ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Central Committee-East Coast/Mennonite Mission Network) – Hilaire Louis Jean spoke effusively about his first visit to the African continent. He was one of two Mennonite Church USA representatives to attend the Francophone Mennonite Network consultation on theological education among French-speaking Mennonites, held in Democratic Republic of Congo, Feb. 26-28 (see accompanying article).
Louis Jean praised the courage of Congolese Mennonites in the face of daily difficulties. He commended Mennonites’ passion and vision for educating young people. After one particularly joy-filled encounter, Louis Jean was so moved by the hospitality, he just had to call his wife, Yanick, in Miami to share what he was experiencing. She tried to share the enthusiasm, even though the phone wakened her from sleep at 3 a.m.
“I feel that the African Mennonites are more Mennonite than people in Mennonite churches in the U.S.,” Louis Jean said. “Their vision is so big and they are so proud of their faith. They are always talking about what it means to be a Mennonite.”
Louis Jean is pastor of one of the eight Mennonite Church USA congregations where French is used in worship. Church of God Prince of Peace, affiliated with Southeast Mennonite Conference, began in Louis Jean’s Miami home in 1997. Today, the church attendance has grown to 200 people with services conducted in three languages: Haitian Créole, English and French.
According to Matthew Krabill, doctoral student at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., there are eight French-speaking congregations with membership in Mennonite Church USA – four ministering to people of mostly Congolese descent, two ministering mostly to people of Haitian descent, and two ministering mostly to people of Cameroonian descent. Krabill is researching African immigrant congregations affiliated with Mennonite Church USA, focusing on how the experience of migration shapes ecclesial beliefs and practices.
Louis Jean and Martine Akwa Mfwilwakanda were jointly sponsored by Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Mission Network to represent Mennonite Church USA. Mennonite Mission Network also helped to underwrite the Francophone Mennonite Conference, including a grant from the Schowalter Foundation.
“Our connection as Anabaptist churches is a critical component of our unity in working for God’s kingdom,” said Bruce Campbell-Janz, executive director of Mennonite Central Committee – East Coast. “In that way, I think gatherings like the Kinshasa consultation help support Francophone churches in the U.S. as they relate to each other and with the broader Francophone Mennonite world.”
Mfwilwakanda is a deaconess and active in women’s ministry at Wholicare Community Missionary Church in Pasadena, Calif. Wholicare, affiliated with Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference, was founded by Mfwilwakanda’s father in 1994, after his studies at Fuller Seminary.
“The conference was truly a blessing to me, a double blessing since it was held in Congo,” said Mfwilwakanda, who was born in Congo and lived there until she was 18 years old. “It was a great experience for me to join many humble servants of God and to hear about their work, their backgrounds, their challenges, and their plans for the future of their institutions.”
Mfwilwakanda said that she was grateful to learn about French-language theological institutions around the world and that there is Mennonite literature available in French also.
“The services we had every morning [at the Kinshasa conference] and every message that was preached touched my heart in a very special way,” Mfwilwakanda said. “It made me want to go into ministry full-time.”
Mfwilwakanda believes that although there are few Mennonites in the United States who minister in the French language, they can support each other by being connected and sharing news and information about what is happening in their church contexts.
“French-speaking Mennonites can bring more members to the worldwide church by winning more souls for Jesus,” Mfwilwakanda said.
Louis Jean heartily agrees that more connections among Mennonites are part of God’s plan for the global Mennonite Church. He wants to do his part to make this happen and extended an invitation to every Mennonite Church USA member to join Church of God Prince of Peace in Miami on June 21 where worship will take place in five languages: English, French, Garifuna, Haitian Creole, and Spanish. This is an annual event of the Miami District of the Southeast Mennonite Conference.
“It will be Pentecost. It will be a taste of heaven. The Holy Ghost will be present. It would be awesome if you could be present, too,” Louis Jean said.
For information about the June 21 celebration, contact Pastor Hilaire Louis Jean at 786-326-7594 or pastorh56@aol.com.
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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact news@mennonitemission.net.
