Brief Introduction to CMO

I. INCEPTION AND OBJECTIVE

Chinese Missions Overseas, Inc. (CMO) is a missionary sending oganization founded by Chinese Christians with a vision for cross- cultural evangelism.

In the 1960's, Elder Yung Wu and several fellow servants of God were inspired by the Holy Spirit to encourage Chinese Christians to obey the Lord's command to go and make disciples of all nations. Elder Wu challenged Chinese Believers to make haste in these end times to labor in the Lord's vineyard (Matthew 20:1-7), just as Western missionaries who have gone overseas to evangelize other cultures for over a century. Such labor of love has influenced generations of Chinese to experience the abundant saving grace of God.

On March 27, 1968, a group of Chinese Christians gathered in Taipei to pray about cross-cultural evangelism. In one accord, they decided to form an organization to promote cross-cultural missions and, in obedience to Christ's command in Acts 1:8, to pursue the following objectives:

1. Send missionaries overseas.
2. Spread the vision of cross-cultural missions to other groups of believers.
3. Network with other missionary organizations.
4. Promote activities related to overseas missions.

II. HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

There were 5 stages in the development of CMO.

1. Spreading the Vision
   Elder Yung Wu and several other co-workers presented their burden and vision for cross-cultural evangelism to Chinese churches worldwide.
   
2. Learning How to Send Missionaries
   Beginning in 1970, CMO has continually dispatched missionaries to France, Okinawa, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, and Mongolia, spreading the gospel to the nationals and tribal people. Since 1977 till present, CMO's missionaries have been ministering in the mission field of Thailand.
3. Establishing a Headquarter in North America
   In 1977, a CMO board of trustees was officially established in California and given the responsibility of overseeing the work in the overseas mission fields.
   
4. Sponsoring Annual Summer Conference
   Since 1979, CMO has been organizing an annual summer conference in North America to spread the vision and call on Chinese Christians in committing to cross-cultural mission work.
   
5. Expanding the Organization and Mission Field
   Since 1995 the full-time staff has been strengthened to meet
   the increasing workload as CMO matures in:
   a. the recuitement, training, and counselling of missionary,
   b. the refinement of policy and process, and the coordination of     programs,
   c. the development of and pioneering in new mission fields.
   

III. CURRENT STATUS

1. Organization

The CMO Board of Trustees is responsible for making decisions on issues regarding strategies and direction, personnel, and finances. In North America, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia, local board of directors concentrate on promoting and supporting the CMO ministry. CMO headquarter is located in Southern California, USA, and there is a regional office located in Taipei, Taiwan. In addition, a missions center is now operating in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

2. Mission Fields

A. Thailand

Initially, CMO concentrated in the outreach ministry within the United Nations Refugee Camps. This was followed by planting churches in the Hmong villages. Currently, using Chiang Mai, Thailand as the base, CMO expends into the following five areas for continual growth and development.

Urban evangelism.

Ethnic minorities ministry.

Discipleship training.

Short-term missions.

Medical missions serving the Wa people.

With Chiang Mai Mission Center as the base, CMO promotes gospel outreach and church planting among the Thai, the Hmong, the Karen, the Lahu, and the Dai, while evangelizes the college and high school students in the city. CMO also provides training throughout Thailand to equip local ministers and church leaders.

B. Myanmar (Burma)

In 2000, a mobile hospital project was realized and the hospital is now in operation. Those in remote villages can now receive medical care to meet their physical needs and at the same time hear the Gospel for their spiritual needs. In the aftermath of the Cyclone Nargis on May 2008, CMO participated in the rescue mission, established medical clinic in Bogale to help the disaster victims, and began reconstruction plan in the disaster areas in Laputta.

3. Local Ministry

In addition to sending and supporting missionaries, CMO regularly receives and trains short-term mission teams from various churches and seminaries. Short-term mission work enables participants to cultivate a deeper understanding of and burden for foreign missions. It also serves to confirm their call to long-term missionary involvement.

4. Literature

CMO publishes the "Overseas Missions Outreach" magazine that features articles related to cross-cultural missions, reports from short-term mission trips, and progress reports from the field. Since its inception, the publication has consistently been distributed free-of-charge, and is available by mail upon request. Printing and mailing expenses are offset by the subscribers' free-will contributions.

★ In addition to CMO full-time missionaries and missionaries in-training, there are tent-making missionaries and associate missionaries. All work together in teams with local co-workers.

 

IV. FUNDING

Christians Missions Overseas is financially supported by the contributions of Christians with a burden for cross-cultural missions. The bulk of the funding goes toward meeting the needs of missionaries in the field. Other expenses include publication and office administration costs. Contributions may be sent to any of the following offices:

Tax-deductable receipts will be provided.

V. PRAYER SUPPORT

Prayer support is needed for CMO ministries and missionaries. Individuals wishing to support the CMO through prayer are invited to contact the above offices.