What is Mission?

​What is Christian mission? Is it verbally sharing the gospel in order to convert non-believers? Is it social justice ministry aimed at realizing God’s shalom on earth as it is in heaven? Is it some mixture of both, or something else entirely? Contributors to the current issue of Anabaptist Witness engage these crucial questions through […]

Who’s got your back?

​Getting it together Being people vs. doing projects  By Dani Klotz At different stages in my life, I have been gifted with the courage to take risks through the encouragement of people around me. Whether it was to serve for a year after high school, or which college I should go to, people saw potential […]

Taste and See

In the beginning God created. This chef of all things cooked up a feast of earth, plants that grow fruit, and beings to enjoy and care for this abundance. And God called these creations good. We are the custodians of this good earth. Every meal we eat we are connected with those who dreamed up […]

Global bonds of healing and hope

​Getting it together Being people vs. doing projects By Laurie Oswald Robinson For five decades, I just didn’t get it. As a Mennonite kid, I went to dozens of missionary slide shows. Most memorable were the cookies after the service. The message of how important it is to globally share Jesus’ gospel failed to clear […]

Mission Without Conquest

This book embodies a new way to approach the church’s missionary task – a way that makes the mission of Jesus Christ the paradigm for Christian mission until his return.

Anabaptist Mission and Theology of Religions

​Consideration of the church’s missional constitution and context lead to the claim that interaction with religious others is a necessary element of Anabaptist witness. But what does this interaction look like? What should it look like? What resources do Christian theology and missiology offer as guides to understanding and engaging other religions? The essays in […]

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 […]

Fully Engaged

As the missional church movement matures, Anabaptists bring a time-honored theological tradition, a contemporary spiritual vitality, and practical stories of witness to the conversation.

Christian Service

Social servants Service made worthwhile by human connections By Sara Alvarez Serving fellow humans is a social activity. Whether it’s conversing in the cafeteria of a food pantry while prepping the food in the kitchen, or outside harvesting vegetables from a garden, at the very least, a volunteer has to communicate with a supervisor who […]

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 […]

Listen, God is calling

​Stories of faithfulness By Andrew Clouse When a Jewish family sits down to a Seder or Passover meal, they are entering into a feast of stories.  The purpose of the meal is to remember the day God saved the Jewish people from the Egyptians, a moment when God’s faithfulness was tangible. When each child reads […]