ICMDA World Congress – 30 June to 5 July 2026

The 18th ICMDA World Congress was a remarkable celebration of God’s faithfulness to our global movement. Held in beautiful Jeju Island, South Korea, the Congress brought together around 1,200 Christian doctors, dentists and students and healthcare leaders from around 130 nations under the inspiring theme, ‘Building God’s Kingdom Amongst the Broken’. Almost 400 leaders from limited resource countries received scholarships covering registration, accommodation and travel.

Throughout the week we worshipped together, learned from outstanding Bible teachers, plenary and seminar speakers, shared experiences from every region of the world, and encouraged one another to serve Christ faithfully. The diversity of languages, cultures and professional backgrounds once again demonstrated the beauty of God’s global Church working together for his Kingdom – a blessed foretaste of that great day when we will all be gathered around the throne worshipping the Lamb (Revelation 7:9,10).

Our sincere thanks go to the Korean Christian Medical and Dental Association (KCMDA), the Korean Christian Medical Fellowship (KCMF), the national organising committee (NOC), hundreds of volunteers, translators, worship teams and generous donors whose sacrificial service made this Congress possible. Their hospitality and excellence have enriched delegates from every continent.

As participants return home, our prayer is that this Congress will not simply be remembered as an event, but as a catalyst for renewed vision, deeper partnerships and courageous Christian witness in healthcare throughout the world. What an immense privilege it is to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jeju Preconference – 30 June to 2 July

Before the opening of the main Congress, a preconference was held for students and young professionals at the Booyoung Youth Centre. This included three excellent talks by Patrick Fung on leadership from the book of Nehemiah and three plenaries on ‘Christian Worldview’ (Min-Cheol Kim), ‘Technology and Ethics’ (Jean Wright) and ‘Finding our Part in God’s Mission’ (Mike Chupp). A lavish array of 40 additional breakout sessions covered a huge range of issues at the interface of Christianity and medicine. Students and junior doctors were especially encouraged through dedicated teaching, mentoring and networking opportunities, investing in the next generation of Christian healthcare leaders.

A rich parallel programme of ten pre-conference streams for qualified doctors and dentists (each ten hours long) was designed to strengthen practical ministry and professional excellence and provided opportunities for deeper learning, smaller group interaction and the development of lasting international friendships. Themes included Bioethics, Apologetics, Whole-Person Medicine, Palliative Care, Advocacy, Healthcare Leadership, Missions, Family Medicine and Strengthening National Movements.

A cultural night gave national groups and regions the opportunity through song, dance and testimony to display and enjoy God’s gifts of artistic talent and diversity.

The pre-conference concluded with the four-yearly General Assembly attended by ICMDA board, staff, fieldworkers and national leaders – an opportunity to look back with thanks over the three years since the last world congress in Tanzania, welcome 16 new national movements into membership and to launch the daily devotional, ‘Doctor’s Life Support 6’. These early days of the Congress, attended by around 600, created space for meaningful discussion, prayer and collaboration that will continue long after delegates return home.

Jeju Main Conference – 2 to 5 July

The Main Conference held at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Jeju (2-5 July) was a powerful expression of the worldwide Christian medical and dental community united in Christ (highlights here). From inspiring Bible teaching to thought-provoking plenary sessions and practical breakout seminars, over 1,200 participants were encouraged to live out the Congress theme, ‘Building God's Kingdom Amongst the Broken’ focusing especially on those facing sickness, injustice and conflict.

Medical Missionary and Theologian Dae Young Lee gave three deeply moving Bible talks on the theme drawing material form Genesis to Revelation and reminding us that God uses broken vessels who have suffered in life as his instruments to build bridges between God and those crushed by difficult circumstances (buy his new book here). The main talks were supplemented by three challenging plenary addresses on ‘Revolutionary Changes in Medical Mission’ (Paul Bendor-Samuel), ‘The AI Revolution in Medicine’ (Jana Macleod) and ‘Confronting the Secular Ethics Agenda’ (Jeff Barrows).

Almost 120 additional breakouts across six sessions offered a huge choice of relevant topics and attendees also attended one of 20 ‘Special Interest Groups’ which we hope will continue beyond the conference.

‘Regional Family Time’ gave people a chance to network with others from their own ICMDA region (14 in all) to hear inspiring testimonies and to encourage and pray for each other. ‘Global Family Time’ brought together around 150 board members, staff, fieldworkers and national leaders to reflect on the last three years, review ICMDA’s strengths, weaknesses and the threats and opportunities facing us and to plan.

A Family Celebration (including flag parade and drone-assisted photo) was followed by an international night in which 23 groups participated - a wonderful display of energy, vibrancy, diversity and colour featuring cultural dance, song, skits and Taekwondo. Countless informal conversations strengthened friendships and fostered new partnerships for ministry. These moments remind us that we are part of one global family serving one Lord.

An offering to support ICMDA’s field staff and volunteer fieldworkers (you can still give here) was followed by a powerful closing communion and commissioning service focussing on reconciliation and ending with prayer for each other in small groups amid many tears of joy. We pray that delegates will return home refreshed, equipped and inspired to serve Christ more faithfully through their professional lives.

New Member Associations

One of the greatest joys of every World Congress is celebrating the continued growth of the ICMDA family. At the General Assembly for board, staff, fieldworkers and national leaders, we welcomed 16 new member organisations into the Association, bringing our global family to 123. These included a wide variety of national movements from regions where we are pioneering - Czechia, Colombia, Guyana, Liberia, Morocco, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Congo Brazzaville, Mauritius, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia and Solomon Islands.

Each new ICMDA member movement has its own inspiring history involving the Lord raising up key individuals to envision and equip others. Many new associations are started through the work of our team of 78 fieldworkers who undertake pioneering visits and offer training and support.

Each new member organisation represents years of faithful service by local leaders who have invested in students, encouraged healthcare professionals and built Christ-centred communities within their own nations. Their inclusion strengthens our shared vision of supporting Christian doctors and dentists to live and speak for Jesus Christ while providing excellent healthcare.

The diversity of our membership is one of ICMDA's greatest strengths. Every nation brings unique experiences, challenges and opportunities that enrich our fellowship and expand our understanding of God’s work in healthcare globally. As new members join, existing members are also strengthened through opportunities for partnership, mentoring, regional collaboration and shared resources.

May these new partnerships bear lasting fruit as we work together to encourage Christian healthcare professionals and bring hope to communities around the world. As we look forward to the next World Congress in Surabaya, Indonesia, in 2030 we are expectant of welcoming many more new movements.

Before the World Congress, the ICMDA International Board met to review the ministry’s work and prayerfully consider priorities for the coming years. Fourteen board members from ten regions gathered to celebrate God’s faithfulness, assess current ministries and seek his guidance for the future direction of the Association.

The Board reviewed reports from regional leaders, considered financial stewardship, discussed strategic opportunities for growth and examined ways to strengthen support for national member movements. Attention was given to leadership development, student ministry, global partnerships and expanding access to training resources for Christian healthcare professionals serving in diverse contexts.

Board members also reflected on the remarkable growth of ICMDA across many regions of the world and gave thanks for the increasing number of opportunities to serve healthcare workers facing significant professional, ethical and spiritual challenges. Throughout every discussion, prayer remained central as decisions were made with a desire to honour Christ and advance his Kingdom.

Long standing board members Mike Chupp (USA) and Alan Gijsbers (Australia) are stepping down after years of faithful service to be replaced by three new members elected by the General Assembly: Michael Burke (Australia), Lydia Pratanu (Indonesia) and John Pierce (USA). 

Vijay Aruldas (India) continues as board chair and Howard Lyons (UK) and Hannes Steinberg (South Africa) as chairs of finance and strategy committees respectively while Daniel Ojuka (Kenya) takes over as chair of the governance committee from Alan Gijsbers. We thank God for these faithful servants and their wisdom in guiding ICMDA into the future.

Our ICMDA webinar series continues to attract a wide following with five more presentations held in the last month.

• Transgenderism and freedom of speech - Andrea Williams
• Healing after prayer - Dick Kruijthoff
• The quiet revival - Rico Tice
• The impact of training in mission hospitals - Peter Halestrap
• Genomics: The promise & peril of reading our DNA - Christopher Willmott

If you missed any of these, you can watch all five webinars above on the ICMDA website. Next up on 9, 16, 23 and 30 respectively, all at 2pm BST (UK time) (UTC+1) on a Thursday are:

• Leadership integrity - Paul Coulter
• Human trafficking in dental practice - Hedwin Kadrianto
• Mobilising doctors for underserved areas - Brent Van Andel
• Teaching whole person care - Paul Rylance

You can book free for all these along with upcoming webinars in August and September on our website and access all past webinars on our searchable database (307 so far).

Each webinar is published along with links to relevant resources so they can fill a helpful session for regional, national or local groups wanting to engage with the issues. Most webinars are also available on Spotify as podcasts (or search for ICMDA in your podcast provider).

Last month I was based in the UK preparing for the series of half-yearly ICMDA board meetings and the World Congress, chairing various other meetings and speaking at the UK CDF prayer meeting and CARE interns’ meeting. I left for South Korea with Josh on 26 June for the main board meeting on 27-29 June following by the world preconference and main conference over 30 June to 5 July (see reports above). This month I will again be based in the UK, following up from the world congress, catching up with the backlog and chairing various online committees.

National members’ conferences are quieter this month after the World Congress but the 94th Annual National KCMF Student Conference (South Korea) takes place on 20-25 July. Ironically very few members of this group were able to attend the World Congress as a series of strikes by medical students had led to an extension of term time meaning that the event clashed with end of year exams. There is also a juniors’ conference in Greece on 20-26 July and a doctors’ national conference in Nigeria from 30 July to 2 August. You can find more information about other upcoming events on the ICMDA website.

The May to July 2026 Prayer Diary is still available online (or write to us at [email protected] to receive a hard copy) and Josh Mills (COO) is now in the process of writing the August to October diary. Around 2,900 people now receive the daily Doctor’s Life Support email. You can sign up free of charge on the ICMDA website – a great way of starting the day. There is also information about how you can support ICMDA in prayer and giving (Ukraine, Projects).

June was a rather hectic month for me with preparation for the ICMDA board and World Congress (see above) and I was not sure I would get it all done. However, by God’s grace, I finally felt ready the night before I flew to South Korea and the Congress really exceeded all my best expectations. In retrospect I can now see how all the effort was worth it.

We had some lovely visits from friends and extended family from New Zealand (in the UK for various medical conferences) which provided oases of calm. New Zealand’s unexpected victory in the test cricket series over England also gave some welcome distraction and our daily routine of prayer, Bible reading and meals together along with regular runs to Verulamium Park and the vegetable garden provided stability and balance.

This month my NZ cousin Jeff visits following an anaesthetics conference and Jonno, Jessa and Ellie (now two) arrive from the United States for a week before they both start teaching in August – Jonno teaching maths at a Christian high school and Jessa starting her third year as associate professor in sociology at Wheaton College, Illinois. We hope to ‘return visit’ them next month to offer grandparental support during their first week of term. Ben, Caroline and their three children are currently enjoying a few days break with friends in Wales and we keep up with regular phone and video calls.

Kirsty remains busy at church with women’s Bible study, ‘Little explorers’ and English club and Chris continues with his language and music tuition and playing piano with the worship team at two local churches. I have just finished reading Paul Kingsnorth’s ‘Against the Machine’ (highly recommended) and have bagged my 28th country (South Korea) for a 5km run.

Thank you for your prayers and support. It’s always a joy to hear from you, so do get in touch. May you know God's grace and peace in full measure over this coming month.

Sincerely in Christ Jesus,