History
Chinese International Missions began as a shared desire in our hearts to fulfill the Great Commission both on an individual and corporate basis. Generally unsatisfied with the existing efforts and approaches to missions, we continued looking for an avenue to implement the spreading of God’s word in a better way.
The initial breakthrough happened in 1991 when a group of North American Chinese pastors traveled to Brazil to take part in an outreach event that Rev. Clarence Pi arranged. In 1990, Rev. Pi had previously formed the South American Theological Seminary in an effort to establish a basic foundation in Christian principles and to serve as a resource for the Brazilian Chinese Christians. The seminary was also meant to serve as a common goal for all local churches to unite towards in a corporate effort to grow as Christians and spread the gospel. In conjunction with the seminary, Clarence also arranged outreach camps to provide North American churches with the opportunity of becoming involved with local Brazilian Chinese churches. From these events, several important phenomena were observed. First, in Brazil there was a ready mission field waiting for North American churches to tap into. Second, this was a responsibility that was too big for any one church or group to take on alone. Lastly, if Chinese Christians were willing to band together, positive results could occur. In short, a partnership of Chinese Christians working together would be extremely effective.
Prompted by the Brazil short term mission experience, Clarence and the church leaders called a meeting in October of 1991 to explore further possibilities of continued collaborative missions work. Pastors and leaders from six different US churches met in Maryland and agreed that concerted efforts would be necessary for future ministry to be effective. The idea of forming an organization for such a joint mission effort was explore, but no consensus was reached. Despite the shared acknowledgment of need and the ability to meet this need, the meeting ended with seemingly no further action.
However, the catalyst for action on this matter was Clarence’s invitation of the Rev. Hans Wilhelm to Brazil in December 1991. As he and Clarence talked they realized that they shared a common vision. This meeting clarified the pressing need to form a Chinese mission organization that would motivate and mobilize Chinese believers and churches for missions. In February of 1992, they made an exploratory trip to key Chinese and mission leaders to ascertain the viability of their dream. The leaders affirmed this idea as the priority of this age.
An organizational meeting was held in California in June 1992 after receiving the blessing from respected elder Chinese church statesmen and mission leaders, such as the Rev. Philip Teng, Rev. John Pao, Rev. John Tsang, Rev. Enoch Yang…etc. A group of like-minded Chinese church leaders agreed to work together towards a Chinese-led mission and thereby formed a Board of Directors. Throughout 1992, the number of directors continued to expand as God brought more leaders from Chinese churches worldwide to join the effort. After years of planning and preparation, God brought together the right group of people and the right circumstances to form Chinese International Missions (CIM) which was incorporated in February 1993.
The establishment of CIM in 1993 was very timely as many missionaries from Hong Kong began to look for mission field opportunities. CIM opened a Hong Kong branch that year, and we sent missionaries to South America where they served in Uruguay and Chile. Brazil also continued to be a focus as graduates of the South American Theological Seminary stepped into leadership positions in churches and in youth and family programs.
Rev. Pi continued mobilizing missions among the Chinese churches in North America and exploring further mission opportunities in Europe and Africa. In 1995 he organized short term mission teams to three European countries: Sweden, Norway, and Germany. That year he and Rev. Wilhelm also visited South Africa and learned about the pressing needs in spreading the gospel there. This led to the Pi family’s relocation to Pretoria in 1996 to begin grass-roots church planting in Pretoria, thereby marking the first field in Africa for CIM. Pretoria Evangelical Chinese Christian Church was established a year later as Rev. Pi continued working among the Chinese in South Africa. The Lord opened the door for CIM in Germany as well, and we sent our first missionary couple there in 1997.
Later in 1997, Clarence saw the needs in Africa as opportunities for further ministry, this time not just mobilizing the Chinese Christians to band together, but to develop a partnership of Chinese Christians working together with the African churches. As a result, in July 1998 the Consultation on Chinese Missions in Africa took place in Pretoria, South Africa, sponsored by CCCOWE. In August, a month after the Consultation on Chinese Missions in Africa, Clarence met with African church leaders in Zimbabwe to follow up on the concept of developing partnerships between Chinese and African churches. The product of this meeting was the establishment of an African Task Force which would allow individuals and Chinese churches to partner with local African churches.
In November 1998, CIM entered a transitional period when Rev. Pi passed away unexpectedly while serving in South Africa. The Board decided to send the family home to California while Elder George Jan served as interim Executive Director until a permanent director was found. Two years later, Rev. Peter Yang agreed to step in to continue the ministries that Rev. Pi had established. The Board assigned board members to oversee various mission fields: Brazil, Germany, and South Africa. Part of this involved delegating the exploration of further partnership possibilities with the African Task Force to our board member Rev. Philip Leung.
In 2002, after multiple fact finding missions, the Board decided to continue pursuing partnerships with African churches. CIM Canada was formed in 2004 and Rev. Leung became Executive Director of CIM Canada with the specific focus of Chinese-African projects in fields such as Ghana whilst at the same time being the Executive Director of CIM taking care of the South Africa and Germany fields. He served in this capacity until 2007 when he decided to devote more time to expanding the cross cultural ministries in Ghana and exploring additional African countries such as Togo. As a result, Mrs. Christine Pi was invited to serve as the Executive Director of CIM, a position she continues to hold.
In 2010 CIM launched the Brazil Short Term Missions project aiming to reopen the Brazil field. Since then ten cities have been covered, namely Sao Paulo, Mogi das Cruzes, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Fortaleza, Recife, Manaus, and Salvador. Nine churches in the San Francisco Bay Area and 47 short term members have participated in this project, working among the Chinese immigrants in leadership training, personal evangelism, children’s and youth ministry, and family counseling.
An Australian branch of CIM was founded in Sydney in 2012 with Chinese Christians who shared our vision and maxim: making a difference in world evangelization through Chinese missionaries.
It is our prayer that God will continue expanding his kingdom through Chinese missionaries and make His glory manifest in all the world.
Executive Director (in chronological order):
Rev. Clarence Pi, Elder George Jan, Rev. Peter Yang, Rev. Philip Leung, Mrs. Christine Pi
Chairman of the Board (in chronological order):
Rev. Peter Yang, Rev. Pei Hsia, Elder George Jan, Elder Joseph Pwu, Elder Joseph Wong, Rev. Yoman Man
國際華人宣教協會－歷史
國際華人宣教協會 （簡稱：國際華宣CIM）乃是鑒於我們在個人與團體的基礎上，祈願完成“大使命”的心願而創立的。同時我們堅信在既有的宣教方式和策略上，必能有更好的方式，能尋著更好的途徑傳播 神的話語。
1991年，發生了一件突破性的歷史事件，當時一群北美華人牧師前往巴西参加了畢玉書牧師安排的短期宣教事工。畢牧師已於1990年創辦了南美工人神學院，旨在為福音據點奠定以基督為本的根基，並為巴西華人基督徒儲備資源。神學院也希望成為所有當地教會聯合基督徒一起成長和傳播福音的共同目標。
此外， 畢牧師與神學院合作，安排了數次福音營，提供北美教會參與巴西華人福音事工的機會。從這些事工中，我們觀察到幾個重要的現象。首先，在巴西已經有一個現成的福音工場，等著北美教會介入。其次，這福音的責任太重大，任何一個教會或團體無法獨自承担。最後，如果華人基督徒們願意聯合起來，可能會產生相當不錯的結果。總之，華人基督徒們互為夥伴，一起工作，是最有效的辦法。
巴西短宣的經驗促使畢牧師和教會領袖們共同召集了一次會議，進一步探討北美華人教會與宣教工場合作的可能性。1991年十月間來自六個不同的美國教會牧長在馬里蘭州會晤，大家一致同意，多方的同心協力是發展未來宣教事工的必要條件。牧長們也為促成一個國際宣教組織的想法進行了探討，但没有達成共識。儘管大家都同意有此需要，也有满足這種需要的能力，但在會議結束時，並没有採取進一步的行動。
兩個月後，即1991年十二月，文恩賦牧師到巴西訪問畢玉書牧師。商談之後，發現兩人異像不謀而合，並清楚看見成立一個推動海外華人參與宣教的機構乃燃眉之急。於是在1992年二月，兩位牧師踏上探索之旅，拜訪了數位有份量的華人牧長，尋求印證。被拜訪的牧長們也一致肯定此乃當前要務。
二位牧師受了敬愛的牧長和宣教領袖們的祝福後，1992年六月在美國加州正式召開成立差會的會議。一群志同道合的華人教會領袖，決定同心協力發起一個由華人為主的宣教團體，並就地成立了董事會。1992整年中，董事的人數不斷增加，神從全球華人教會中帶領更多領袖參與建立差會的工作。 經過多年的規劃和準備，神按自己的時間和計劃，匯聚了一群屬祂的子民，成立了國際華人宣教協會（CIM），並于1993年二月正式立案完成註冊。
國際華宣CIM于1993年及時成立，因為當時有許多香港宣教士正積極的尋找海外宣教機會。當年， 國際華人宣教協會(香港) 亦正式成立，並差派了幾對夫婦去南美宣教，他們服事的國家包括烏拉圭和智利。
巴西方面，南美工人神學院的畢業生開始步入教會領導崗位，帶領著青少年及家庭事工， 成為宣教焦點。畢牧師持續不斷的推動北美華人教會參與宣道，並探索在歐洲和非洲的宣道機會。1995年，他組織短宣隊到三個歐洲國家：瑞典、挪威和德國。那年，他和文恩賦牧師還參觀了南非，看到福音的禾場是如此之大。這份迫切感，導致畢牧師舉家于1996年搬遷到南非首府比勒陀利亞市（又名“斐京”），開拓基層教會，並為CIM在非洲開創了第一個宣教工場。 經過一年的努力，畢牧師在南非華人中建立了斐京華人基督教會。
主也在德國為國際華宣CIM開了宣教之門，於是我們于1997年差派了第一對宣教士夫婦前往德國。
1997下年半，畢牧師預見非洲是進一步事奉的機會。他的遠見影響了1998年華福中心CCCOWE 在南非斐京舉行了“世界華人非洲差傳事工諮詢會議”。同年八月，即“世界華人非洲差傳事工諮詢會議”結束後一個月，畢牧師前往津巴布韋（又名“辛巴威”）會見了非洲教會領袖們，繼續跟進發展華人與非洲教會之間的夥伴關係。這次會議的產品是建立
一個“非洲事工小組” ，協助個人或華人教會與非洲教會成為合作夥伴。
1998年十一月，由於畢牧師在南非服事期間突然過世，國際華宣CIM進入轉型期。董事會決定遣送畢牧師遺屬回美國加州，冉超智長老暫代臨時總幹事，直至國際華宣找到常任幹事。兩年後，楊勝世牧師同意接任總幹事一職，承傳畢牧師生前開創的宣教工作。致於“非洲事工小組” 進一步尋求合夥可能性的工作，則由董事梁樹榮牧師負責。
2002年間，經過多次實務調查後，董事會決定繼續推展與非洲教會的夥伴關係。2004年，國際華人宣教協會 (加拿大) 正式成立，聘請梁牧師轉任為加拿大總幹事，特別關注非洲事工項目，例如在迦納福音工場的合作項目。梁牧師同時接任國際華宣總幹事，關注南非和德國工場，直到2007年他決定用更多的時間來拓展在迦納的跨文化事工，並探索其他非洲國家，如多哥。因此，畢玉書師母文肖鳴姐妹應邀接任國際華宣總幹事，迄今。
2010年推出的國際華宣CIM巴西短宣事工，旨在重新打開巴西福音之門。此後福音遍及聖保羅，里約熱內盧，巴西利亞，(貝洛奧里藏特) 美景，(庫裡提巴) 古城，福塔萊薩，累西腓，薩爾瓦多，和馬瑙斯，九個城市。在舊金山灣區有九間教會以及47位短宣隊員參與服事當地移民，包括：領導培訓，個人佈道，兒童和青少年事工，以及家庭輔導。
2012年，一群與我們有相同異象的華人基督徒在悉尼成立了國際華人宣教協會 (澳大利亞) 分會，並立志與國際華宣CIM通過差派華人宣教士對普世宣教產生與眾不同的影響。
我們的禱告是：願神的國度透過華人宣教士繼續擴張，願 祂的榮耀在全地彰顯！
歷屆總幹事（按時間順序）：
畢玉書牧師，冉超智長老，楊勝世牧師，梁樹榮牧師，畢文肖鳴師母
歷屆董事會主席（按時間順序）：
楊勝世牧師，夏沛牧師，冉超智長老，樸小平長老，黃沃樞長老，文耀銘牧師