Finding refuge
Mission done best by invitation By Sara Alvarez During these first months on the job, I’ve appreciated Mennonite Mission Network’s emphasis on partnership. We don’t presume to understand another’s culture, and we don’t assume we’ll do better than local organizations. Instead, we wait for churches or organizations to ask us to join them. They come […]
Mongolia Partners
Different surroundings, familiar hope By Wil LaVeist Twenty years ago, Mennonite Mission Network joined other Christian agencies in setting aside doctrinal differences to focus on their shared belief in Jesus, and to do one thing—serve alongside the Mongolian people. In this issue of Beyond Ourselves, we commemorate that commitment to JCS International and how the […]
For God so loved Afghanistan
Journal selections from 16 years of family living in the war-torn land of Afghanistan.
Congo
Joy and hope amidst injustice in the Congo By Lynda Hollinger-Janzen I experience life in the Congo as spicy pili-pili, the hot pepper used to season greens, that most Congolese eat with their fufu day after day—if they are fortunate enough to eat. The intense delight of taste buds is accompanied by a long-lasting burn, […]
Creating Local Arts Together
Creating Local Arts Together is a manual designed to guide an individual or group into a local community’s efforts at integrating its arts with the values and purposes of God’s kingdom.
New Anabaptist Voices
There have been Mennonites of non-European descent in the United States for several generations already. Yet many people in this country still identify Anabaptism with the Germanic sub-cultures of “Mennonitism.” More recent waves of Anabaptists are, however, searching for new ways of being the faithful church in the midst of rapid and disruptive change. They […]
Postcards from Europe
You’ve got a friend in Europe By Melanie Hess Connie Byler often begins a sentence with the phrase, “I’ve got a friend….” Connie, in her many years of ministry in Spain, has made friends everywhere. She knows people all across Burgos and throughout the surrounding villages, including military generals to whom she taught English, and […]
Our stories
In service, Lord, to thee By Andrew Clouse All Christians—no matter what stage of life—are called to live their lives in service to others. Service itself can be as simple as an afternoon work project, as demonstrated at the 2011 Mennonite Church USA Convention in Pittsburgh, when nearly 3,000 youth and adults served 47 organizations […]
Prophetic pursuit
Kingdom seeds Sowing today to reap tomorrow By Andrew Clouse “Then Jesus said, ‘God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a farmer who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first, a […]
Transforming Mission
David Bosch’s Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, now available in over a dozen languages, is widely recognized as an historic and magisterial contribution to the study of mission. Examining the entire sweep of Christian tradition, he shows how five paradigms have historically encapsulated the Christian understanding of mission and then outlines the characteristics […]
Caminos Olvidados
El clásico cambio de paradigma propuesto por Alan Hirsch continua siendo la declaración definitiva de la iglesia como un dinámico movimiento misional. El éxito literario que fue la primera edición, encendió una conversación acerca de cómo aprovechar el poder de los movimientos para el crecimiento futuro de la iglesia. En esta edición actualizada, Hirsch comparte […]
Tongue Screws and Testimony
Mennonites tend to struggle with sharing their faith through verbal witness. This booklet suggests concrete ways to move Mennonites and other Christians in the direction of a more confident, joyful approach to livin gan dsharing “the hope that is within them.”