As the Indian Church navigates an era of cultural and spiritual challenges, the Mission All India Assembly (AICOCIM) urged Monday (September 15) to urge unity, courage and new obedience.
The four-day gathering, convened by the Indian Evangelical Fellowship (EFI), in collaboration with partner organizations, combines nearly 450 senior Christian leaders from across denominations, regions and sectors. The council will run until September 18th and will feature the entire session, 13 strategic track-span consultations and the release of the new Church Resilience Handbook.
EFI General Secretary, Rev. Vijayesh Lal welcomed the participants with what he clearly and faithfully called a summons. “This is not a normal gathering, we are not called out of habit,” Lal said. “Because this is Kairos’ moment. In a time when normal daily passages were urgently indicted, it is time for God to pay attention, repent, and call on his people to courage.”
Lal reminded us that the deeper crisis the church faces is not merely social, but spiritual. “The wide but shallow churches cannot stand when the wind rises,” he warned, urging leaders to renew their commitment to disciples of all life, unity of the entire sect and local boundaries, and commitment to courageous witnesses.
Aicocim 2025 marks the sixth iteration of Decenniel Gathering, following the 15-year gap caused by first Congress since 2009 and the unexpected obstacles, including the Covid-19 pandemic.
Organizers emphasize that it is designed to be more than just an event. Through 13 tracks covering missions, theology and Christian education, women’s leadership, disciples, justice and creative care, participants will work together in the national manifesto and set up a task force for movements that will advance the outcomes of Congress.
EFI stressed that the measure of success is not the parliament itself but the lasting impact on the health, resilience and unity of the Indian Church. Lal said the role of the EFI is to “preserve spaces for the Church to identify what faithfulness is needed,” adding that the EFI “only by serving, and if we stop serving, we will stop leading.”
Lal closed his address by inviting participants to embrace surrender, courage and spirit-led imagination in his attempt to identify the path of the church. “Our hope is not a favorable time or our own strength,” he said. “Our hope lies in Christ, who conquered death… This hope is certain and we cannot shake up.”
The Congress will continue through September 18th with plenary, track-based consultations and strategic sessions, aiming to chart shared paths of India’s evangelical witnesses over the next few years.
