Small beginnings
From a seed to many shoots Ministries grow from carful cultivation. By Sara Alvarez When Steve Wiebe-Johnson, Mennonite Mission Network’s director for Africa, talks about the ministries in Benin, he likes to talk about peanuts. When properly cared for, a peanut plant will multiply through an underground root system that produces new plants. The Benin […]
3-D Gospel in Benin
Beninese churches invite Mennonites to holistic partnership.
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
The Patagonia Story
Congregations in Argentina and Illinois link “Arm-in-Arm” for Mission
‘A New Day in Mission’
In Africa, the ancestors guide life from their superior vantage point of proximity to spiritual power and from their wealth of experiential wisdom. Since Ed and Irene Weaver have been those ancestors for me and my husband, Rod, being chosen to write part of Irene’s story is one of the highest honors I have ever […]
A New Day in Mission’
Irene Weaver reflects on her century of ministry
Misión sin conquista
Hace más de 55 años la presencia misionera del Equipo Menonita en el Chaco argentino se volcó a la búsqueda de maneras que sean eficaces y a la vez fieles al estilo de presencia que vivia y enseñaba Jesús. Al dejar de lado modelos paternalistas y todo intento "conquistador" y al liberarse de la necesidad […]