CHIANG MAI DECLARATION

The Thirteenth Convention of The Asia Missions Association, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2019

We believe that God created and reigns over the heavens and the earth and everything in it. He has a special plan to redeem humanity and all creation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He gave us His Great Commission, so we as His co-workers should propagate the Gospel of His kingdom to all peoples in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Today, the global contexts are rapidly changing. Migration is one of the phenomena of the 21^st century. Kingdom workers need to take this development seriously to communicate the Gospel effectively.

The Asia Missions Association (AMA) held its 13^th Triennial Convention at Chiang Mai, Thailand, on November 11-15, 2019, with 145 participants from 23 countries. They are delegates from mission associations in Asia, non-Western missiologists and mission practitioners, Asian church leaders, and observers. Distinguished missiologists and mission practitioners from Asia and other continents seriously discussed on the concepts and strategies of “Migration and Mission.”

We hereby declare the following convictions:

• God is a missionary God. He actively works to destroy the works of Satan, saves His people from their sins, and restores His rule over the whole world (Ex. 3:7-10).
• God calls us to fellowship with Him and work with Him to restore His rule and fulfill His will on earth as it is in heaven (1 Jn. 1:3; Mt. 6:10).
• God also calls us to unity and partnership in kingdom ministry with fellow mission workers (1 Cor. 4:5-9; Eph. 4:11-16).
• God guides us and empowers us by His Holy Spirit to carry out His mission (Acts 1:8).
• God uses our weakness and suffering for the sake of His glory (1 Cor. 1:26-29; 1 Pet. 2:21; Phil. 1:29).
• Through migration, God provides opportunities for us to carry out His mission — “to,” “through,” “by and beyond” and “with” the diaspora (Acts 8:4; 11:19-21).
• God uses lowly and ordinary people as witnesses to others — “from everywhere to everywhere” through migration (1 Cor. 1:26-29; 1 Pet. 2:9-10).

We also make the following observations and commitments:

• Immigrants: People on the move are often not bound by their old restrictions and are freer to experiment with new lifestyles, ideologies and faiths. Diaspora churches are among the fastest growing today. We want to find effective ways to share the gospel with these new neighbors on the move.
• Refugees: God has compassion for refugees who flee due to fear, persecution, conflict, violence, or other circumstances. We want to serve them holistically as God commands us: “Love your neighbors as yourself” (Mt. 22:39).
• Overseas Workers: God is sending migrant workers to live out their faith wherever they live and work. We want to equip them to work with integrity and excellence, as well as to do intentional disciple-making.
• Foreign Students: God is causing a surge of international students in recent years. We want to see them become lifelong followers of Jesus Christ, discipling them to reach their people.
• Businesspeople: God is bringing about His rule through the integration of business and mission. We want to equip businessmen and women to fulfill their vocation in the world.
• Relocated People: God is orchestrating a massive internal migration in many countries, which creates near-cultural bridges between peoples. We want to reach out to them with proper contextualization.

Conclusion

In response to today’s phenomenon of migration, we call on all Christians, including all kinds of migrants, to be faithful witnesses of Christ from everywhere to everywhere!