Sub-regional Consultation Affirms Transforming Churches Mission in Southeast Asia

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).

First Preference:
Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)
Second Preference:
Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)
08 April 2016

[caption id="attachment_1732" align="aligncenter" width="778"]1936328_710977449044593_5749687207051364721_n Participants at ASEAN Mission Consultation[/caption]

As churches of Asia, especially in the Southeast Asian sub-region, have common  history in areas of mission and ecumenical cooperation for decades, increased ecumenical engagement should be further strengthened for proclamation of the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, opined the participants of a sub-regional consultation organised by the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) from 27-30 March 2016.

The consultation focused on the theme ‘Enhancing Mission among ASEAN Churches,’ and brought together 62 participants from eight Southeast Asian countries.

In a keynote address delivered at the opening session of the consultation, Dr. Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) said that, “it is an imperative that churches in Asia should envision new praxis and identity for mission in multi-religious and pluralistic contexts, as well as within the social and cultural gamut in Asia.”

In a communiqué adopted towards the end of the consultation, the participants affirmed that, “we commit ourselves to being worshipping and transforming churches to become relevant in our communities and areas of ministry through establishing and strengthening relationships in the community, engaging in evangelistic tasks and social services to the community”.

The communiqué further stated that “we affirm our commitment to be messengers of Christ and work for his mission to bring “the fullness of life” (John 10:10) to the people in a region that is fraught with challenges. We will seize this moment of Kairos and work for healing and wholeness and help in creating welcoming communities that fully respect the rights and God-given dignity of the people”.

The participants hoped that “our conversations can be a prelude to the Asia Mission Conference that will be organised by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) in 2017”.

The consultation discussed on various issues compelling the churches to engage further in dialogue and enabling them to meet the challenges together, as churches in Southeast Asia  are faced with grave issues, especially poverty, disparity, human trafficking, negative impacts of climate change, denial of the rights of indigenous groups and minorities.