The All India Congress on Church in Mission (AICOCIM) opened Monday (Sept. 15) with a strong call for unity, courage, and renewed obedience as the Indian Church navigates a time of cultural and spiritual challenge.
Convened by the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) in collaboration with partner organizations, the four-day gathering is bringing together nearly 450 senior Christian leaders — far exceeding the 250–300 originally anticipated — from across denominations, regions, and sectors. The Congress will run through Sept. 18 and will feature plenary sessions, consultations across thirteen strategic tracks, and the release of a new Church Resilience Handbook.
EFI General Secretary Rev. Vijayesh Lal welcomed participants with what he called a summons to clarity and faithfulness. “This is no ordinary gathering and we have not convened out of habit,” Lal said. “We meet because this is a kairos moment — a time when the ordinary passing of days is charged with urgency, when God calls his people to attention, repentance, and courage.”
Lal reminded delegates that the deeper crisis facing the Church is not merely societal but spiritual — a gap between the gospel it proclaims and the disciples it forms. “A Church that is broad but shallow cannot stand when the winds rise,” he warned, urging leaders to renew their commitment to whole-life discipleship, unity across denominational and regional lines, and courageous witness even from the margins.
AICOCIM 2025 marks the first Congress since 2009 and the sixth iteration of the decenniel gathering, following a 15-year gap caused by unexpected obstacles including the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers emphasize that it is designed to be more than just an event. Through its thirteen tracks — covering mission, theological and Christian education, women’s leadership, discipleship, justice, creation care, and more — participants will collaborate on a national manifesto and set in motion task forces that will carry the Congress’s outcomes forward.
EFI emphasized that the measure of success will not be the Congress itself but the lasting impact on the health, resilience, and unity of the Indian Church. Lal said EFI’s role is to “hold a space for the church to discern together what faithfulness requires,” adding that EFI leads “only by serving — and if we cease to serve, we cease to lead.”
Lal closed his address by inviting participants to embrace surrender, courage, and Spirit-led imagination as they seek to discern the Church’s path. “Our hope is not in favorable times or in our own strength,” he said. “Our hope is in Christ who has conquered death… Because this hope is sure, we will not be shaken.”
The Congress continues through Sept. 18 with plenaries, track-based consultations, and strategy sessions, aiming to chart a shared path for evangelical witness in India in the years ahead.
