With a powerful call to restore the centrality of the Holy Spirit in missionary work, Paulo Feniman, president of COMIBAM, opened the inaugural ceremony of the Ibero-American Missionary Congress COMIBAM 2025 on Tuesday evening (April 22) in Panama City, the capital of Panama.
Based on Acts 1:8, Feniman spoke about the need for the Ibero-American missionary movement to remember its total dependence on the Holy Spirit. “There is no testimony without power,” he emphasized, echoing the words of Jesus before His ascension. “The mission is not accomplished with structures or experience, but with the power and grace of God upon us,” he stressed.
Feniman recalled that 38 years ago, at the first COMIBAM congress in 1987, Pastor Edison Queiroz preached on the same Bible passage. Now, he said, the call remains the same: to receive power to be witnesses of Christ in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. “The Church is called not to its own people, but to all nations,” he said.
A night of celebration and Ibero-American unity
The opening ceremony began with a colorful cultural display of traditional dances and a parade of flags representing delegations from across Ibero-America. After a time of worship, Priciano Gil, president of the Evangelical Alliance of Panama, gave the official welcome. “We declare this congress open. May it be a time of edification and guidance to fulfill God's will,” he said in prayer. “May you be inspired to prepare many missionaries, for the harvest is great.”
Cristian Castro, executive director of COMIBAM, recalled this year's congress theme: “The same mission for a church on the move,” emphasizing that the Great Commission remains relevant.
Feniman, who celebrated 25 years in missionary ministry this year, emphasized that while statistics and strategies are useful, they should not replace spiritual guidance. “We become proud of our structures, our finances, our strategies. But without the Spirit, there is no transformation, no church, no mission,” he warned.
The Pentecost model
In his message, the COMIBAM president detailed how Pentecost should be the model for the missionary movement: unity, prayer, and power. “The whole church, from all places, to all places,” he summarized. He affirmed that the growth of the early church was the result of the movement of the Spirit, not human plans.
“We want to advance in the mission, but we must be more united than ever as an Ibero-American church,” he said.
Feniman also warned against the risk of thinking that one can only be a missionary “there” without having been a witness of Christ “here.” “God wants to use you here first and then use you from here,” he said.
The event culminated with another time of praise, marking the official start of COMIBAM 2025, a conference expected to bring together more than a thousand mission leaders, pastors, and delegates from all over Ibero-America this week to strengthen cooperation in global mission.
Originally published by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.
