The 15th General Assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia

📍 Kottayam, Kerala 27 September 2023 – 4 October 2023

Theme

"God, Renew Us in Your Spirit and Restore the Creation"

The 15th General Assembly of the Christian Conference of Asia

The General Assembly is the highest governing body of the Christian Conference of Asia and normally meets every five years. It is a special event when representatives of the CCA’s member churches and councils as well as ecumenical partner organisations come together for a celebration of faith and to reaffirm the unity of the fellowship in the Asian ecumenical movement.

As the supreme decision-making representative gathering of its member churches and councils, the General Assembly celebrates the unity of the churches in Asia in worship, study, and action.
It provides the opportunity for the representatives of the CCA members to express the common vision of the churches for the direction and mission of the CCA.
The General Assembly reviews the programmes and assesses the work carried out by the CCA through its programmes for the past years. It is also an occasion to enunciate general directions and a common vision for the future mission and programmes of the CCA.
The General Assembly elects the leadership of the CCA for the upcoming years. This includes the Moderator, Vice Moderator, Treasurer, and 17 members of the Executive Committee.

The CCA 15th General Assembly will take place in Kottayam, a historic multi-religious city in the southern state of Kerala, India. The last assembly in India took place in Bangalore in 1981.

The city of Kottayam is an important centre of the St Thomas Christians in India, a community that traces their origins to St Thomas the Apostle, who is believed to have visited Kerala in 52 CE and established churches. Kottayam was also a centre of Church Mission Society which initiated pioneering missionary activities from 1816, such as the promotion of education among oppressed peoples leading to a social renaissance in the region.

Churcha – Interactive Sessions

A key feature of the General Assembly is the deliberative and discursive ‘Churcha’ sessions. ‘Churcha’, which means ‘conversation’, ‘discussion’, or ‘sharing’ in different Indian languages, is a space for ecumenical dialogue on emerging and pressing theological, social, and geopolitical concerns, which will also help shape the future work of the CCA’s programmes and projects.

All Assembly delegates and participants will have the opportunity to choose from fifteen different topics as per their expertise and interests and join the Churcha sessions on the third day of the General Assembly. The Churcha sessions will be facilitated by expert resource persons and speakers, who will provide leadership in facilitating the conversations and help develop focused outcomes that will enrich setting priorities for ecumenical action in the coming years.

The Churcha sessions will be held on 30 September 2023. This will allow for the same group of participants to go in-depth in the exploration of the issue and create seamless collaborations, generating targeted and concrete recommendations for action by the CCA and the wider ecumenical community in Asia. The setting of the Churcha sessions will be at three different academic institutions in Kottayam town: two theological seminaries (Mar Thoma and Orthodox) and CMS College.

Responsible Stewardship and Participation in God's Mission of Renewal and Restoration of Creation

In emerging Asian contexts, especially in the post-pandemic world, the mission of the Church is to participate in the renewal and…

Eco-Spirituality and Liturgical Innovations: An Asian Theological Appraisal

The Church and the mission of God are not two separate entities, but instead, the missio Creatoris Dei establishes the missiones ecclesiae,…

Climate Crisis Mitigation and Adaptation: Environmental Sustainability in God’s Oikos

Climate change has increased the frequency of natural disasters and calamities in Asia over the last two decades. Typhoons, cyclones,…

Eco-anxiety: Churches in Asia Engaging to Address Health and Healing

“Eco-anxiety” refers to a variety of difficult emotions and mental states that are significantly related to environmental problems, while…

Dwelling in Harmony with Creation: Indigenous People in Asia

With rapid industrialisation and urbanisation in Asia, the way of life of the indigenous people and the natural resources they rely on are…

Welcoming the Stranger: Displacement, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons

The world is at its greatest level of displacement ever, millions of people have been forced to flee from their countries and escape from…

God’s Design for Life and Human Dignity: Practical Application of Bioethics

The biblical account of human beings “made in the image of God” implies that all human beings possess an inherent and inalienable dignity…

Resilience of Ecosystems for the Sustainability of Creation:Towards Life-Giving Agriculture in Asia

The Life-Giving Agriculture movement is a grassroots movement that promotes sustainable agriculture practices to promote healthy…

Restoring Balance for Gender Justice and Environmental Healing

The environmental challenges faced today demand a holistic approach to solutions that consider the interconnectedness of social, economic,…

Theology of Fullness of Life and Restoration of Creation

The theology of fullness of life has strong links with churches’ calling to participate in the Mission of God, or Missio Dei. The church’s…

Holistic Approach to Economy, Ecology, and Oikoumene in the Asian Context

The term ‘oikoumene’ refers to the ‘whole inhabited world’ and encompasses its economic, social, and ecological systems. It affirms the…

New Social-Environmental Ethics for Restoring Ecological Equilibrium

With the earth in such a state of distress, it is difficult to achieve ecological balance. Experiments and economic activities have both…

Reconciliation with God’s Creation for Moving Beyond Conflicts and Building Peace

The ecumenical movement has been playing an important role in expressing solidarity and journeying for peace and reconciliation towards the…

Challenges of the Digital World and Pitfalls of Technological Advancement

Digital technologies, which have reached around 50 percent of the developing world’s population during the past two decades, have advanced…

Understanding Ekklesia and Diakonia: Supremacy and Self-referentiality, or Creative Collaboration?

God has intentionally created all species with purpose and interconnectedness, inviting them to participate in the shared breath of life.…

Resources

Resources and key documents of the 15th CCA General Assembly can be found below:

From Jakarta to Kottayam - Reports of the CCA's Programmes and Activities from 2015 to 2023

Prophetic Echoes - A Journey of Advocacy and Action

CCA Assembly Theme Study Document

CCA Assembly Bible Studies Document

Pre-Assembly Events

The pre-Assembly events will include:

Chiang Mai, Thailand: The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) will organise the Asian Ecumenical Women’s Assembly (AEWA) and the Asian Ecumenical Youth Assembly (AEYA) as part of the pre-Assembly events in conjunction with the 15th CCA General Assembly, which will be held in Kottayam, India, from 27 September to 4 October 2023.

The AEWA–2023 and the AEYA–2023 will be held in Kottayam, India, from 25 September to 29 September 2023.

The AEWA–2023 theme ‘Asian Women: Journeying Towards Renewal and Restoration of God's Creation’ is a clarion call for Asian women to deepen their ecumenical commitment and engagement in their journey towards the renewal and restoration of creation. It hopes to build collaboration and solidarity among churches and ecumenical movements toward working for environmental and climate justice and defending the integrity of God's creation.

AEWA–2023 aims to bring together about 100 women participants, including the official voting women delegates representing member churches and councils of CCA, women secretaries of the national councils of churches, representatives of the women’s ministries or programmes of Indian churches, ecumenical partners, and delegated observers from member churches and ecumenical organisations.

The AEYA–2023 theme ‘Asian Youth Affirming Renewal and Restoration of God’s Creation’ will recognise the unique and special role of young people as agents of transformation and hope in the renewal and restoration of creation. Asian youth are well placed to address the world’s most pressing environmental problems as they are intimately connected to their local communities and have a deep understanding of the cultural, social, and economic contexts in which they live.

AEYA–2023 will bring together about 100 youth participants, including the official voting youth delegates representing member churches and councils of CCA, youth secretaries of the national councils of churches, youth leaders from Indian churches, ecumenical partners, special visitors, and Assembly stewards.

For queries, please write to ef-cca@cca.org.hk.

Ecumenical Youth Assembly-AEYA

Ecumenical Women Assembly-AEWA

Stewards Programme

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) invites applications from young Asians belonging to the CCA member churches and ecumenical councils in Asia to serve as stewards for its 15th General Assembly in Kottayam, India, from 27 September to 4 October 2023.

The stewards will also attend the pre-Assembly youth gathering along with dedicated sessions of ecumenical formation training and orientation. The arrival for the stewards will be on 23 September and departure on 4 October 2023.

The Stewards Programme will bring together a diverse group of 60 young people for the General Assembly of the CCA. Sixty young people (20 international, 20 from India, and 20 from the state of Kerala specifically) will be selected to work together with the CCA staff and local organising committees and will have various responsibilities during the General Assembly.

The Stewards Programme is an excellent opportunity for young people who are passionate about making a difference in their communities to work and collaborate in a multicultural context with other like-minded young Christians from across the Asia region, in a spirit of togetherness and friendship. It is also a platform where young people can interact with a wide range of participants at the CCA’s 15th General Assembly, including church and ecumenical leaders from around the world, theologians, missiologists, social activists, and interfaith scholars.

The working language of the programme will be English.