Beloved and respected partners in the GSM mission,
I sincerely welcome and bless each of you as you join us for the 13th GSM World Mission Conference in 2026.
What a profound gift it is that we can gather in one place. We have come from different nations, churches, communities, and fields of ministry, and today we are together again.
As I prepared for this conference, one question remained in my heart: ‘Why has God brought us together here?’
Surely it is not only for an excellent program, to see one another again, or to gain new information about missions. I believe the answer is found in the theme of this conference.
1. God has called us together
When Jesus called His disciples, He called them one by one. Yet He did not leave them alone. He called them into community.
We come from different backgrounds. Our personalities, gifts, and ministries are different. Some serve on the mission field, some in local churches, some through prayer, some through financial support, and others through administration and many additional forms of service.
God has brought all of us together within one calling. Mission is therefore not the work of a few exceptional people. It is God's work, shared by all of God's people who have been called by Him.
Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, ‘Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.’
Through the years, we have learned one important truth from the mission field: mission is not a journey we walk alone.
No matter how capable a missionary may be, no one can continue alone for long. We need someone who remembers us and walks with us, someone who prays for us, someone who becomes a faithful partner, and sometimes simply one person who quietly stands beside us.
This is why GSM has always valued relationship and partnership. A frontline missionary and a partner at home do not meet merely as a recipient and a donor. They know one another, pray for one another, share life, and walk together. This is the mission GSM has dreamed of.
2. God does not gather us only to keep us here
The second part of our conference theme is ‘Sent Together.’
God calls us and forms us into a community, but He does not ask us to remain there. He sends us back into the world.
Jesus said in John 17:18, ‘As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.’
This verse beautifully expresses our conference theme. We have been called out of the world and sent back into the world. The church and the mission community must never end with gathering. We gather in order to be prepared and sent again.
The same is true of this conference. For several days we will worship together, listen to God's Word together, pray together, and share fellowship. Yet the true fruit of the conference will begin on the final day, when we are scattered again.
Some will return to Africa, some to Asia, some to Latin America, and others to churches and everyday life in the United States. Wherever we return, one truth remains the same: we are people sent by God.
3. Mission in which the frontline and home front walk together
GSM has held firmly to an important mission conviction throughout the years: ‘One-to-one mission partnership connecting the frontline and the home front.’
I do not believe this is merely a support system. It is relational mission. It is mission carried out together.
Frontline missionaries are not the only ones participating in mission. Those who pray at home are participating in mission. Those who give are participating in mission. Those who reach out and encourage are participating in mission. The frontline and the home front are not separated; they walk together within one calling.
Through this conference, I pray that we will recover relationship: remembering one another's names, knowing one another's circumstances, listening to one another's stories, and praying together.
4. Three hopes for this conference
First, I pray that our relationship with God will be renewed. May those who are weary in ministry receive new strength, those who carry heavy hearts receive comfort, and all of us hear again the voice of the God who first called us.
Second, I pray that our relationships with fellow partners will deepen. May we move beyond simply exchanging business cards and instead listen to one another's stories, remember one another, and pray for one another.
Third, I pray that we will discover a new sending. ‘God, where are You calling me to go now? With whom should I walk? What are You asking me to do?’ May God reveal a fresh mission and direction to each person during this conference.
Beloved GSM partners, we will soon return to our respective places. Yet even after this conference has ended, may we never forget one another's names.
When someone needs prayer, may we stand beside that person. When someone is exhausted and wants to stop, may we hold that person's hand. When someone is sent on a new path, may we rejoice and send that person together.
We stand in different places, carry different responsibilities, and speak different languages, but the Lord who lives in us is one, and the mission entrusted to us is one: the mission of God.
Therefore, may we confess from our hearts at this conference, ‘Your mission is my mission.’ And may we promise one another, ‘You are not alone. We will walk together.’
May this confession not end with words. After the conference, may it become a concrete commitment: reaching out to one person, praying more faithfully for one person, carrying one person's need, and beginning a new partnership with one person. Then we will be more than conference attendees; we will be people who have once again offered ourselves to God's mission.
Beloved friends, God did not call us as scattered individuals. He called us as one body, as a community that shares one another's joy and tears. And now He sends us back into the world.
May this gathering be not the final chapter of mission but the beginning of new obedience. May today's grace become tomorrow's prayer, today's encounter become tomorrow's partnership, and today's decision bear tomorrow's fruit for the expansion of God's kingdom.
When the road feels lonely, when the fruit of ministry seems slow, and when we cannot see the way ahead, we must remember: we are not alone.
The Lord is with us. Our partners are with us. Churches around the world are with us. Above all, God Himself will faithfully complete the work He has begun.
So let us rise again. Let us pray together, serve together, weep and rejoice together, and carry the gospel into the world together.
Because we have been called together, let us be sent together. Wherever we go, whomever we meet, and whatever we do, may our lives lead the world to say, ‘Look, the people of God are walking together.’
May this be the confession of this conference, the future of GSM, and the renewed commitment of us all.
Your mission is my mission. You are not alone. We will walk together.
Called Together / Sent Together. Within this calling, may the frontline and the home front become one, may churches and missionaries become one, and may our entire lives be offered for the mission of God.
Once again, I sincerely welcome and bless every one of you. Thank you.