Intercultural Mission Church Planting Summit Calls Adventists to Reach Every Culture Across Inter-America

Leaders gathered in Trinidad to strengthen cross-cultural evangelism and church planting across Inter-America.

May 27, 2026 | Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago | Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News

Church leaders, pastors, missionaries, and church planters from across the Inter-American Division gathered in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on May 27, for the opening of the Intercultural Mission Church Planting Summit, a major initiative aimed at equipping leaders to reach increasingly diverse and unreached populations across the territory.

The summit—the first of its kind ever held in the IAD—opened on the campus of the University of Southern Caribbean under the theme “Grounded in the Bible, Living the Mission,” highlighting the growing urgency for intercultural evangelism as societies across the region become more urban, secular, and religiously diverse.

A Mission Rooted in Multiplication

Pastor Samuel Telemaque, Adventist Mission director for the Inter-American Division and main organizer of the summit, challenged delegates to view church planting as a biblical mandate rooted in God’s mission from the very beginning of creation.

“Church planting began before sin,” Telemaque said during the opening ceremony. “God is the one who began the principle and activity of church planting.”

Speaking to hundreds of delegates gathered from across the IAD and other world church territories, Telemaque explained that the summit was built around the biblical principles of creation, multiplication, and mission. He emphasized the IAD initiative calling for every church to plant a new church within the next five years as part of a broader multiplication strategy across the territory.

“Every church, One new church. Every district, one new district. Every conference, one new conference,” Telemaque said. “Because we want to make God known in every tribe, every language, and every culture.”

Telemaque also reminded delegates that the church’s mission must remain global in scope because the effects of sin are universal. Referring to Revelation 14:6, he said God’s mission, message, and messengers are called to reach every nation and people group.

“God wants to be known among all the nations of the world,” Telemaque said.

Delegates participating in the summit represented a wide range of mission initiatives and ministry contexts across the Inter-American Division, including Vivid Faith & Adventist

Volunteers coordinators, Adventist Mission directors, Chinese missionaries, urban mission leaders, and frontline workers involved in ministry to secular and indigenous populations.

The summit also drew participants from nearly every union across the IAD, along with representatives from the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the North American Division, the Trans-European Division, Andrews University, and the Middle East and North Africa Union Mission, giving the event a strong international and intercultural atmosphere.

Building Communities of Trust

Welcoming delegates to the Caribbean territory, Pastor Kern Tobias, president of the Caribbean Union Conference, described Trinidad and Tobago as an ideal setting for the summit.

“There is a diversity of peoples, cultures, and religious groups here, and we live together in harmony,” Tobias said.

University leaders also highlighted the historic significance of hosting the summit at USC, noting that the institution was founded nearly 99 years ago and continues to serve as a center for mission training and Christian education across the Caribbean.

Keynote Speaker ChanMin Chung, director of the Global Mission Centers, challenged delegates to recognize that intercultural mission work requires more than strategy—it requires humility, self-awareness, trust, and a willingness to learn from others.

Referring to Revelation 7, Chung reminded attendees that God’s vision is to bring “every nation, tribe, people, and language” before His throne, but noted that working across cultures often brings tension and misunderstanding because people interpret the world through different cultural assumptions.

“We see the world through our own mental maps,” Chung said. “But there is no perspective-free absolute map in our minds.”

Drawing from his experience as a missionary in Lebanon, Chung explained that missionaries and church leaders often assume methods successful in one culture will automatically work elsewhere.

“If something worked in South Korea, it does not mean it will work in Trinidad, Mexico, or Colombia,” Chung said.

Chung also emphasized the importance of building relationships and trust before focusing on projects or results in intercultural ministry settings.

“Leadership is building a community of trust among people who come from different cultural traditions,” Chung said.

Using the historical example of Adventist pioneers J.N. Andrews and Daniel Bourdeau, Chung illustrated how even gifted missionaries struggled with cultural differences, personality conflicts, and leadership styles while working together in Europe. Despite their differences, he noted, God still used both men to advance mission work and plant churches.

Chung concluded by encouraging delegates to practice reconciliation, remain teachable, and remember that every person—regardless of culture or background—reflects the image of God.

“We work together for one mission,” Chung said.

The opening ceremony also featured the presentation of flags representing the countries and territories across the Inter-American Division, highlighting the cultural diversity and global mission focus reflected throughout the summit.

The four-day event will continue through May 30 with specialized training seminars, workshops, worship services, and discussions focused on intercultural mission, urban ministry, and church planting among unreached people groups.

For news stories and additional coverage from the summit, visit us at interamerica.org.

To view a photo album of the opening ceremony of the Intercultural Mission Church Planting Summit, Click HERE