The laborers are many
Most Mennonites believe in church planting, and some are willing to act on those beliefs. In 2007, Conrad Kanagy published a comprehensive survey of Mennonite Church USA[Footnote 1]. Kanagy noted that interest in church planting had declined since the last survey in 1989, but remained stronger with Racial/Ethnic members and pastors. The numbers could be disappointing […]
Planting peace churches
The Holy Spirit is the architect for new bodies of believers, but it takes people guided by principles to carry out the plans. This article focuses on calling leaders, sustaining ministry, and encouraging multiplication. These principles are the core of the peace church-planting pipeline that Mennonite Mission Network is launching in January 2019. Calling […]
Planting in faith
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) – Neither Omot Aganya or Zach Martinez set out to be peace church planters. Yet, for Aganya in Kansas City, Missouri, and Martinez in Greeley, Colorado, that’s exactly what they’re doing. "I backed into this whole thing accidentally," said Martinez. For him, the spark to plant a church in Greeley […]
Face-to-face with church decline
BERLIN, Ohio (Mennonite Mission Network) – Next time you’re in church, look at the people around you. Do you see deep friendships? Do you see people who share in their daily struggles and in their spiritual life? It can be easy to see God is at work through these relationships. But in a culture where […]
Living the call: Q&A with Sent 2018 attendees
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) – Pastors, church planters, and people from all over the country gathered in Chicago May 4-6 for the Sent 2018 peace church conference to worship and share how God is moving in their churches and communities. I caught up with two attendees to talk about their experiences. Hendy Stevan is […]
Letting God lead
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) – It was early September 2017, and Kendra Selzer was bound for Puerto Rico for a year with Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS). Then Hurricanes Irma and Maria made landfall. Selzer had planned to live and work as a teacher’s aide on the campus of Academia Menonita Betania, a school that […]
Adella Brunk Kanagy: “We served by being learners.”
ELKHART, Indiana (Mennonite Mission Network) – Adella Brunk Kanagy read from both her English and her Japanese Bibles each morning. She and her family served in Japan for 22 years with Mennonite Board of Missions, a predecessor agency of Mennonite Mission Network. Kanagy, 95, died in Belleville, Pennsylvania, July 8. "We served by being learners […]
The “nitty gritty” of Anabaptism
While I have been giving presentations and workshops on Anabaptism I have started to realize how little I really knew growing up. People would always ask, "Who are the Mennonites?" Or "How are Mennonites any different from other Christian groups?" I wouldn’t say much more than we are pacifists and we also do this thing […]
MVS alumna uses passion for social justice in immigration law
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) – Some people are hesitant to integrate their identity into their vocation, but for Lisa Koop, a passion for advocacy and social justice is not just part of who she is – it’s her day job. Koop works at the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), a nonprofit organization with offices […]
In two short weeks
Throughout this trip, there have been multiple ways that a deeper meaning and knowledge has come to light. Our experiences in Ecuador have taught us to rethink our impact and choices in this world. We’ve learned to slow down, take a breath, and open our eyes. Not only has it been an amazing trip because […]
Founding member of Mennonite Church Nigeria dies
IKOT OBIO AMA, Nigeria (Mennonite Mission Network) – Ime Udo Nsasak, 87, a founding member of Mennonite Church Nigeria, died at home on November 26, 2017. The funeral and burial took place on May 12, 2018, at Nsasak’s compound in Ikot Obio Ama. Nsasak served as national secretary of the church during most of the […]
Experiencing God in San Antonio
What do you do to celebrate your 50th birthdays and 30th year of graduation? That was the question the 1985-1986/1986-1987 Mod 2B [Bethel College, Kansas] guys had asked themselves for the last couple years. On Saturday morning, Jan. 20, 2018, six of us loaded up into an RV and took off on an eight-day journey […]