The History of CIM

In 1984. Dr. Tissa Weerasingha received a specific vision to stimulate the Church in Sri Lanka, and other Two- Thirds World churches to take the Great Commission seriously and to spread the message of Jesus Christ. He received a word from Isaiah 32:20 which says, "Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send out freely the feet of the ox and the donkey". Up until then his own church in Sri Lanka was only concerned about home missions. But he came to the realization that the church in Sri Lanka also needed to have a global perspective and to realize the responsibility to spread the gospel on other borders despite the failures and obstacles in their way. Many churches in economically backward countries feel that their responsibility is limited to their own people and this has been a great impediment to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Therefore the Calvary International Minstries (CIM) was formed and attempts were made to stimulate missions from Sri Lanka. Short term missions were conducted in Kenya, India and Iceland, and churches were planted in Australia, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Jordan.

Meeting the Need

There is a need in developing nations for training resources in effective church planting, church growth, and cross-cultural missions from those nations. CIM is in a unique position to fill that need through materials and resources developed in the Two-Thirds World. Training tapes, books and manuals as well as leaders and ministry teams may be scheduled for short term training. Nationals can be assisted in nurturing a church planting movement in their cultural context, developing leaders and forming their own cross-cultural missions.

However, the scope of CIM is not limited to developing countries. CIM recognizes the need in the developed nations to effectively reach "migrating ethnics" with a culturally sensitive message, as well as continuing to reach their own peoples. Because of fraternal relationships, especially with independent churches, a multi-national exchange of resources is possible. This exchange assists all participating churches to maximize their resources in both mono-cultural and cross-cultural ministry.