The Ibero-American Confederation of Christian Communicators and Mass Media (COICOM) kicked off its annual Congress on Tuesday, September 3, in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Some two thousand attendees met at the Christian Center of Guayaquil Church to receive training, inspiration and teachings related to the field of leadership and mass media.
“COICOM wants to propose a paradigm shift,” said Arnold Enns, President of COICOM International. “The motto we have chosen for our congress this year is 'united for comprehensive transformation',” he said as he explained the main vision of the event.
“COICOM wants to be a proposal for meeting God. If we have credible leaders, the world will see that God is real.”
During the opening plenary of COICOM, evangelist Alberto Mottesi, recognized as one of the most influential evangelical speakers in Latin America, encouraged the participants to enlighten the world. “The Church is going to recover the arts,” he said. “Go and transform the arts, He [the Lord] is the creator of harmony, forms, colors, today all of that is full of bad smell and perversion, but God is going to recover it.”
The preacher also encouraged those present to be generous and merciful, “our model is not a mega church in the United States, our only model is called Jesus who taught, fed, healed the sick and had compassion for the multitudes… Wherever the Church is, may the mercy of the Lord be brought to bear.” Mottesi reflected, “if the Church is truly the Church, there should not be abused women, abandoned elderly people and hungry children.”
The congress will address topics such as transformational evangelism and podcasting trends, among many others. In addition, plenary sessions, workshops, panels, and TedX-style talks will be held simultaneously, offering a comprehensive experience for all attendees.