Story 3: Transforming Down Under
Mary, my spouse, and I were asked to lead a two-day online retreat for pastors in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak, with the theme, "Pastoring In A Pandemic." Churches were experiencing lockdown conditions, and pastors were finding their way as leaders of congregations that were struggling with the changes. We began the retreat […]
Story 5: All invited to the Lamb’s throne
"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs […]
Story 6: Pandemic forges transforming mission
The pandemic offered us spaces of transformation to do mission. And by the grace of the Lamb, we are discovering new ways to assist families in crisis. In all this time, God has provided and guided us to distribute food and supplies; bring medicine and act as "nurses;" encourage the little ones with some toys; […]
Embodying oneness through the enfleshment of the Eucharist
Editor’s Note: Mennonite Mission Network invited Melody Pannell to share a reflection on World Communion Sunday, Oct. 3. She dovetails her thoughts with 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 (NRSV): 17 Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, to begin with, […]
Family to help sustain a home for people living in exile
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — When Joseph and Rachel Givens contacted Mennonite Mission Network about the possibility of becoming mission workers, they came with a keen understanding of what they were not. They were not church planters. They were not pastors. They both, however, knew that they shared a strong calling to reach out […]
Christ leads mission agency to sail for new seas
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — The wind of the Holy Spirit is carrying Mennonite Mission Network into uncharted waters and forging more nimble, integrative and mutual mission partnerships in a changing church and culture, agency leaders said in recent interviews. The most urgent challenge in the realignment is to keep Christ at the center […]
Serving Jesus as Mary and Martha
Note: Below is a devotional written by Deb Byler, who serves with Mennonite Mission Network in Carchá, Guatemala, among the Kekchi women. Mission Network is posting her piece to reflect on the International Day of Rural Women, celebrated Oct. 15. Her devotional comes from Devocionales 2021, a book of devotionals produced by the Movimiento de Mujeres Anabautistas […]
Generosity helps fire-ravaged Peru community rebuild
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — A generous outpouring of $13,000 USD in donations and grants is helping Iglesia Cristiana Menonita Iquitos Perú (Iquitos Mennonite Church) rebuild five houses that were ravaged by a fire on Aug. 29. Local and global communities quickly offered help after the fire on Isla Iquitos, a small island near […]
Former seeds sown bear fruit in 21st-century mission realignment
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — The seeds of Mennonite Mission Network’s ongoing evolution of walking together with partners in mission were sown and cultivated by many committed leaders, including J.D. Graber, Irene and Ed Weaver, Miriam E. Krantz and Stanley W. Green. Mission Network leaders who were mentored by the late Wilbert Shenk […]
Church sweetens community by giving up sugar, gluten
Editor’s note: November is Mission Month, and Mennonite Mission Network is excited to provide sermon starters, worship materials and videos to help your church plan a Mission Sunday service. Learn how hospitality, this year’s theme, is shared through mission across the globe! The following story expands on a video and two recipes (brownies and dinner […]
60 minute gluten-free dinner rolls
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — Hospitality takes many forms. For Open Door Mennonite Church in Jackson, Mississippi, the act of giving and receiving hospitality is often expressed through food. Every second Sunday of the month, the congregation gathers together, after the service, to share a potluck meal. As the host congregation for the Jackson […]
Recipe for gluten-free, sugar-free brownies
NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — Hospitality takes many forms. For Open Door Mennonite Church in Jackson, Mississippi, the act of giving and receiving hospitality is often expressed through food. Every second Sunday of the month, the congregation gathers together, after the service, to share a potluck meal. As the host congregation for the Jackson […]