ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network) — After a lifetime of serving the church on three different continents, David Arthur Shank, 86, died Oct. 20 at his home in Goshen.
His passing came just weeks after Shank and his wife of 62 years, Wilma, were honored with the Goshen College Culture for Service Award, given in tribute for lives spent in respectful and culturally-appropriate mission work through Mennonite Mission Network and a predecessor agency in Europe and West Africa.
Ernest Oueounou, president of one of the major councils of churches in Benin, wrote in a condolence letter addressed to Shank’s family and to Mennonite Church USA: “We, in Benin, have lost a pioneer in biblical and theological training. Through Dr. Shank’s fervor and love for God’s work, he brought together Christ’s body in Benin around God’s word.”
In 1983, Shank taught the first ecumenical Bible training seminar in Benin at the invitation of a council that brought together all non-Catholic churches in the country. This seminar was the seed that gave birth to Benin Bible Institute where thousands of West African church leaders from more than 70 denominations have been trained.
Bonaventure Akowanou, Benin Bible Institute administrator, said, “In this painful moment of grief, following in Dr. Shank’s footsteps and with his zeal for God’s work, we recommit ourselves to pass on to future generations the inheritance he left us. However, we are also filled with joy because we know that we will see him again in heaven and enjoy his company for all eternity.”
James R. Krabill, Mennonite Mission Network’s senior executive for Global Ministries, served in Côte d’Ivoire with the Shanks, and recently published a book of David Shank’s writings titled Mission from the Margins: Selected Writings from the Life and Ministry of David A. Shank. Krabill said that the Shanks were models for him on how to take cultural context seriously when engaging in ministry.
“The Shanks have done this by becoming careful students of culture, learning the language, observing and adapting to cultural patterns, devouring the writings of European authors, dancing to sub-Saharan rhythms, and committing themselves to nurturing the growth of the church in appropriate ways in whatever context God placed them,” Krabill said.
David A. Shank was born Oct. 7, 1924, in Orrville, Ohio, the sixth child of Charles L. and Crissie [Yoder] Shank. Shank fulfilled his military duty through three years of alternative Civilian Public Service, working in soil conservation and mental health. In 1948, he graduated from Goshen College with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, and married Wilma E. Hollopeter, from Sharon Center, Ohio.
After David studied at Goshen (Ind.) College Biblical Seminary, he was ordained in 1950 for ministry in Belgium under the Mennonite Board of Missions, a predecessor agency to Mennonite Mission Network. The Shanks served in Belgium from 1950-1973. There, they provided emergency relief and care for war orphans, ministered to immigrants, started the first Mennonite Church in Belgium after a hiatus of nearly 350 years, and created the Brussels Mennonite Center. In 1955-1956, he earned a Master of Divinity degree from Eastern Baptist (Pa.) Seminary. When Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960, the Shanks began to work toward relationship-building with African-Initiated Churches.
Shank spent an interim period from 1973-1976 at Goshen College working as associate professor of religion and philosophy and serving as campus minister. He also helped found Assembly Mennonite Church.
In preparation for ministry in West Africa, Shank studied William Wadé Harris, one of the most significant African religious leaders of the past two centuries. Shank received a doctorate from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) in 1983 and his book, The Prophet Harris: Black Elijah of West Africa, was published in 1994.
The Shanks served in West Africa from 1979-1989, before retiring, first in Michigan, and then at Greencroft Retirement Community in Goshen, Ind. David remained active in his local congregation, Berkey Avenue Mennonite Church; made several return trips to West Africa; taught at Bluffton (Ohio) University; served as visiting minister and overseer for Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference; and continued translating, teaching and writing.
Shank is survived by his wife, Wilma, of Goshen, and four children, Michael (Carol Troyer) of Madison, Wisc.; Stephen (Jean Gerber, Singers Glen, Va.) of Brussels, Belgium; Crissie J. Buckwalter (Tim) of Hyattsville, Md.; and Rachel (Jim) Shenk of Goshen. Nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren also survive, as do two sisters, Mary Lehman and Lois Musselman of Greencroft in Goshen.
Memorial gifts can be designated for the Benin Bible Institute through Mennonite Mission Network.
