COICOM 2008, Panama

This week Shelly and I have been at COICOM in Panama City, Panama. COICOM is a Latin American association for Christians who work in the media. I was part of the group that founded the association back in 1992 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and I continue to serve on its board. Over the years the annual event has become a place for pastors and Christian leaders as well. This year the week was filled with workshops and courses in radio, television and leadership and a new series that was added for the first time on the use of media in the local church setting.

One of the most profitable aspects of COICOM is always the networking that takes place. This year was no exception. The COICOM board held a series of meetings with the leadership at the convention--leading local pastors, media leaders from Latin America and the US, evangelical and missions movements. The group pictured above represents COICOM, CONELA (the evangelical alliance of Latin America), COMIBAM (an Iberoamerican missions organization), Lausanne (international evangelism congress) and Transforma (a Latin American Christian movement). This may have been the first time that all of these groups met together.

The convention has a trade show, workshops, plenary sessions and worship. Some pictures are scrolling at the top of the blog. Click on them for a larger view and captions. Today Shelly and I leave Panama City with the board of COICOM for two days of board meetings and fellowship.

There's an entry from Shelly's Panama Journal here. See some photos on Picasa from Panama here.