Introduction
The General Secretaries’ Conference of the Council for World Mission took place in London from 20th to 23rd November 2025. General Secretaries or Presidents from the 36 member churches were present, including four new member churches. Those churches are divided into six main regions: Africa with six churches, including The Presbyterian Church of Mauritius, Caribbean with three churches, East Asia with six Churches, Europe with five churches, Pacific with 12 churches, and South Asia with four churches.
The program was a very busy one, starting on the 20th at 8.00 a.m. The conference ended on Saturday 22nd at 6 p.m. On Sunday 23rd all participants and organizers went to worship at The Borough Welsh Chapel, situated at the center of London. After the service, we were invited to have lunch with the members of the congregation.
CWM welcomes the new member churches
The first day of the conference started with an opening worship. The day was marked by the General secretary’s address, followed by some group works and a plenary session. During the afternoon there was a sharing of mission stories by the four new member churches. I made a presentation on The Presbyterian Church of Mauritius. It lasted about 30 minutes, with a ten minutes’ question time. At 17h, after the presentations, a worship with Holy Communion was scheduled to welcome the four new member churches. The day ended with a welcome dinner.
CWM Jubilee
On the second day of the conference, the main theme was “Embodying Hope – CWM Jubilee 2027. Several members of the Board of CWM presented the different parts of the topic.
CWM will mark its 50th anniversary in 2027, celebrating five decades of partnership of churches in mission since 1977. It will not be just “a historical commemoration but a spiritual, theological and missional journey of remembering God’s liberating acts, repenting of complicity in systems of exploitation, and recommitting to the mission of life-flourishing communities.”
The Jubilee will be celebrated at different level: local and denominational, regional and global. At the local and denominational level, congregations and parishes will be asked to embody jubilee in local worship, storytelling, and community actions. At the regional level, member churches will organize regional meetings to contextualize jubilee within local histories, struggles, and mission challenges. At the global level, CWM member churches and ecumenical partners will bring together reflections, celebrate unity and propose the future direction.
The CWM Jubilee celebrations will be launched at the General Secretaries’ Conference in July 2027. Celebration of Jubilee Sunday will be on the 18th of July 2027 across all the CWM member churches with worship resources produced by CWM.
CWM archives
One of the other topics taken on the second day of the conference was the CWM archives. Ms. Jo Ichimura, responsible of the archives, shared about the location of the archives situated at the center of London, and how to do historical research on personalities, regions, churches, etc. I asked her about what was available concerning the Presbyterian Church of Mauritius. According to her, there were not much about Mauritius, apart from several correspondences between Jean Lebrun and the London Missionary Society.
Mission Programmes
The main theme shared on the last day of the conference was Re-Visioning Mission. This topic was divided into several sub-topics such as Sharing Resources in Mission, Sharing Good News of Mission, and Sharing People in Mission.
The different interveners shared about MSP-V (Mission Support Programme 5). Through this programme, CWM has supported the member churches in different ways to realize their mission projects. The fifth MSP which will last from 2026 to 2030 has just been approved by the Board of CWM. Funds have been made available to finance the member churches mission projects. Therefore, member churches are encouraged to elaborate projects and send to CWM.
The new five-year cycle will prioritize contextual mission, transformative engagement, and strengthen accountability. It will encourage member churches to see mission as a shared journey of accompaniment toward justice, dignity and flourishing life. The programme calls churches to become spaces of solidarity and hope. It encourages churches to challenge structural injustice and foster new expressions of the Gospel’s call to peace, justice and restoration.
Sharing People in Mission
Another aspect of MSP is Partners in mission programme. It focuses on sending individuals to serve in different areas such as medical, education, and pastoral ministry based on the priorities of the receiving church.
Conclusion
The conference has been an eye opener and very benefic to PCM. I have been made familiar to the many opportunities that CWM provides to its member churches. As we partner with other churches in different part of the world through CWM platforms, we may also beneficiate from the various mission programmes of CWM.
I thank PC for the opportunity that has been given to me, which I am sure, will have its impact in the development of PCM.