COSIM is a learning / networking community
Coalition On the Support of Indigenous Ministries (COSIM) is a learning community of evangelical Christians and organizations with a common interest in the support and capacity building of majority-world ministries. Our mission is to expand the understanding and practice of cross-cultural partnership with indigenous ministries for the advance of the gospel. We accomplish our mission through networking and sharing best practices, with emphasis on partnerships between North American and majority-world ministries.
We’re all in this together
We affirm our fraternity with missions that send North American missionaries, relief and development missions, and other mission structures and ministries. We desire to learn from one another and work together in the cause of world evangelization, complementing one another in the unique expertise that each of us bring.
Promoting healthy cross-cultural partnership
COSIM member agencies generally are those who have a focus on the support of indigenous missions. Support can include whatever is needed most to help developing-world missions succeed, including financial assistance, specialized training, consulting in organizational development, and more. At the same time, COSIM members know that healthy cross-cultural partnerships are not one-way in the flow of resources.
Developing-world partners bring invaluable and substantial resources to the partnership that are just as essential as those brought by North American agencies. At the root is a relationship of mutual trust—a standing together in encouragement and prayer with our brothers and sisters who are usually working against great obstacles in their ministry environment. Agencies and churches affiliated with COSIM generally have some aspect of their work that focuses on the support of indigenous missions, and have personnel that are primarily involved in that aspect.
For anyone and everyone involved in cross-cultural partnership
Some agencies affiliated with COSIM have cross-cultural partnerships—or the support of indigenous missions—as their sole objective. Others are agencies that serve in other ways, but have a specialized department within their organization that concentrates on the support of indigenous missions. Still others are churches for which support of indigenous missions is a major aspect of their mission program. Some of these agencies relating to COSIM are small and young, while others are larger and well-established and have been assisting indigenous missions for decades.