| COMINAD AND COMIBAM |
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COMPARING
Definitions:
COMIBAM (Cooperacion Misionera Ibero-America),is the networking engine for the mobilization of Christians of Ibero-America toward greater involvement in the Great Commission.
COMINAD (Cooperative Missions Network of the African Dispersion), is the networking engine for the mobilization of Christians of the African Diaspora toward greater involvement in the Great Commission.
1. INCLUSIVENESS
involved in the fulfillment of the Great commission in Ibero-America. Our main focus is to build a cooperation atmosphere that combines and makes those who are already working or thinking on contributing to the Great Commission feel involved. This includes churches, sending structures, training centers and missionaries in and from Ibero-America.
outside of Great Commission. Our main focus is to build a cooperation atmosphere that combines and makes those who are already working or thinking on contributing to the Great Commission fell involved. This includes churches, sending structures, training centers and missionaries in and from the African Diaspora.
2. NETWORKING
“We strongly decided that we did not want to become a new organization, but a network in Ibero-America. It has been our experience that the effectiveness of networking depends on the openness and freedom of each of the participants who sit and dialogue without hindrances, and who do not work out of competitiveness with other organizations or feel threatened to be swallowed up by a new organization. All members in COMIBAM, either individuals or bodies, had the freedom to feel committed to be involved with the same vision and to feel free to go back to their own organizations and continue to work in their own processes.”
. COMINAD We strongly decided that we did not want to become a new organization, but a network within the African Diaspora. It has been our experience that the effectiveness of networking depends on the openness and freedom of each of the participants who sit and dialogue without hindrances, and who do not work out of competitiveness with other organizations or feel threatened to be swallowed up by a new organization. All participants in COMINAD, either individuals or bodies, have the freedom to feel committed to be involved with the same vision while at the same time pursue other visions.
3. MISSION-MINDEDNESS
“We know that the church in Ibero-America presents a lot of opportunities to work. But COMIBAM made a decision to work primarily to show, to produce and to provide for the church, the resources that are needed to establish the church among the unreached.”
We know the needs are great within communities where Descendants of Africa live but COMINAD has decided that we would motivate our people to reach the unsaved, especially the unreached, with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 4. CHURCH-CENTEREDNESS
“One of COMIBAM’s non-negotiables is the belief on the church’s role in the global evangelization process. Our focus is to think in advance and work to make available all the resources the church needs to be effective throughout the process of global evangelization.”
One of COMINAD’s non-negotiables is the belief that the church is commanded to do global evangelization. Our focus is to think in advance and work to make available all the resources the church needs to be effective in global evangelization.
5. The 3 main issues in the strengthening of National Missions Movements.
COMIBAM
Most of COMIBAM’s resources are invested in the establishment of effective National Missions’ Movements in each of the countries that are part of Ibero-America. We have been observing the development of National Missions’ Movements during the last 20 years, and we have compared strategies, projects and ways of working of at least 23 effective National Missions’ Movements in a. Representativeness. For a NMM (National Missions Movement) to be effective in the service of the church, a clear recognition of the main church bodies in its country is needed. Each NMM must be a missions element within the national church in regard to the UPG’s, but every church must be aware of that. We learned that from the beginning. We have to be strongly committed to the church bodies like mission alliances of Evangelicals or pastor and church fellowships, and some other threats already exist in countries. People have to know that our work is to provide the country with a NMM, and we invite all of them to be part of the process of thinking, planning, and the emerging of leadership for the future NMM’s. This is the hardest part in the process of establishing a NMM. Some- times it seems easier to build a parallel organization. However, 20 years of experience have confirmed us that the best choice is to join hands with already existing church organizations in the countries, and help them focus in the understanding of the church’s need to be lead by the Great Commission, and to contribute supply for this need. Most of the 23 NMM’s in Ibero-America emerged after a consultation process with the National Alliance of Evangelicals and other church bodies from every country. One of the challenges of this process for establishing the NMM is to commit ourselves to respond to the expectations of the church, working hard to be effective. b. Functions. To build an effective NMM demands a mentoring process to help to respond to the needs of the church, depending on the stage in which the national church is. First stage of the process. The functions are oriented mostly in promotion efforts within the leadership of the church as well as the mobilization of people for missions. The NMM begins to emerge as a source of connection materials and advice for the churches on how to make the first steps. Second stage. The functions begin to be more specialized, with teaching and thought provoking activities that help the church develop a missions mentality and understand the basic facts of global evangelization. Third stage. Functions are more advanced. There is focus on cooperation, on forming and supporting of strategic alliances and especially on providing resources and services for the church and those involved in missions. c. Structure. Because of our experiences and especially because of our commitment over-structure of the NMM, trying to keep the balance between the response capacity and the efficiency in the use of the scarce resources. We have to be aware that a NMM structure does not compete with the church, the sending structures or the training centers and schools. It should not either become compromised with a heavy load of budgets and expenses in order to keep things compromised with a heavy load of budgets and expenses in order to keep things moving.
COMINAD
Most of COMINAD’s efforts have been in the African-America churches. Unlike churches in Ibero-America, there are almost no missions’ movements among African-Americans. But, as never before, we are seeing church leaders cultivating a mission vision for there members. In order to maintain this momentum in African-American churches we need to focus on strengthening the church groups that are trying are moving forward in missions. We have three main areas in which we have to focus our efforts. a. Representativeness. For COMINAD to be effective in the service to the church, a clear recognition of the main church bodies in the African- American community is needed. Since COMINAD refers to people who have a passion to see African-American Christians more engaged in missions, we need to identify these people in main church bodies and encourage them in their work of mobilizing people for missions. We are committed to church bodies like the National Baptist foreign mission’ board, of Christ Holiness foreign mission board, AMEZ foreign mission board, Lott Carey mission board, United Holy Church foreign mission board, Fundamental Baptist fellowship, foreign mission board, IMB of the Southern Baptist, African Christian Fellowship, Full Gospel Baptist Fellowship and the Baptist General Conference.
People have to know that our work is to provide the country where Descendants of the Great Commission, seeing Descendants of Africa engaged in global missions, take part in the process of thinking, planning, and the emerging of leadership.
b. Functions. To build an effective missions movement demands a mentoring process to help to respond to the needs of the church, depending on the stage in which the church is. First stage in the process. The functions are oriented mostly in promotion efforts within the leadership of the church as well as the mobilization of people for missions. The Missions Movement begins to emerge as a source of connection materials and advice for the churches on how to make the first steps. Second stage in the process. The functions begin to be more specialized, with teaching and thought provoking activities that help the church develop mission mentality and understand the basic facts of global evangelization.
Third stage in the process. Functions are more advanced. There is focus on cooperation, on forming and supporting of strategic alliances and especially on providing resources and services for the church and those involved in missions.
c. Structure. Because of our experiences, and especially because of our commitment to keep COMINAD as a network, we take charge of all of the process to avoid over- structure of the Missions Movement, trying to keep the balance between the response capacity and the efficiency in the use of the scarce resources. We have to be aware that a Missions Movement structure does not compete with the church, the sending structures or the training centers and schools. I should not either become compromised with a heavy load of budgets and expenses in order to keep things moving.
COMIBAM represented by: David D. Ruiz M, President of COMIBAM COMINAD represented by: Brian Johnson, National Coordinator of COMINAD
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