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From the very beginning the Congo Inland Mission was conceived as a cooperative and united effort of Christian witness and service on the part of two different Mennonite groups. There were undoubtedly early pragmatic reasons which contributed to this cooperative approach to a daring venture half way around the world. Greatly limited in knowledge, experience, personnel and resources, they simply needed each other. But along the way discoveries and commitments were made which have been reconfirmed across the years by the AIMM. Today the vision of an inter-Mennonite effort of witness and service on the African continent continues because:

We can do more collectively than we can individually and independently of each other; A common witness as a joint Mennonite team lends credibility to our claims to be one in Christ; A united effort of mission avoids the introduction of a multiplicity of Mennonite churches which at this point in the history of world Christianity is of questionable value;  A cooperative mission effort saves the multiple costs of parallel administrative support structures.

It is clear that an inter-Mennonite mission effort does not happen automatically, nor even easily. There must be allowance for the diversity in the history, stance and internal patterns of operation which each cooperative member conference brings to AIMM. There must also be a high level of mutual respect and trust coupled with a flexibility which allows for adjustment and accommodation of viewpoints which may not always overlap completely.

But with broad agreement on such fundamentals as the primacy of the Biblical mandate for mission, the centrality and final authority of Scripture, the affirmation of salvation in Jesus Christ alone, the demands of discipleship and the nature and function of the Church, it is not only possible but immensely rewarding to engage in a cooperative Mennonite effort of Christian mission in today's world.

It is to this ongoing vision of inter-Mennonite witness and service on the African continent that AIMM is committed.