COICOM -- DR UPDATE!

See a COICOM video report for WestGate Church!

As I write, I am returning from the Dominican Republic, where approximately 1,000 pastors, leaders and media workers gathered for the annual COICOM convention.  Along with my internal work as the CEO of Paraclete, our board allows me some time each year to come alongside kingdom workers outside of Paraclete.  This was one of those occasions.


It has been my privilege to serve on the COICOM board since 1996.   I’m on the left in the photo with Stan Jeter, recently retired from CBN News, and with two men we brought to COICOM from Cuba for media training.


My role with COICOM, like the role of Paraclete associates in all we do, was one of trainer, mentor and coach.  This year I gave a seminar in the Leadership track of the event on how to start a nonprofit organization.  There were 60 seminars in all, given over a three-day period.

The church in Latin America is growing rapidly.  That is the case in parts of Asia and Africa as well.  Other places where Paraclete associates serve are more resistant.  Both settings are important ministry opportunities.  Pray for discernment for Paraclete associates, as they make decisions about 2016 ministry this month.  We are all budgeting during October, and we need discernment from the Lord of the harvest.

Together in the work,

Glen
P.S. We had enough in donations and sponsorships to give 250 scholarships in the DR.  I'll close the projects on Donate button.  Gifts to COICOM there will start the scholarship fund for next year.  Thanks!

Original Post...

Back in 1992 I attended the first gathering of Latin American media leaders that soon became COICOM.  I've blogged about those events here.  COICOM has held a conference in a different country every year since then--sometime in two countries, and I've been to most of them.  It has been an amazing adventure, and many lives have been touched.  I've been the treasurer since 1997, which created it's own set of adventures, including thinking I might be arrested on a couple of occasions.  The Lord was merciful!  

This year COICOM is celebrating two events.  One was held in August in Bogotá, Colombia, and another is coming up on the 1st of October in the Dominican republic. 

1,500 people gathered for the convention in Bogota a few weeks ago.  The results were excellent as is always the case.  Leader's network.  Lonely Christian workers are encouraged.  Poor pastors receive training.  And Kingdom use of the media is stimulated--sometimes dramatically like the 1994 joint venture between HCJB and Trans World Radio to launch the first Latin American Christian satellite network, ALAS.  1,500 is a small event, designed that way on purpose as a followup event for COICOM 2014 in Cali.  The largest conference to date was in Paraguay, where over 7,000 people attended some of the main sessions.

COICOM 2014 in Cali, Colombia

As treasurer, I've seen the economic model for pulling off these events evolve.  In the early days each attendee paid their own way.  Then we started getting sponsorships.  Some years local Christian businessmen sponsor pastors.  In one country we even saw serious government money to sponsor rural pastors.  In Bogota we had enough sponsorship to open the event to any pastor who wanted to come.

I'll be attending the DR event.  The financial verdict there is not in yet .  We want to open the event to anyone who would like to come, but we don't have enough sponsorship funds to do that.  But you could help!  Over the last few weeks I've put together a crowd funding site for COICOM using ContinueToGive.org.  The yellow button links to the site, or you can go directly to either of two projects--a fund for Dominican Republic Scholarships, and a separate Cuban Scholarship Project for bringing nearby aspiring Cuban Christian media specialists to the DR.  Shelly and I have given several donations through the system, and we can vouch for it's privacy and safety.  A full scholarship is $60 for the three-day event. Any amount helps!  Want to invest?