Sharing hope

Waterford partnership

Bonaventure Akowanou

​Ervin Stutzman is executive director of Mennonite Church USA.

The story of Mennonite Mission Network’s partnership in Benin is a narrative of hope and perseverance. It demonstrates the value of ministry partnerships—an investment in hope. When hope wears thin, the encouragement of small financial investments can yield big spiritual dividends.

If we live in the United States, we tend to see ourselves in the role of the givers—the investors who share in the lives of others. But, as Lynda Hollinger-Janzen shows, when we walk in partnership with others, we are often the primary beneficiaries of the gifts of those with whom we partner. Her story reminds me of the times that people invested in me, watering the seeds of hope in my own soul.  

Years ago, when I was a teenager, I received the invitation to attend a Bible institute for a short winter term. I really didn’t have the money to pay the tuition, and neither did my widowed mother. But a deacon from my home church heard about my interests, and—without me knowing it at the time—supplied much of the money I needed to go. My experience at the Bible institute set me on a path of discipleship that has shaped the rest of my life. I shall be forever grateful for the gift of that kind deacon. 

​As I learned about the ministry of the Benin Bible Institute, I imagined students, like me, who were enabled to attend there by the generous giving of others. These sacrificial investments have borne fruit, birthing new ministries of hope both in Benin and far beyond.  

I’m so grateful to be part of a “believers’ church” that takes discipleship seriously—walking alongside ministry partners around the world. In addition to the partnerships like those in Benin, we do it in our hometowns and around the world through micro-loans for entrepreneurial workers and personal involvement in community development projects. We do it by gathering in “huddles” of two and three in Christ’s name to pray for neighborhoods and start new churches. And perhaps most simply, we walk alongside each other with our daily prayers, our vulnerability and our needs, compassionate listening and a helping hand, offering the gift of ourselves in the mission of God. A true investment in hope.​