CCA Executive Committee discusses emerging trend of “ecumenical archipelago” culture in Asia highlighted in General Secretary’s Report

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).

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20 November 2025

CCA General Secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara presents report at the Executive Committee Meeting-2025

Chiang Mai, Thailand: The Executive Committee of Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) began its meeting yesterday afternoon, 19 November 2025, with an opening worship and an opening address by the Moderator Bishop Reuel Norman Marigza.

In a report presented during the first session of the Executive Committee meeting, CCA General Secretary Dr Mathews George Chunakara expressed concern over what he described as a growing trend of “ecumenical archipelago” in Asia.

A fragmented landscape shaped by denominational and confessional interests, competing mission agendas of parachurches, and freelance evangelists is hindering ecclesial unity and ecumenical coherence in the region, leading to the development of an “ecumenical archipelago” in Asia in the name of ecumenism, highlighted the CCA General Secretary in his report.

Delivering his report to the Committee for the tenth consecutive year, Dr Chunakara provided an overview of CCA’s work, achievements, and emerging priorities. He warned that rising denominationalism, aggressive missionary competition, and the proliferation of isolated ecumenical platforms risk weakening collective witness and cooperation among churches in the region. He called on Asian churches and councils to renew their commitment to shared ecumenical formation, collaboration, and solidarity.

Situating CCA’s work within the rapidly evolving Asian and global context, Dr Chunakara highlighted ongoing geopolitical uncertainties shaped by conflicts, climate change impacts, economic instability, and shifting global power dynamics. He noted the destabilising consequences of recent US political developments, China’s expanding strategic influence, Russia’s engagement in Southeast Asia, and India’s recalibrated regional role. He also pointed to the rise of cross-border illicit economies, cybercrime, and non-state actors as further complicating factors for church and ecumenical responses.

He emphasised the need for ecumenical response to ongoing and emerging issues, especially the conflicts in Asia, including those in Myanmar, the Cambodia–Thailand border region, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, the tensions between China and Taiwan, and on the Korean Peninsula, which continue to linger and pose potential threats to peace and security in the region.

The CCA General Secretary reported that CCA organised more than twenty programmes across Asia in 2025, addressing ecumenical formation, peacebuilding, good governance, integrity leadership, and emerging geopolitical issues. Highlights included the International Consultation on Artificial Intelligence and Posthumanism in Cyberjaya, Malaysia; Churches Role in Combating Human Trafficking, Forced Migration, and Cybercrime; International Inter-religious Conference on Freedom of Religion and Rights of Religious Minorities in Asia; Asian Ecumenical Women’s Conference (AEWC-2025); and the month-long Asian Ecumenical Institute. He also shared about two forthcoming programmes before the end of the year: the Asian Church Leaders’ Conference on Ecumenical Diakonia and the International Conference on Myanmar.

Bishop Reuel Norman Marigza. in his welcome and opening address, highlighted major regional challenges, including threats to democracy, governance failures and corruption, border tensions, neglected minority rights, and growing geopolitical pressures.

As the impact of the climate emergency is escalating, especially through devastating storms, disasters, and widespread human suffering, he raised the question: “What is to be our response to the human cries of pain in situations brought about by increasing and widening negative impact of the climate emergency?”

The Executive Committee, in its forthcoming sessions, will discuss the Treasurer’s report, the report of the Search Committee for the election of a new General Secretary, and plans to initiate preparations for major upcoming CCA events, including the CCA Platinum Jubilee in 2027, the Asia Mission Conference, and the 16th General Assembly in 2028.

Photos of Day 1 of the CCA Executive Committee Meeting can be found here: