Q and A at the 2009 Ecumenical Retreat

Posted by mike |

At the 2009 CCT Ecumenical retreat the assembled fraternal workers were asked by Rev. Sayam Muangsak, General Secretary of the CCT, to respond to four questions in small groups and then come together to share their findings. These findings were collated and the following session of the retreat was spent with Rev. Sayam talking about the various issues raised.

The four questions discussed were as follows:

 

  1. What is the role that ‘cross-cultural missionaries’ can play in helping the CCT more effectively fulfil its calling as the Church of Jesus Christ in this land?
  2. What do you specifically do to help achieve that goal (calling)?
  3. How can the CCT better help to support you in your life and  ministry?
  4. How can we more effectively work together?

 

What is the role that ‘cross-cultural missionaries’ can play in helping the CCT more effectively fulfil its calling as the Church of Jesus Christ in this land?

The first question is a based on the partnership paradigm under which we work in the CCT. The various answers to this question were:

  1. Fraternal workers play an important role in link the CCT to the rest of the world Church.
  2. Fraternal workers can play a 'prophetic' role within the CCT in that an 'outside' perspective can often help those on the 'inside' recognise issue that had not seen before or solutions to problems they would have never have conceived on their own.
  3. Fraternal workers can often play a role of encouraging local churches to have more contextualised worship.
  4. Fraternal workers can play a role of being examples of 'cross-cultural mission' that the local church might emulate.

What do you specifically do to help achieve that goal (calling)?

The second question served more to help fraternal workers to think how they, personally, fit into the goal of serving the mission of the CCT. The way that fraternal workers presently serve the mission of the CCT are various and multifarious. They include:

  1. Serving churches at a district (or Pakh) level
  2. Serving in church institutions
  3. Teaching English
  4. Teaching theology and training leadership in the churches
  5. Helping local churches in evangelism and church planting
  6. Assisting the CCT in its social outreach in slum communities, with those living with HIV and AIDS, and with children at risk of abuse and trafficking
  7. Helping the CCT in outreach and ministry to the foreign communities living in Thailand
  8. and much more!

How can the CCT better help to support you in your life and  ministry?

The third question was one posed by Rev. Sayam to know how best the CCT can support its fraternal workers. Some of the suggestions in answer to this question were:

  1. Helping the fraternal workers to gain access to the CCT medical insurance scheme.
  2. Establishing an 'Emergency Fund' for mission families.
  3. Better pastoral care of missionaries from the CCT.

How can we more effectively work together?

The 'we' in the fourth and final question was meant to be inclusive of those in the missionary community themselves and between fraternal workers and the CCT. The answers also were many. Here are a few:

  1. Build up a network of fraternal workers and do better at sharing information
  2. Fraternal workers should consider reporting on their work to the CCT at least once a year
  3. There should be more meetings between CCT executives and the fraternal workers as well as meetings of fraternal workers in affinity groups e.g.. sharing ideas on church planting, theological education, social action etc.