly in the fishing industries for more than 90 years. UCCJ has been sending missionaries to work in the area of the medical mission in the Minahasa region in the post-war period.

 As per the changed domestic laws in Indonesia, the GMIM congregations in Japan are eligible to affiliate with the GMIM Synod structure in Indonesia as full members.

The mission partnership agreed between GMIM and UCCJ will help both churches to envision new avenues of joint mission and mutual collaboration to glorify God’s mission both in Japan and in Indonesia in the future, said Hein Arina, the Moderator of the GMIM.

GMIM has about  one million members and UCCJ has more than 250,000 members.