Church planting has continued despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and Anabaptist church planters gathered virtually for the 2021 Sent Conference, held April 22 and 23.
Peace church planters from around the world gathered online to listen to keynote speakers Katerina Friesen, pastor of Wild Church in Fresno, California; Tim Amor, pastor of Beatrice Mennonite Church in Beatrice, Nebraska; and Reverends Karen Sethurama and Gordon McDade, pastors and church planters of Soulspace in Belfast, Ireland.
Mike Sherrill, executive director of Mennonite Mission Network, spoke on the act of tabernacle — the creation of a sacred space for people to meet the Messiah. He said that our urgent task is indeed to tabernacle. This was the theme of the conference: building tabernacles of peace in pandemic times.
Live translation into Spanish was available during the conference.* Check out the videos to hear these great messages of hope.
*Spanish closed captioning is available for the recording.
During these pandemic times, it’s easy to feel hopeless. View the recordings of the Sent Conference 2021 and hear stories of hope and resilience from peace church planters!
Meeting recording (April 22, 2021)
Meeting recording (April 23, 2021)
Sent Conference 2021 was a virtual gathering, that took place over the course of two days, with two 90-minute sessions.
Thursday, April 22 from 7–8:30 p.m. EST
Katerina Friesen and
members of Wild Church (Fresno, CA) shared about their young church community, which seeks reconciliation with God and creation through meeting outdoors in the tabernacle of creation!
Tim Amor, pastor of Beatrice Mennonite Church, shared on the topic of Re-planting in the heartland: story of Beatrice Mennonite Church. As a little church in Nebraska, we have been a church in decline and we have felt stuck for a long time. So, what if we tried something new? What if we prayerfully considered all the things that make us a church, and asked, What are we willing to give up and change for the sake of sharing the love of Jesus with our neighbors?
Speakers: Katerina Friesen, pastor of Wild Church, and Tim Amor, pastor of Beatrice Mennonite Church
Friday, April 23 from 2:30–4 p.m. EST
Rev. Karen Sutherman and
Gordon McDade shared about their peace church planting in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They use a community chaplaincy model that emphasizes being with people, meeting them where they are, and struggling together with questions about God and conflict with religious and political "others."
Speakers: Rev. Karen Sethurama and Gordon McDade, pastors and church planters of Soulspace
A Spanish interpretation was offered.
Sponsored by Mennonite Mission Network.
