DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2014.v02i05.006

Pages: 633-642

The heightening of local ecumenism in confessionally mixed communities across the world was a spillover of the ecumenical revolution which gained intensity after the Second Vatican Council. Within this era, dialogues between Catholic and Protestant churches quite often culminated in the creation of local ecumenical movements. This was the context in which Catholics and Protestants of Kumba in South West Cameroon, led by their clergy, dialogued and launched the Joint Action Group of Churches (JAGC) in 1974. The overriding intention was to contribute to the new ecumenical movement in a manner capable of enhancing Christian unity, missionary endeavours and fraternal goodwill. The operation mechanism that was fashioned alongside the various sources of income that were identified enabled the group to engage in beneficial evangelical, social and economic activities. And prior to its dissolution in 1996, the group had successfully unbolted the doors of separation between Catholics and Protestants. This paper, based on primary and secondary data, is aimed at recording the history of this local ecumenical experiment. It opens up with an introductory background that contextualizes Catholic-Protestant cooperation. This is followed by an examination of the origins of the JAGC and its mechanism of operation. The paper further discusses the myriad activities of the group alongside the problems that resulted in its dissolution. The paper argues that the JAGC, in spite the impediments that caused its demise, offered the Kumba Christians an opportunity for engaging in joint ecumenical commitments that were not only beneficial to the local population, but also to the new ecumenical movement.