Church leaders, educators, mission administrators, medical ministry personnel and missionaries from five continents will meet 3-5 April 2006 for the World Gospel Mission Vision Summit in Mexico City to discuss how to implement internationalism for more effective global outreach. According to Dr. Hubert Harriman, president of the 96-year-old interdenominational mission agency, re-structuring needs to be considered in light of emergent trends in missions.
“God is working powerfully in the world today,” noted Harriman, “and World Gospel Mission is seeing results from our established fields. But no longer is it just the North American Church energizing the missionary thrust. Churches in Africa and Asia and Latin America are rapidly mobilizing missionaries to neighboring cultures and countries all around the world. Our way of ‘doing missions’ needs to reflect this.”
Participating in the three-day assembly are denominational leaders and pastors from Iglesia Evangélica de Santidad (Honduras), Africa Gospel Church (Kenya), Immanuel General Mission (Japan), Iglesia Evangélica Mundial (Bolivia), World Gospel Church (Ukraine), Churches of Christ in Christian Union (USA), Congregational Methodist Churches (USA), the Evangelical Church (USA) and Mision Evangélica Mundial de Mexico (Mexico). There will also be representatives of AMSLA (Agencia Missionario Santidad de Latina America), a missionary-sending agency headquartered in Honduras. Veteran missionaries from the United States and other nations are also joining the consultation.
Topics include steps involved in internationalization; forms of organizational structure; consideration of cultural strengths and weaknesses; and negotiable versus non-negotiable principles regarding missiology, theology, administration and location.
About WGM
World Gospel Mission is an interdenominational missions agency with over three hundred missionaries and support staff serving alongside national believers in sixteen countries on six continents. Current ministries include evangelism, education, medical and compassionate care, community development, aviation, support services and children’s work. WGM also partners with US churches, colleges and individuals to send over 1,100 volunteers annually in short-term mission experiences.
For more information log onto www.wgm.org.
(The article was edited from a press release of World Gospel Mission.)