Mutuality in the mission: Second Coala3.0 plenary highlights common responsibility in the majority of the world

When the Coala3.0 conference continued on Monday morning (April 28th), three mission leaders examined “mutuality in the majority world”, an issue that emphasized interdependence, mutuality and joint leadership in global missions.

Coala3.0, the third conference of the mission movement “Christ over Africa, Latin America and Asia”, brings together managers from the global south to think about the state of global mission cooperation and to put a way forward, which is rooted in partnership, humility and biblical foundations.

On the second fit of the morning, three speakers showed: Manik Corea from Singapore, all Matamoros from Costa Rica and Las Newman from Jamaica. Everyone dealt with aspects of mutuality within the growing and diverse Christian movement of the majority world.

Manik Corea: Mutuality as a federal community

Manik Corea opened the session with a call to repeat mutuality as an expression of a federal type among the believers. With the pictures of a puzzle, he emphasized that each piece is of essential importance regardless of size or color for the complete image – and that a picture belongs to God, not to individuals or institutions. “The point is not what you bring,” he said. “The point is what the overall picture shows and this picture belongs to God.”

Corea quoted the missiaologist Jonathan Kindberg and emphasized that mutuality undermines secular power structures and top-down approaches and replaced them with a real community (Koinonia) that were founded on Christ. “In mutual change, it is about laying electricity, bridging systems and treating each other as equally,” he said.

Corea illustrated each other by the history of Jesus and the Samaritan on the fountain and, as Jesus – despite his authority – asked for the woman for water and demonstrated susceptibility and respect. He also pointed to Philipper 2 and emphasized the example of Christ for humility and self -compensation.

In practical terms, Corea asked the leaders to listen to each other carefully, to recognize the gifts given by God and to recognize the will of God together. “Nobody is too poor to give it, and nobody is too rich to receive,” he said. “True mutuality requires seeing, hearing, reviewing and prohibiting in Christ in Christ.”

All Matamoros: Learn from reciprocity in Latin America

All Matamoros, an experienced Latin American mission manager, expanded the reciprocity by thinking about Latin American about the positive and challenging aspects of mission experience.

Matamoros found that the Spanish concept of “Mutualidad” is based in cooperative banking models in which the participants invest alike and invest ownership. This, he said, corresponds to the biblical vision of mutual support and equality.

From 2 Corinthians 8, Matamoros emphasized that each other in the church does not go charity from the rich to the poor, but by a mutual sharing, in which “our best has their needs and its amount of our need”.

He thanked early missionaries, who contributed with generosity and solidarity to establish the mission movement of Costa Rica and to know when to step down to enable local leadership. However, Matamoros also expressed concerns about the continued “imperial settings” within global missions, in which new models often mask old performance dynamics.

“Too often,” he said, “we invite the global south into existing structures without real change, without true inclusion.” Matamoros was concerned about leadership models that prioritize donations and control as well as mission structures that still prefer Western languages, methods and financial dominance.

He called for a new approach that encompasses vulnerability, mutual learning and respect for local beliefs. “We have to resist how to imitate outdated models,” said Matamoros. “Let us model a Christian mission community based on trust, humility and real interdependence.”

Las Newman: Theological foundations for reciprocity

Dr. Las Newman, who worked as a global associate director of the Lausanne movement, made a theological and historical framework available for mutuality and band in the joint calling and mission of the global church.

Newman showed the majority world and showed that 70% of Christians live today in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Nevertheless, he warned that numerical growth alone is not sufficient: “Mutuality requires a deeper commitment to unity, common purpose and the values ​​of the kingdom.”

With the Hymn Hymn, which was conjured up by Delores Dufner, Newman, which was summoned by Delores Dufner, five theological foundations: a common calling, unity under Christ, the celebration of various gifts, the vision of a new church that is rooted in love and praise, and a mission to bring hope to all nations.

Newman recalled the delegates that the early church described, as described in the New Testament and the Nicene Creed, “a gentleman, a belief, a baptism” as the basis for Christian unity about cultures. However, he also emphasized the challenges: With reference to research from the report of the Lausanne movement “State of the Great Commission”, Newman found that less than half of Christians are actively prepared today to share their faith.

He warned that the mission is also marginalized in growing churches and demanded the renewed teaching and practice of the great commission. “Mission has to be considered essential, not optional,” said Newman.

Newman reflected each other and asked the participants to recognize and tackle inequalities within the global church and to build up and build partnerships based on common property, humility and trust.

A common vision for the future

The second plenary of the morning at Coala3.0 increased the conviction that an effective mission requires more than numerical growth or isolated success in the majority. It requires a deeper, biblically grounded mutuality that reflects the character of Christ.

Instead of maintaining old dominance patterns, the speakers called for a new model based on Covenantal community, common responsibility and humility before God and mutually.

“Mutuality is not just cooperation,” said Corea. “It is about becoming dependent on each other, recognizing the gifts that everyone brings and summarizes the will of God.”

In the further course of Coala3.0, the participants are challenged to embody this vision in practical partnerships that reflect the unity and diversity of the global church.