June 01, 1989 by Dale Kietzman

Some forty delegates from Asia, Africa, and Latin America met in Portland, Oregon May 1-5 to formally constitute the Third World Missions Association. The association is a fellowship of the growing number of national associations of cross-cultural mission societies launched by activist believers in countries most North Americans still regard exclusively as mission fields.

More than 20 countries, and twice that many missionary societies, were represented. The number of missionaries they sponsor in cross-cultural missionary endeavor runs in the thousands. The India Missions Association alone has a membership of 52 agencies. Brazil's Association of Transcultural Missions includes 28 agencies.

The consultation, which took place on the grounds of Western Baptist Theological Seminary, was a follow-up of a preliminary meeting held one year ago at the same location. In that meeting, leaders of these Third World missions had agreed to move ahead with some sort of association, and had appointed a seven-man steering committee to come up with concrete proposals for the next step.

This year the group worked over a formal constitution, changed the name from “Third World Mission Advance” to “Third World Missions Association,” and elected a permanent executive committee. This committee of twelve members can have only one member from any one country, with three each from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and one each from the Caribbean, the Arab world, and the “Diaspora”—a term applied to Third World ethnic churches located in the West.

The new association is directed by chairman David Cho (Korea), vice-chairman Jonathan Santos (Brazil), secretary Reuben Ezemadu (Nigeria), and treasurer Minoru Okuyama (Japan). Other members come from Peru, Guatemala, Ghana, Kenya, Indonesia, Lebanon, Guyana, and North America. The executive group has already launched a search for a full-time coordinator.

For further information, contact Dr. David Cho, Chairman, Third World Missions Association, C.P.O. Box 3476, Seoul, Korea.