Peek into Service Adventure — Faith development
Curious how Service Adventure connects with faith? Let Risa Fukaya tell you! Risa was a participant with the 2019-2020 Service Adventure unit in Jackson, Mississippi.The Jackson unit is supported by Open Door Mennonite Church, which welcomes participants into their church community each year through services, outreach activities, and frequent invitations to Sunday dinner!
Peek into Service Adventure — Jackson, Mississippi
Curious what a Service Adventure placement looks like? Let Risa Fukaya show you! Risa was a participant with the 2019-2020 Service Adventure – Jackson, Mississippi unit, and served with Stewpot Community Services, Inc. Clothing Closet and the Education Learning Station afterschool program.
Become a Service Adventure leader
Cynthia and Roger Neufeld Smith share about their experience of being Service Adventure leaders in Jackson, Mississippi. Anyone ages 24+ may apply. Service Adventure leadership is a great opportunity for those who are ready to live out their faith in a unique, intentional setting that is structured for authentic Christian discipleship and living. Contact Susan […]
Migration, empathy and welcome
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning epic, Grapes of Wrath (1939), John Steinbeck recounts the harshness of the Great Depression and gives us a glimpse into the struggles of migrant farmworkers. In it, he tells the heart-rending stories of people who loaded up their vehicles with all they could fit and moved from a devastated and ravaged […]
Walking in peace through perplexing times
The real deal By Laurie Oswald Robinson In 2008, I left six and a half years of communication work with Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Women USA for a life of freelancing. This past May, I returned to the offices on Main Street in Newton, Kansas, to serve as editor for Mennonite Mission Network. […]
Practical and profound
The growth of a vibrant movement of voluntary service is an inspiring story of simple, youthful, practical Christian idealism applied to human suffering and struggle. Many Mennonite voluntary or alternative service programs birthed sincere discipleship convictions and unleashed the latent talent and skills of thousands of young men and women engaged in peaceful service. […]
Directing the next steps
Directors of Mennonite Mission Network’s service programs reflect on how service opportunities pave a stronger pathway for the future Anabaptist church. Five options for service through Mission Network include: • SOOP (Service Opportunities with Our Partners): Participants use their gifts and skills to work alongside others in a network of ministries across the church. […]
El Pacto del Día de la Supervivencia firmado en Australia
La mayoría de los australianos festejan el 26 de enero con desfiles, fuegos artificiales y carne a la parrilla. Pero los pueblos originarios de Australia y de las Islas del estrecho de Torres no lo llaman el Día de Australia, sino el Día de la Supervivencia. Todos reconocen la fecha como el aniversario de la […]
Survival Day covenant signed in Australia
Most Australians celebrate each Jan. 26 with parades, fireworks and barbecues. But Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples call Australia Day by another name: Survival Day. All recognize the date as the anniversary of British proclamation of sovereignty over the land now known as Australia. It was on this day in 2019 that Anabaptists from […]
Not just disciples, but disciple makers
“Biblical discipleship,” says Marvin Lorenzana, “is only complete when a faithful disciple of Jesus learns—in an intentional and relational way—how to make another faithful disciple of Jesus” (p. 3). Not many church members really believe or practice this, of course, despite the fact that Jesus actually called the very first disciples to leave their fishing nets and […]
Mennonite Voluntary Service webinar
Watch Mennonite Mission Network’s webinar celebrating the 75th anniversary of Mennonite Voluntary Service. Learn how God inspired many to live out their faith through service and how the program continues to move young people to put their faith into action. Speakers Stefan Baumgartner, is a 2015–17 MVS Alumn, now living in San Francisco, California. He currently is […]
Alumni service-learning tour to Mississippi
The civil rights struggle stepped out of history and came to life for 12 alumni of Mennonite Mission Network short-term service programs. From Mar. 9–16, Arloa Bontrager, SOOP and Youth Venture director, and Susan Nisly, Service Adventure director, led a learning tour through Mississippi. Each tour participant had served in one of Mission Network’s smorgasbord […]