The All India Congress on Church in Mission (AICOCIM) concluded Thursday (Sept. 18) in Nagpur with a strong message that the gathering was not an end but the beginning of ongoing work. Over four days, nearly 450 participants — including leaders from every Indian state — engaged in prayer, discussion, and planning across 13 tracks.
The morning of the final day was dedicated to reports from each track, covering areas such as discipleship, justice, digital engagement, families, and theological education. Facilitators emphasized that the conversations begun in Nagpur would continue through new initiatives designed to equip churches for the coming decade.
Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) General Secretary Vijayesh Lal reminded delegates that the true measure of the Congress would not be its sessions or resolutions, but the work carried forward afterward.
“The Congress is not the end,” Lal said. “It is a doorway. What matters is not that we gathered, but that we go from here to our calling — to years of faithfulness.”
He described the meeting as a “kairos moment” for the Indian Church, a time to embrace surrender, courage, and imagination. “Do not let this Congress be a memory only,” he said. “Let it become a movement.”
Nagpur Declaration, new commissions & task forces
As a tangible outcome of the gathering, Lal presented the draft of the Nagpur Declaration, described as a statement of Christian witness in India. The draft will be circulated to participants for feedback and refinement over the next month before being finalized. Delegates were reminded that the declaration is intended not only as a reflection on the Congress but as a covenant of commitment for the years ahead.
The closing session also marked the launch of several new commissions under the Evangelical Fellowship of India, each designed to address areas of pressing need. These include a Commission on Discipleship, a Commission on Justice, Dalits and Tribals, a Digital and AI Commission, a Shepherding Commission to provide pastoral care for pastors, and a Families and Singles Commission.
“These commissions are being launched today as part of EFI’s 75th anniversary celebrations,” Lal said, underscoring that they represent a long-term commitment to strengthening the Church’s mission.
In addition to commissions, Lal announced that specialized task forces will be formed in the coming days to focus on key areas. These include evangelism, grassroots theological education, media and artificial intelligence, mental health, research, leadership development, and the empowerment of women and youth.
“These task forces will ensure that the fruit of the Congress will be the obedience in the decade to come,” Lal said. “What happened here must not stay here. We go forward in prayer, in unity, and knowing that Christ has risen and that his kingdom cannot be shaken.”
As the Congress closed, EFI leaders emphasized that the work of the 13 tracks, the new commissions, and the upcoming task forces will shape the Church’s mission well beyond Nagpur. The aim, they said, is to see lasting transformation in discipleship, justice, digital engagement, pastoral care, and family life.
“The call is very simple, but it is never easy,” Lal said in his final exhortation. “It is to surrender afresh to Christ, to stand with courage, and to imagine new pathways of witness for the next decade.”
The Congress ended with prayer and thanksgiving, with organizers expressing confidence that the commitments made in Nagpur would strengthen the Church’s witness across the country in the years ahead.
