letting god guide page 12 hristian eader cdc welcomes … · $14,000-plus donations to usmb on...

H R I S T I A N E A D E R

January / February 2018

Letting God guide 2

CDC welcomes new member churches Page 17

Friends bring friends to Jesus Page 31

The magazine of U.S. Mennonite Brethren

2 christian leader | january / february 2018

christianleadermag.com | christian leader 3

in this issue

4 EditorialCONNIE FABER

8 FrontlinesERIC NELSON

9 TestimonyYADIRA TOLEDO

24 Church plant updateINTERVIEW WITH SCOTT THOMAS

26 Vantage pointRANDY FRIESEN

31 From the national directorDON MORRIS

DEPARTMENTS COLUMNS

January / February 2018

5 The news

7 5 minutes with...

17 Body lifen CDC welcomes new churches

n Church planting initiativespans two USMB districts

n Deaf congregation serves in Haiti

n Local churches host national livestream conference

n Ministry to people “not like us”

27 Church news

FEATURES

Spiritual direction helped meget “unstuck”

What will you dowhen you can dowhatever you want?

14 Rethinking retirementDENNIS FAST

12 Letting God guideKAREN BARTLETT

Gracious engagement extendsbeyond managing anger

n Read two additional feature articles at www.christianleadermag.com

10 Beyond managing our angerLYNN KAUFFMAN

The Christian Leader (ISSN 0009-5149) is agathering place for the people, passions and

mission of U.S Mennonite Brethren. The Chris-tian Leader is published bimonthly by the U.S.Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. However, the opinions expressed here are not

necessarily those of the church as a whole.

COPYRIGHT: The articles printed in the Christian Leader are owned by the CL or by

the author and may not be reprinted without permission. Unless noted, Scripture quotations are from the

New International Version.

READER PARTICIPATION: Letters to the editor should be 300 words or less and on one

subject. Letters must be signed and include thewriter’s city and state. Letters will be edited forclarity, appropriateness and length. Letters willbe published, as space allows, unless marked,

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Christian Leader, Box 155, Hillsboro, KS 67063. Periodicals postage paid at Hillsboro, Kansas.

Connie FaberEDITOR

Janae RempelASSISTANT EDITOR

Shelley PlettGRAPHIC DESIGNER

Vol. 81, No. 1January /February 2018

The Christian Leader is published by

H R I S T I A N E A D E Reditorial

I’ve never played a competitive sport, but my childrenhave, and I’ve sat through enough basketball games to

understand the importance of following through once aplayer has released the basketball. When a player shootsthe ball, her arm comes up and straightens and then sheflicks her wrist to release the ball. To follow through meansto hold that position until the ball reaches the hoop. Thisgives the shot greater accuracy.

Follow-through takes practice. Coaches know thatwhile reminding their players to follow through is impor-tant, the best way to help players with follow-through isthe various practice drills that have players repeat the fol-low-through motion over and over again until that motionbecomes automatic—until it’s a habit.

It turns out that the Christian life also requires follow-through. Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll says: “Thegoal of every Christian should be to live like a Christian…not just to think about it, not just to learn about it, but todo it—to carry it out. The Bible commands it, the Lordempowers it, the world expects it, the church needs it. Infact, the greatest advertisement for Christ is the individualwho models that life.”

How’s your follow-through? That’s the underlyingquestion addressed by the feature articles in this issue—the three printed in the magazine and the two additionalessays posted online (www.christianleadermag.com). Pas-tor Lynn Kauffman challenges those of us who strugglewith anger to do more than just manage that negativeemotion. Are you spiritually stuck? Karen Bartlett tellshow spiritual direction helped her move forward in her relationshipwith God. When you retire, will it be an extended vacation or willyou continue to use your talent and time to serve, asks Dennis Fast,who recently retired and now has two part-time jobs. Our online ar-ticles highlight the important role parents play in their children’sfaith journey and how walking and talking with the Good Shepherdcan nourish our desire to forgive the way Jesus did.

Helping U.S. Mennonite Brethren practice their follow-through—what we often call discipleship—will be the focus ofUSMB efforts in 2018, says Don Morris, USMB national director.Just as a coach helps athletes develop good follow-through habits,USMB ministries will focus on assisting local churches with inten-tional disciple-making efforts. As a USMB ministry, one of our 2018goals for the Christian Leader is that the feature essays, columns andnews stories we publish will encourage and inspire you to followthrough. Living like a Christian—following through on the priori-ties that Jesus outlines in the Gospels—means that we daily reviewand rehearse what that obedience involves, until more often thannot, our responses reflect what Jesus would do. May we be empow-ered by the Holy Spirit and encouraged by one another to not justthink or talk about modeling our lives after Jesus—but to do it. w

Connie Faberhas served as

editor of ChristianLeader since 2004.

She and her husband,David, are members

of Ebenfeld MB Church,

Hillsboro, Kan.

How’s your follow-through?Our goal should be living like Jesus

U.S. Conference ofMennonite Brethren Churches



the news

Giving Tuesday raises$14,000-plus

Donations to USMB on GivingTuesday, Nov. 28, 2017, totaled$14,566. Funds raised will be used tobenefit internships for potential lead-ers, LEAD initiatives and churchplanting.

“I appreciate so much those whodonated much-needed funds forUSMB mission and ministry on Giv-ing Tuesday,” says USMB nationaldirector Don Morris. “These dona-tions will be used to serve our MBpastors, leaders and churches to helpmaximize ministry potential—reach-ing more people with the gospel. It’sabout Jesus. We do this together, andit has eternal impact. Thank you to allthose who gave.”

Giving Tuesday is a global day ded-icated to generosity that falls on thefirst Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Inthe five years USMB has been part ofGiving Tuesday, donors have con-tributed more than $125,000.—USMB

Boards hold fall meetings

The U.S. Mennonite BrethrenBoard of Faith and Life (BFL), Lead-ership Board and National StrategyTeam held their fall meetings the lastweek in September 2017, in Denver,Colo.

The U.S. BFL met Sept. 26 and re-sumed ongoing discussions on a vari-ety of topics and projects, includingplans to host the first-ever summit ofdistrict and national BFL members.The goal of this gathering is to buildbridges between the districts and toshare ideas and resources, says U.S.BFL chair Tim Sullivan. One topicthat will be discussed is credentialingwomen in pastoral roles.

The USMB Leadership Board,meeting Sept. 28-29, approved anhistoric cooperative partnership be-tween USMB, C2C Network, the

church planting ministry of the Cana-dian Conference of MB Churchesthat works across denominations, andMB Mission that will enhance U.S.Mennonite Brethren evangelism andchurch planting efforts, as well as theUSMB commitment to leadership de-velopment and discipleship. Withthis new partnership, C2C US willassume responsibility for church plant project management. The Leadership Board also approved abudget of $940,200 for 2018 that in-cludes significant increases in fundingfor internships and Leadership Education And Development(LEAD) initiatives.

When the National Strategy Team(NST) met Sept. 27, the focus was onworking through details related to thenew partnership between USMB,C2C US and MB Mission. TheNST, comprised of the five USMBdistrict ministers and the MB Foun-dation CEO, MB Mission general di-rector and USMB national director,met for the morning with C2C US di-rector Scott Thomas, C2C NorthAmerican director Gord Fleming andthe C2C US Lead Team, which isBrad Klassen, Fred Leonard, PaulRobie and Brent Warkentin.—CL

CDC grows by eightchurches

Between 125-130 pastors and dele-gates gathered for the 107th CentralDistrict Conference Convention andLeadership Summit at Henderson,(Neb.) MB Church, Nov. 3-4, 2017.In a historic moment, the conferencewelcomed eight new churches intothe CDC family, including threechurch plants and five churches fromthe former North Central Conferenceof Mennonite Church USA.

Delegates and guests gather around leaders and pastors from the eight churches that joined the CDC for a time of prayer. Photo credit: Janae Rempel

Brent Warkentin, Tim Sullivan, Scott Thomas and Fred Leonard at

the NST meeting. Photo credit: USMB

the news

With a theme of “Holding Fast tothe Treasure,” the event included wor-ship and business sessions, workshopsand round table discussions and a cel-ebration banquet.

Other business included a financialoverview of the budget, District Min-istries Council reports and reports byMennonite Brethren and inter-Men-nonite agencies. Scott Thomas, C2CUS director, gave a series of messagesencouraging attendees that believersare jars of clay, victorious throughChrist who, because of the power ofGod through Jesus, can face sufferingand who can be renewed in spirit byfaith in a resurrected Christ. —CL

PDC convention celebrates diversity

Celebrating its diversity was thefocus of the Pacific District Confer-ence (PDC) biennial convention heldOct. 27-28 at Bethany Church,Fresno, Calif. Delegates welcomedtwo established churches as membersof the PDC: El Rey Ya Viene IglesiaCristiana, a Spanish-language congre-gation in Arleta, Calif., and New Beginnings Community Church,

a 10-year-old congregation in Fresnowith 300 members. Three congrega-tions were presented as free-standingchurch plants: Christ CommunityChurch Sellwood, Portland, Ore.,Friends of Jesus Church, Las Vegas,Nev., and Axiom Church, Phoenix,Ariz.

Memorable portions of the conven-tion included the Board of Home Mis-sions’ dinner and program Fridayevening that highlighted many of the15 PDC church plants and other con-gregations involved in communityoutreach. An emotional moment oc-curred when PDC minister Gary Wallread a statement affirming the district’sHispanic Council and asking for for-giveness for times when he was insen-sitive and inattentive to Hispanicpastors, leaders and churches. Walldemonstrated his commitment to serv-ing all PDC congregations by washingthe feet of Ramon Arguello, chair ofthe PDC Hispanic Council. —CL

Central and Southerndistricts hold youthconferences

The Central District Youth Confer-

ence was held at Inspiration HillsCamp near Inwood, Iowa, Nov. 9-12,2017. The theme of the conference, at-tended by 152 students and leaders,was “By Grace, Through Faith,” basedon Ephesians 2:8-9. Bob Lenz fromLife Promotions, a nonprofit organiza-tion in Neenah, Wis., was the guestspeaker.

“Bob did an amazing job connectingwith the teens in each of the five ses-sions,” says Anthony Lind, a memberof the Central District youth commit-tee. “He did an excellent job of bal-ancing funny and serious stories,Scripture and personal application.”

Stephen Humber, regional mobi-lizer for MB Mission, led a session onintercessory prayer, and representa-tives from FaithFront, Tabor Collegeand MB Mission gave presentations.Saturday, camp staff led groupsthrough team and leadership-buildingactivities focusing on communication,teamwork and encouragement.

The next weekend, the SouthernDistrict Youth Conference was heldNov. 17-19, 2017, at Buhler (Kan.) MBChurch. More than 500 youth andadults attended the conference. Thetheme was “The Missing Peace.”

“At SDYC, we experienced somethings from different perspectives andworked at becoming equipped to han-dle multiple areas of conflict—bully-ing, race relations, truth versus gracediscussions—in a healthy way,” saysRuss Claassen, SDC youth minister.

Speakers were Keith Spencer, socialmedia consultant and minister fromWichita, Kan., and Sam McVey Jr.,leader of Disciple Nations ministry.The Jake Stemo Band led worship.The event also included workshops,including presentations by FaithFront,MB Mission and Mennonite CentralCommittee. —CL

Tabor College dedicates new Center for the Arts

Tabor College, the MennoniteBrethren college in Hillsboro, Kan.,held a dedication ceremony Dec. 9 for


Representatives of the five congregations recognized at the PDC convention fill the stage.El Rey Ya Viene Iglesia Cristiana and New Beginnings Community Church were welcomed

as new members. Christ Community Church Sellwood, Friends of Jesus Church and Axiom Church were recognized as free-standing congregations. Photo credit: Connie Faber


minutes with...

the Shari Flaming Center for the Arts. The$13 million facility is the largest buildingproject in school history. The program in-cluded a dedication address delivered byprofessor Del Gray and a composition forchorus, brass and organ written by professorBrad Vogel.

While the 823-seat Richert Auditoriumwas filled for the Saturday afternoon dedica-tion, every seat was taken Sunday eveningand an overflow was created in Prieb HarderTheater to accommodate the nearly 900people who attended Handel’s Messiah, thefirst performance in the new facility. Ap-proximately 190 vocalists and orchestramembers filled the stage for the annualChristmas concert.

“My heart is full of gratitude to all whohelped make it happen,” says Tabor presi-dent Jules Glanzer. “So many people havebeen part of this project. The thousands ofdonors that have given out of their abun-dance and sacrificially, those who plannedthe facility, those who raised the funds, thosewho designed and built the building, andthose who planned the dedication service...all have helped make it happen.”—TC/CL

Commentaries publishedHerald Press has announced the release of

two new volumes in the Believers ChurchBible Commentary series. 1 Corinthians, the32nd volume in the series was publishedOct. 10, 2017 and is written by pastor DanNighswander. Leviticus, the 33rd volume inthe series published Oct. 31, 2017, is writtenby Old Testament scholar Perry B. Yoder.Both commentaries are available athttp://store.mennomedia.org.—HP

Interview by Kathy Heinrichs Wiest

In his “day job” as a me-chanical engineer for

United Launch Alliance,Ed Holmes helps withrocket launches to put

satellites into space, buton the weekends, it’s allabout ground speed at

Bandimere Speedwaynear Denver, Colo. In 21

years of drag racing, Holmes, from Trailhead Church in Littleton, haswon six track championships, two of them in the 2017 season.

Tell us about your car.It’s a gold 1971 Dodge Charger RTwith a 493 cubic inch motor—a 440block bored 0.030” over with a 4.15”crankshaft with a compression ratioof 13.5:1. The car is big and prettyheavy but moves pretty good.

Is it specially made for racing?I can drive it around town, but it’s alittle rowdy. Sometimes people revtheir engines next to me. I shake myhead – but then I usually leave themat the stoplight. On the track I canrun in most E.T. [elapsed time]brackets from the street car class toa full-out race car class.

How does the NHRA (NationalHot Rod Association) E.T. bracketcompetition work?You don’t have to have a fast, full-blown car to go racing. The compe-tition is to meet your “dial-in” – thetime you predict it will take your carto drive the quarter-mile track. Carsrace two at a time. The slower cartakes off first and as they get closeto the finish both cars will comeside-by-side and in theory finish atthe same time. Typical races are sin-gle elimination.

What makes for a win?Getting your dial-in right is key.You make a couple of time trials,then you use factors like wind speed,humidity, temperature and air den-sity to calculate your dial-in. Factorschange dramatically here in Denverso you have to keep adjusting.

How about the human factor?Reaction time is time you don’t getback. At the starting line, there’s ahalf second between the last yellowand the green light. The key is toget the car and driver to react con-sistently together for a .020 to .035second reaction time. Take your footoff early and go “red” is jumping thestart. Leave too late and your com-petition gets around you at the fin-ish line. If you have a 0.1 secondreaction time most generally you’regoing home.

How fast do you go?The car is set up to run 11.60s to11.70s here in Denver. Sometimes theair is better and I’ll run the quartermile in the 11.50 second range. At thefinish line, I’m going between 114 and117 miles per hour depending onweather conditions.

Ed Holmes

Eric Nelsonis the campus pastorof South Mountain

Community ChurchLehi, in Lehi,

Utah. Eric and hiswife, Carrisa, are theparents of Nora and

Jack. After a 10-yearcareer in student

ministry in the PacificNorthwest, the

Nelsons journeyed to Utah to plant

SMCC Lehi. Eric is passionate aboutchurch planting,

preaching and allthings leadership. He would love toconnect with you

about church plantingor the multisite model

of SMCC. Contacthim

at [email protected]

frontlines

“Do you preach?” That’s typicallythe question I’m asked after peo-

ple hear that I’m a South Mountain Com-munity Church (SMCC) multisitecampus pastor. There are a lot of miscon-ceptions regarding the “multisite” model,so I get it.

multisite churches come in lots of differ-ent shapes and sizes. There’s satellitecampuses, video-venues and “families ofchurches” led by location pastors, sitepastors and campus pastors. My role is somuch different from traditional plantingthat the title “church planter” might notfit, but then again, my role is also differentfrom most campus pastors I’ve met.

“Campus planter” might best describemy last two years here at SMCC Lehi. Toclear up confusion regarding my role andto counter the negative impression somemight have regarding multisite, let mequickly give you two reasons why I love itand why I would not change the last twoyears for anything.

We’ve reached lots of people in a veryshort amount of time. Two years ago, westarted a brand-new ministry in Lehi,Utah, a place that is less than .005 evan-gelical. And in two short years we haveseen over 100 people join a group, 100people join a team and we have baptizedover 30 adults. We’ve hired new staff,started midweek ministries for all agesand launched a second service. I don’tcare what you call our model or what youcall me, but that’s why we’re all in on thiskingdom-building approach. At SMCC,multisite is more about church plantingthan anything else. Simply put, we wantto reach as many people as possible.

multisite has been a gift to my family.My wife and I are nowhere near burnout,which cannot be said about many of mychurch planting friends. My wife, Carrisa,has dozens of other close friends on staffand so do I. These relationships strength-ened us when we landed in a brand-newcity 1,000 miles from home. Did we para-chute in? Yes. Did it feel like that? No.Why? The multisite model.

I work on a team of great leaders whoare my best friends. Since we have a cen-tral support team that serves my campusadministratively, I’m free to spend the bestpart of my hours leading people, leadingteams and growing the Lehi campus.

Now, let’s change gears for a minute.Here’s something else you should know:It’s really hard. I wrestle with all the inse-curities that any church planter might ex-perience. We had a crowd on Day Onebut no community. We had to solve that.We had to build relationships, build trust,build teams and build out a building—and we did all that in five months. It was,and still is, hard.

I can’t take credit for SMCC Lehi, andthat’s part of why I love it. I stand on theshoulders of years of vision casting, fundraising and healthy ministry. I can’t sayI’m the lead pastor, and that’s fine withme. There are days I pinch myself be-cause I’m living a church planter’s dream.This is not by accident; this is the strate-gic advantage of multisite.

So, the next time you meet a personwho serves at a multisite church, ask whatexcites them. Don’t ask if they preach. Bythe way, I preach about 45 weeks a year.w

Do you preach?Reflecting on two years as a multisite campus pastor



testimony

My name is Yadira Toledo,and I would like to share

some of the things God has donein my life. I grew up Catholic andattended church regularly but feltthat what I was hearing did nothelp me. I filled my life with par-ties and always enjoyed socializ-ing. Yet, I felt empty andunsatisfied with life.

A few years ago, my family andI were looking for a house. Whenwe entered this one particularhouse, I had the impression thatthis was the right house for us.

“This is the house I want,” Itold my husband.

Little did we know that Godwas orchestrating his plans behindthe scene. We found out later thatone of our neighbors was PastorJuan Wall and his family. Duringthe 2016 vacation Bible school,which included a class for moth-ers, they invited us to attend.

I never expected it, but when Iattended the church, it was such awonderful experience. I couldhave never imagined that God hadsuch wonderful plans for me andmy family. I never imagined thatby purchasing this home, wewould find God and be saved.

During worship on the second

Sunday that we went, we weresinging a song about how beauti-ful the Lord is and I knew thenthat this was for me. It was duringthis service that the Lord touchedmy heart, and I was born again.

It hasn’t always been easy since,especially with my extended fam-ily and friends who have opposedthe new direction of my life. Theydo not understand why I amchanging, and they want the oldYadira back. But the old Yadiradoes not exist; Jesus has trans-formed me into a new person. TheLord has kept me strong. I knowthe Lord is with me, and with himall things are possible.

I thank God every day fortouching my heart and the heartsof my family. My husband gavehis heart to Jesus recently, and Iam so grateful. My son, who is 7years old, is such an encourage-ment. He is very public about hisfaith and challenges adults to dothe same. He prays at school forlunch and is unashamed of hisnewfound faith. I am so blessed tobe able to say that God lives in ourhearts and in our home.

I encourage everyone that hasnot given their heart to Jesus toturn to the Lord.w

Yadira ToledoYadira Toledo lives inSelma, Calif. She and

her husband, Oscar,have two children,

Jazmin and Jonathan.The family attends

Iglesia Fuente deVida, a USMB congregation in

Parlier, Calif.

God’s wonderful planBuying a house brings family to God


Three types of angerThe Bible is an amazing resource when it comes to un-

derstanding the nature of anger. There are three basicwords for “anger” in the Greek New Testament. Each ap-pears in Ephesians 4.

In Ephesians 4:26 Paul writes, “In your anger do notsin...” This is orge—righteous anger. Orge should be thefirst emotion we feel when we witness injustices or experi-ence wrongdoings at the hands of others. However, if leftunchecked it can lead to stronger expressions of anger andmore destructive behaviors. Our physical bodies also canbegin to suffer the consequences of unrestrained anger.When responded to correctly, righteous anger will lead torighteous ways of living and a righteous reaction to remedythe injustice or wrongdoing at hand.

Both Jesus and Paul use this same word—orge—with anegative connotation. In these situations, the word refersto an unrighteous anger. The context determines if it isrighteous or unrighteous anger. Jesus even goes so far as tosay this kind of anger is the same as murder, since both un-righteous anger and murder “will be subject to judgment”(Matthew 5:21-22).

In Ephesians 4:26 Paul goes on to say, “...Do not let thesun go down while you are still angry.” The word “angry”here is parorgismos and refers to an anger that is accompa-nied by exasperation, indignation and irritation. I liken thisanger to the smile-on-the-outside-but-storms-on-the-in-side type of anger. This anger is a stronger form of orge,and it can easily morph into the more destructive thumosanger mentioned next. For this reason, Paul says, “Do notgive the devil a foothold” (v. 27). Satan is all about movingus from bad to worse. He delights in moving us in the di-rection of “all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling andslander, along with every form of malice” (v. 31).

Thumos anger is the shortest in duration. It is the mostdestructive type of anger. Thumos refers to an intense feel-ing of anger, fury and rage. It produces a turbulent com-motion within that moves us to live out our anger in moredestructive ways.

Gracious engagement extendsbeyond managing anger

Years ago, I participated in anger management classesheld on our church campus. A secular counselinggroup rented one of our rooms and led the year-longcourse made up of weekly two-hour sessions. The 20

or so guys in the class were court-ordered to attend becausetheir specific anger issues had led them to adopt violent behav-iors towards their spouses or girlfriends.

While I have never physically violated my wife or daughter,my anger issues once led to shameful verbal outbursts towardboth. At times my co-workers were also on the receiving end ofthese wrathful flare-ups. Perhaps as destructive as these emo-tional explosions was my ability to mask my seething anger be-tween these explosions. My beaming smile on the outsidealmost always was accompanied by emotional torment on theinside. It was destroying me both relationally and emotionally.So, I was grateful when the counselor allowed me to join the class. I had something to offer others, but I still had room to grow.


By Lynn Kauffman

The joy of forgiveness I have felt each of these emotions. At the same time, I can

gladly say I have also experienced growing victories over thedestructive forms of anger. I am profoundly grateful for thespiritual and emotional healing that God has brought to my lifeas I have sought his forgiveness.

I am also grateful for those brothers and sisters I have hurt inthe past that have forgiven me. The words, “I forgive you,Lynn,” are music to my ears, whether they are spoken by Godor by those I have sinned against.

The benefits of forgiveness and reconciliation have beenmany. Last week I had lunch with a brother in Christ withwhom I “lost it” over 10 years ago. Over the years, God haschanged me from essentially hating this brother in my heart tohaving a heart that now honors him. I once avoided him at allcost. Now I enjoy being in his presence.

Years ago, I was amazed to see a brother in the faith on thepastoral search committee that was discerning my candidacyfor a pastoral ministry. Years earlier I had had numerous run-ins with him. My relationship with him was broken. Sadly, Ialso had let too many suns go down on my anger. And I suf-fered because of this. Today I greatly admire this person. Hetoo forgave me when I sought his forgiveness. I am always de-lighted when our paths cross.

Until I die I will face the temptation to move from righteousanger to unrighteous anger and on to anger that potentiallyruins relationships. Satan will never give up. That’s just his nature.

Blessings of gracious engagementA new tool in my spiritual arsenal involves engaging gra-

ciously with others, especially with those who have hurt me. I believe God wants to lead us beyond managing our anger toguiding us into the blessed waters of gracious engagement.Anger management is good, but gracious engagement is bet-ter. Much better! Actually, it is gracious engagement that en-ables us to deal more effectively with our anger and worktoward reconciliation.

Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 4:31 to “get rid of all bitter-ness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with everyform of malice” is about anger management. Verse 32, wherePaul calls us to be “kind and compassionate to one another,forgiving each other,” is about gracious engagement.

Gracious engagement with others is not something devel-oped overnight. Paul literally says, “Be becoming kind andcompassionate.” To engage graciously with others is a long,difficult and painful process. It doesn’t come naturally to bekind, gentle, friendly, full of compassion and forgiving towardthose who have hurt us.

Growing in these graces best happens when we rememberGod’s forgiving ways toward us. Paul states, “...forgiving eachother, just as in Christ God forgave you” (v 32). Notice howPaul calls us to remember God’s forgiving ways toward us inthe past. We remember his benevolent spirit, gentleness,

friendliness and compassion toward us when we hurt him inthe past. And then we demonstrate mercy and forgive others inthe present.

The Greek word Paul uses for “forgive” is much more exten-sive than just pardoning somebody. It speaks of showing one’sself gracious (thus the expression “gracious engagement”),kind, benevolent; to pardon, give graciously, give freely, etc.

Remembering God’s graciousness toward us in the past pro-vides us with an example of how we should be gracious towardothers in the present. Jesus said something similar about love:“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I haveloved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34-35). Aswe recognize his loving ways toward us, so are we to love oth-ers. As we recognize God’s merciful ways toward us so are weto be merciful toward others.

Jesus says in Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, forthey will be shown mercy.” We are blessed and made happywhen we choose the path of gracious engagement. The bless-ings are many as we seek the way of Jesus in our fight againstunrighteous anger, bitterness, wrath and clamor. And it all be-gins with Jesus. Jesus shows mercy to us and then we showmercy to others.

Lynn Kauffman is a bivocational pastor at Grace CommunityChurch in Sanger, Calif., and serves the church’s Spanish-lan-guage congregation. Kauffman also works as a part-time chap-lain in a major medical center in the Fresno area. “Hospitalchaplaincy has been one of my best jobs ever,” says Lynn. “Therein recent weeks I have witnessed firsthand the results of choosingthe path of hate, bitterness and unforgiveness or the path of for-giveness and mercy. Withholding forgiveness and mercy payshorrific dividends spiritually, mentally, emotionally, relationallyand physically speaking.”

He and his wife, Mary, have served as missionaries in Spainfor 20 years with MB Mission and have pastored three differentUSMB congregations in the Fresno, Calif., area.

When responded to correctly, righteous anger will lead to

righteous ways of living and a righteous reaction to remedy the injustice or wrongdoing at hand.

Spiritual direction helped me get “unstuck”

By Karen Bartlett



Idistinctly remember waking up one morning desperateto find a deeper understanding of faith and reason for arelationship with God. Life had become dull and spiri-tually dry, with very little excitement or motivation forconnecting with God or others. My faith felt shallow,

and I was bored by what I was reading in Scripture. SomehowI knew in my gut that I had to experience God on a deeper,richer level in order to continue on my faith journey and togive me hope that following Jesus had a real purpose.

I decided to seek spiritual direction to help me with what Iwas feeling, and a friend recommended Sister Pauline. I metwith her, felt comfortable with her style and continued meet-ing her for the next two years. Talking with a spiritual directorallowed me to begin encountering God in the caverns of mysoul, where past pain resided and held me hostage. The HolySpirit began to invade the recesses of my heart and slowlybrought healing and restoration to unresolved life experiences.

My spiritual director continually pointed me to my faith ex-periences—good and bad—and helped me connect experi-ences with my feelings of God’s presence and absence alongthe way. She simply listened or invited me to specific times ofsilence and reflection while I pondered my present and pastand poured out what I could not say in other settings. And indoing so, she allowed my soul to be heard in ways I had noteven been aware needed to be voiced.

Soul searching often leads us to an encounter with God thatcannot be second-guessed, that reaches into the depth of ourbeing and creates a sense of connection and being known byour Creator. Sometimes when we have questions about life, itis appropriate and necessary to have a counselor or mentorgive us guidance or answers. But there are times when weneed to allow God to be the one who leads us to a new anddeeper understanding of ourselves and faith. This is what spir-itual direction did for me.

The inner being is where transformation begins, and hurtsor doubts can be explored within the context of allowing Godto reveal what is going on inside of us in order for furthertransformation to occur. The attributes of peace, joy and good-ness cannot be fabricated. These emanate from the veryessence of our soul, from what is happening within us. AsGod meets us, these characteristics become more authentic.Spiritual direction simply taps into what is going on in oursoul that is helping or hindering us to live in the most healthyway possible, in living life to the fullest with God and in com-munity.

Who are spiritual directors and how are they trained?Spiritual directors are trained in cohorts, usually for a mini-mum of two years, through various programs led by more ex-perienced directors. However, each director is unique in howthey approach direction because it stems from the director’sunique personality and experience.

Each program is also unique in that it may focus on differentaspects of direction. Some may focus more on healing, someon listening, some on traditions of Catholicism and some witha Protestant approach. When searching for a director, oneneeds to be aware that there are directors who are not Christ-centered; this is a caution to note and to be cognizant of whentalking with a potential director.

What does a spiritual director do? I see my role as aspiritual director as simply creating space for people to en-counter God by providing a quiet, calm environment where

questions, doubts, pain and joy can be explored.Susan Phillips, author of Candlelight, Illuminating the Art of

Spiritual Direction, says, “The presence of a spiritual directorhelps another person articulate what is usually experienced in silence.”

In other words, spiritual direction is the practice of atten-tively and compassionately listening to the soul and heart inrelationship to God, relying on God to be the ultimate direc-tor.

Hence, one ear is open to the directee, the other ear is opento God.

Spiritual direction is an ancient practice within the Christiantradition, going back centuries. Direction is an art, a practiceof listening. It is not counseling or advice-giving. It is notgoal-oriented. The sole purpose is to help the directee en-counter God in the deepest places for the sake of moving for-ward on the faith journey, to help someone get “unstuck.”

How often does one meet? There is not usually a set ex-pectation. Sometimes people commit to meeting only once ina while, while others are keen to meet more often. Some peo-ple make monthly appointments and others make appoint-ments as needed. The directee initiates meetings, and thedirector is available upon request. There is often a fee associ-ated with the sessions, and this varies with each director. Al-though face to face is preferable, Facetime, Skype and phonecalls are options for long-distance sessions.

As a director, how have I observed spiritual directionhelp others? After a time of silence and reflection, a directeesaid she had felt Jesus sitting next to her, leaning in to hearwhat she was saying and providing a sense of comfort andpeace despite an unsettling situation.

Another person stated she felt God’s unconditional love in away she had never felt before while praying through a particu-lar Scripture passage, and this gave her courage to make a difficult decision. Another person’s face was transformed from troubled and confused to a brighter countenance and a wide grin.

Not every session ends with clarity or life-changing deci-sions, but these are just a few examples of what happens dur-ing spiritual direction. God meets people where they are insurprising ways. I could never fabricate what happens authen-tically between directee and God through Christ-centeredconversation and focus. I am often equally amazed at whathappens during a session, but I can say without hesitation thatevery session provides hope and concrete evidence that God isready to engage with us anytime, anywhere if we just stop andlisten.

Spiritual direction has changed my life. I feel more con-nected to God through Christ than ever before because of theexercises and disciplines I have learned with my director andthrough training. Direction may not be for everyone, but ithelped me discover the “more” to faith that I was searching forand has brought me into a vibrant and life-giving understand-ing and hope for my future.

Karen Bartlett (LMSW) lives with her husband, Rick, inWichita, Kan., where she is a school social worker for K-12 stu-dents with social/emotional needs. She attended MB BiblicalSeminary (now Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary) in Fresno,Calif., earning a certificate in theology and became a spiritual di-rector after attending two years of training through the School ofSustainable Faith.


What will you do when you cando whatever you want?



In the spring of 2016, I transitioned out ofsenior pastoral leadership at Reedley(Calif.) MB Church. Connie, my wife, and I enjoyed 17 wonderful years with thatcongregation, following 16 years with

Hillsboro (Kan.) MB Church. That followed sixyears of growing as Butler Ave. MB Church inFresno, Calif., loved us and nurtured our call topastoral ministry.

Today, hardly a week goes by that someonedoesn’t greet me with, “So how is retirement?” I hesitate and say, “It’s great, and I enjoy both ofmy jobs.”

Connie and I rarely discussed a typical retire-ment, but we did contemplate a transition to an-other kind of ministry once our senior pastoralleadership concluded. Conference ministrieshelped shape our thinking, as I served on the MBMission board and held U.S. Conference and dis-trict leadership roles. These allowed us to visitMennonite Brethren churches across the U.S. and Canada and see God at work in Latin Americaand Asia.

These experiences generated in us a desire tokeep serving in another capacity whenwe “retired.” In the needs ofsmaller churches, globalministries and para-church organizations wefelt drawn to bring thegift of experience toone or more of theseentities. Today I serveas church relations director for MB Foundation and asso-ciate pastor at Kings-burg (Calif.) MBChurch—both part-time positions.

What will you dowhen you can dowhatever you want?Will retirement looklike an extended vaca-tion or will it beshaped by your voca-tion? What would it

look like for you to rethink traditional retirement? I was inspired recently by a phone call from Ron

Voth, a friend in Fairview, Okla.“Dennis, we are selling our land and our live-

stock, but we don’t want to sit around drinking teaand playing golf,” he said.

Ron and his wife, Pam, are unique in that whenthey had a desire to serve they set out to find aplace where their passion and gifts could be put togood use. How many of us would actually take aroad trip to visit a series of ministries in order todiscover a good fit for giving our time in service?I’m guessing Ron and Pam are the exception, butthey are convinced that more of us would volunteerif we just knew where we are needed.

The headline of a recent article caught my atten-tion. It read, “Meaningful vocation or perpetual va-cation.” Author Beryl Jantzi suggests thatretirement can be divided into the go-go stage, theslow-go stage and the no-go stage. He calls thoseof us in the go-go stage to dream new dreams aboutmaking this time of life fulfilling.

Jantzi also quotes an article from The MotleyFool, a multimedia financial-services company,

which reports why some current retireesmay carry more anxiety than their

parents did. The report shows: • 59 percent are relying on

Social Security as their pri-mary source of income;

• 45 percent have no re-tirement savings;

• 30 percent postponedretirement because theycan’t afford to stop work-ing; and

• 44 percent are carry-ing significant amounts of consumer and mort-gage debt.

It is true that the tradi-tional “retire at 65” with amodest income of SocialSecurity and work-placepension can no longer betaken for granted.Boomers were not greatsavers, and the economic

By Dennis Fast

...by thinking“transition” morethan “retirement”

you will gain afresh perspectiveand add life to

your years.


WHERE TO SERVE

Need an idea for where to serve? Here are a few ideas:Christian camps or conference centersChristian colleges or universities, including Tabor College (www.tabor.edu), Fresno Pacific University (www.fresno.edu) and Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary (www.fresno.edu/admissions/biblical-seminary)MB Mission (www.mbmission.org; regional offices located in Fresno, Calif., and Hillsboro, Kan.) Mennonite Disaster Service (www.mds.mennonite.net) Mennonite Central Committee (www.mcc.org)

downturn of the last 10 years changed the retirementlandscape for many. Twelve percent of those respond-ing to a CareerBuilder survey claim they don’t thinkthey will have enough money to ever retire.

Another reality is that at one time you retired at 65and expected to live until 70. But not anymore. Manyof us can expect to live well into our 80’s and beyond.What will we do with all this time?

One way to explore this question is to find a model—people who inspire and teach by example to make your‘retirement’ years some of your best.

One such couple is Gordon and Karen Wiebe ofReedley, Calif. While serving with the U.S. Confer-ence Christian service program in Nova Scotia back inthe 1970’s, they met an elderly couple who had left theirfarm to be caretakers of a Christian camp on PrinceEdward Island. Wiebes recently wrote fromPrinceville, N.C., where they were on assignment withMennonite Disaster Service (MDS), that the model setby that couple over 40 years ago stuck with them. Theydetermined then to at some point leave their farm andgive themselves in service.

Just from observation, I would say the Wiebes arehaving the time of their life. In just a few years theyhave served with MB Mission in Mexico, MDS inNorth Carolina, Jungle Aviation and Radio Service(JAARS) and with Christian camps in Utah and Cali-fornia—multiple times. They also frequently serveclose to home.

Another model for me is Ron Hudson, a friend whoworked in public school teaching and administration.He turned down a job offer in Oregon near family andgrandchildren to serve at Immanuel schools in Reedley,Calif. He based his decision on a commitment he andhis wife, Ann, made to live out Colossians 1:28: “Weproclaim him, teaching and admonishing everyonewith all wisdom, so that we may present everyone per-fect in Christ.”

The joy Ron and Ann exude spills over and is part oftheir secret in relating to young students while they areretirement age. He says that recently Psalm 71:18 hasbeen an inspiration: “So even to old age and gray hairs,O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might

to another generation, your power to all those to come.”A common denominator among the three couples

I’ve referenced is a strong desire to be kingdom people,seeing God’s kingdom advanced and lives changed.None of them is asking, “What’s in it for me?”

Here’s what Gordon and Karen say: “Don’t ‘retire.’Instead, change your focus. With more discretionarytime, ask God how you can serve him. There are manyopportunities when you are available and willing. Serv-ing is not in the going but in the doing. You can servefar away or across the street, full-time or part-time,physically or by praying. As long as you have breath,God can use you as you are today.”

Ten thousand Baby-Boomers are turning 65 everyday, and many are looking for a meaningful life. If youhave chosen a more typical retirement, this article is notintended to pile on the guilt. There are hundreds ofvariations on what I’m trying to convey, and not all ofthem are ministry related.

Let’s take another look at the gift of these years andask God to fill them with purpose and meaning. Justbecause the word “retirement” is not in the Bibledoesn’t mean it’s wrong to stop working. But as believ-ers, transition may be a healthier concept, because if wehave breath and a heartbeat, God has a meaningfulpurpose for our lives.

At MB Foundation we frequently talk about leavinga legacy. While that requires creative financial plan-ning, it certainly need not be limited to money. Howabout your use of time and your service? What an ex-cellent legacy you could leave with some flexibility andout-of-the-box thinking. Ask God to guide and inspireyou to keep serving in these years we call retirement.And for those of you about to arrive at this stage, bythinking “transition” more than “retirement” you willgain a fresh perspective and add life to your years.

Dennis Fast was lead pastor in three MennoniteBrethren churches for 35 years. He is currently the associ-ate pastor at Kingsburg (Calif.) MB Church and churchrelations director for MB Foundation, both part-time po-sitions. He and Connie have been married for 47 yearsand enjoy their soon-to-be 13 grandchildren. His hobbiesare tennis and motorcycle riding.


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Former MC USA congregations joinUSMBCDC welcomes five churches

In a historic moment, the Central Dis-trict Conference (CDC) welcomed

five churches from the former NorthCentral Conference (NCC) of Men-nonite Church USA (MC USA) intomembership by unanimous vote during its 107th convention hosted byHenderson (Neb.) MB Church, Nov. 3-4, 2017.

“We are honored that God broughtthe former NCC into our district,” saysRick Eshbaugh, CDC minister, in anemail interview. “Their love for God’sWord and enthusiasm for ministry haveencouraged us, and we look forward topartnering together. We are blessed tohave them with us.”

The addition of these five churchesbrings the total number of CDC congregations to 33, located in Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Indiana and Wisconsin.

100 years of faithfulnessThe NCC was established in 1920 as

the Dakota-Montana Conference, laterexpanding to become the North CentralConference with more than 25 churchesin Montana, North Dakota, Minnesotaand Wisconsin, although that numberhas declined.

“The biggest thing for me as I thinkabout the past 100 years is the faithful-ness of the ones who have gone beforeus,” says Jesse Swiers, former NCCmoderator and pastor of Lake RegionMennonite Church, in an email interview. “All have been volunteers inthe Lord’s Army and never received a salary.”

Each year, an annual assembly in-cluded business sessions and fellowshipand sharing of stories testifying to God’sfaithfulness. Men’s, women’s and cou-

ples’ retreats offered rest and refresh-ment, while a pastor enrichment week-end allowed pastoral couples to gatherand pray.

Bible schools reached a record high of13 in 1972 with 840 children attending.Churches hosted youth rallies threetimes a year, and an August summercamp for children ages 10 to 18 was heldat Sand Hill Lake Bible Camp in Fos-ston, Minn. Staffed by volunteers, thiscamp continues today.

The NCC partnered with MennoniteMission Network, the MennoniteChurch USA mission ministry, to plantchurches in Argentina. Other ministriesincluded Women’s Mission and ServiceCommission and a gift and thrift shop inMinot, N.D. The conference partneredwith other Anabaptist groups for theUpper Midwest Relief Sales. The NCCBulletin was published quarterly from1965 to 2013.

“Although the NCC organization hasended, the conference mission lives on,”says John Kauffman, NCC historian.“Our congregations and their familieshave birthed and mentored many peopleover the years who are now serving inother places near and abroad.

“We now look forward in joining alarger family of like faith, to continuebuilding on the past with renewed hopefor the future,” he says.

Embracing a new directionDuring its annual assembly July 17-19,

2015, the NCC passed a motion to beginthe process of withdrawing membershipfrom MC USA.

Earlier that month, during a conven-tion in Kansas City, Mo., MC USA del-egates passed a resolution calling forforbearance regarding same-sexcovenanted unions. While delegates alsoaffirmed the 2001 Membership Guide-lines that uphold traditional marriageand say pastors may not perform same-sex marriages, the NCC congregations were concerned that approval of the Membership Guidelineswas by a smaller margin than a call for forbearance.

“The NCC has come to recognizeand identify ways in which MC USAhas moved away from what we under-stand to be traditional, orthodox inter-pretations of Scripture from anAnabaptist perspective,” said then-NCC conference minister Fred Kanagyin a 2015 interview with MennoniteWorld Review. “The movement of manyin MC USA in thinking, discernmentand practice has created a separation,and the trajectory seems to indicate awidening divide, which we feel requiresof us that we either change our convic-tions or change our affiliation.”

Jesse Swiers, pastor of Lake Region Mennonite Church near Detroit Lakes, Minn., speaks during the CDC convention in November as representatives from the eight churches joining

the conference listen. Five of the new member churches joining the CDC are former MC USAcongregations. "God is renewing us, geographically, to work together," Swiers said. "I look

forward to being a pastor in the Central District.” Photo credit: Janae Rempel

The Evana Network, the Conserva-tive Mennonite Conference and theCDC extended invitations to the con-gregations, and in June 2017, the confer-ence voted to dissolve, leaving thechurches to vote independently regard-ing their next steps. The conferenceboard did express a desire for thechurches to stay together and recom-mended the CDC.

Eshbaugh visited several of thechurches and presented at the NCC an-nual convention. Church leaders at-tended the CDC’s Renewal Conferencein July 2017.

While three churches remain in dis-cussion, five voted to join the CDC.The process of affiliation culminated atthe CDC convention when the fivechurches were unanimously approvedas members of the CDC family.

Representatives from four of thechurches spoke, all affirming the deci-sion to join the CDC, expressing thanksfor the warm welcome and anticipatinga shared partnership moving forward.

“God is renewing us, geographically,to work together,” Swiers said. “I lookforward to being a pastor in the Central District.”

Meet our new membersThe five NCC congregations have a

diverse history but share a commitmentto ministry in their communities.

Coalridge Mennonite Church, Dag-mar, Mont., was started by settlers in1912. Sunday morning attendance isaround 30, mostly current or retiredfarmers and ranchers. The church hasbeen without a minister for more than10 years, so one of three elders brings amessage. Because more than half of at-tendees live 30 miles from the church,the congregation eats lunch at churcheach Sunday. Ministries and outreachinclude a twice-monthly Bible study,singing at the local nursing home andcaroling and passing out fruit baskets.The church is in need of a handi-capped-accessible facility.

Exeland Mennonite Church is a ruralcongregation near Exeland, Wis., withroots in an early 1900’s Amish settle-ment. The present structure was com-

pleted in 1953. The congregation con-sists mostly of elderly people, includingsingles and individuals and familieswith special needs. Farming, forestryand service industries are main sourcesof employment. The church, whichadded a handicapped-accessible fellow-ship hall in 2010, holds yearly banquets,funerals for the community and fellow-ship dinners. A year ago, the church’spastor resigned because of illness, andlay leaders alternate giving sermons.The congregation prayerfully seeks apastor, as well as families with children.

Lake Region Mennonite Church islocated in the rural woods of Minnesotalake country 15 minutes east of DetroitLakes. The congregation, led by pastorJesse Swiers, was established in 1929.Sunday attendance is between 25 and50. Ministries include singing at a nurs-ing home, a weekly public school Biblelesson, annual vacation Bible schooland serving at the community thriftstore. The church has an active youthgroup and annually helps operate aweek of youth camp.

Sand Lake Chapel in Stone Lake,Wis., is in an area boasting lakes andwinter sports activities. People fromnorthern Indiana moved to the area tofarm and planted the church in the early1970’s. Today, approximately one-thirdof church attendance is comprised ofpreschool and elementary-aged chil-dren. The rest is young and maturingadults. Sunday mornings are for encour-aging, discipling and sending. PastorDavid Hochstetler has visions to updatethe building to include a wheelchair-friendly entrance and to facilitate a com-munity game night once a month.

Strawberry Lake Mennonite Churchis located on the White Earth IndianReservation in Ogema, Minn. Thechurch began in the 1940’s when Penn-sylvania missionaries came to initiate anoutreach to the Native American peo-ple. The church, which officially beganin 1946, offers Sunday school, vacationBible school, youth groups and summercamps to children and youth in thecommunity. Many church members areself-employed. Average attendance isabout 60, a number that increases to 80

in the summer when people come totheir lake homes in the area. As a result, an additional outreach is to sum-mer attendees. Current needs includeyouth leaders and help with music. Del-mar Yoder is currently the pastor. —Janae Rempel

Church planting initiative spans twoUSMB districtsCalifornia congregationplants seven daughterchurches

When Southern District Confer-ence minister Tim Sullivan first

heard about a church plant in Milan,Mo., that needed assistance with paperwork, he immediately offered tohelp, even though he knew little aboutthe church.

As Sullivan discovered, Iglesia LaSenda Antigua, planted in 2009, is oneof seven daughter churches of Iglesia deRestauracion La Senda Antigua, a Pa-cific District Conference church in Pa-coima, Calif.

The church in Milan needed helpregistering as a corporation in the stateof Missouri, Sullivan says, and hadreached out to Pastor Rafael Paz in Pa-coima, who contacted pastor and PDCHispanic council member Juan Wall, who connected the church with Sullivan based on his relative prox-imity to the church. Sullivan lives inWichita, Kan.

Sullivan says although the church initially was not looking to join theUSMB family, he still offered to help,and together, they successfully filedthe paperwork.

Sullivan maintained communication,three times visiting Milan—a town with a population of 1,960 in the 2010 census.

“I think there’s a fairly significant mi-grant Hispanic population (in Milan)because of the packing plants and theagriculture in the area,” he says, adding

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that the congregation itself is comprisedlargely of Central American immigrantsand holds its services in Spanish.

When Pastor Patrocinio Vicentemoved to Milan, a group of brotherstalked with him about starting a churchin an unfinished building.

“I remembered the vision I had,” Vi-cente says in an email interview. “Thechurch I saw was not completely fin-ished, but it was half-way built. Then Icalled my pastor, Rafael Paz, from Cali-fornia. He told me that the churchwould buy this building.”

Four individuals worked to finish the building.

“It was difficult, but we were dedi-cated to finish the church for God,” Vi-cente says. “After nine months ofdedication to build the church, it wasopened up in August 2010.”

Connecting with the SDCSullivan invited the congregation to

the SDC convention in Wichita, Kan.,in July 2017. About 20 adults and chil-dren came.

“What I enjoyed this last summer inthe Southern District Conference wasthat I was able to know other pastorsfrom the Southern District,” Vicentesays. “I also enjoyed testimonies fromthe preachers that day. Also, I learnedhow to be a better leader in the churchfrom the advice they gave.”

At the end of the convention, Vicentetold Sullivan he wanted his church to be

part of the USMB family.“I have heard great testimony from

the Mennonite Brethren,” Vicente says.“Our general pastor, Rafael Paz, told us

how many blessings they have receivedwhen they joined.”

The church is working through theapplication process, functioning as a

Donna and Tim Sullivan, SDC minister, fifth and sixth from left, stand with pastors from California and Missouri during Iglesia La Senda Antigua’s anniversary celebration in Milan, Mo., in October 2017. Pictured with the SullivansHe, from left, are: David Galdamez,

Romeo Garcia, Iris and Tino Zuniga, Irma and Rafael Paz, Patrocinio and Carmen Vicente, Lela and Luis Alberto. Photo credit: SDC

member of the SDC, although withoutvoting privileges. The congregation isexpected to be formally received as amember at the 2019 SDC convention.

Sullivan says the prospect of engagingwith the church in Milan is exciting butwill also provide challenges.

“It’s going to be challenging becausewe don’t have any churches that are re-ally within any real relating distance,”he says. “(Pastor Vicente) and his wifeboth work full-time jobs. Building connections and networks is going to be tougher.”

The SDC has another church in Mis-souri—Watershed in Kansas City, andone Hispanic congregation—TemploBetania in Ulysses, Kan.

The church in Milan will bring vital-ity and a richness of culture to the SDC.

“They bring in enthusiasm and adeep, deep love for Jesus, for the Wordof God, for living faithfully,” Sullivansays. “They bring a richness. TheEthiopian churches are a bit the sameway in terms of being more attuned tovisions and dreams and spiritual war-fare. That’s stuff that I think we canlearn and benefit from.”

Expanding the familyThe church in Milan is just one of

seven churches planted by Pastor Pazand the mother church, which began inPacoima in 1990 and has an attendanceof 250.

Two daughter churches are USMBmembers: Iglesia De Restauracion LaSenda Antigua in Lancaster, Calif.,planted in 2008 and pastored by DavidGaldamez; and Iglesia De RestauracionLa Senda Antigua, in Bakersfield,Calif., planted in 2013 and pastored byVictor Alonzo.

Additional church plants are located in Tijuana, Baja California,Mexico; Villa Nueva, Guatemala andEl Salvador.

“My vision (for church-planting) is towin souls for the Kingdom of God,” Pazsays in an email interview translated

from Spanish, adding that churchplanters are selected from the leaderswho preach weekly in homes, who thenundergo leadership training.

Paz says the mother and daughterchurches stay connected.

“I visit them and preach periodicallyin each of the churches,” he says. “I alsosend leaders to preach in each one of thechurches. We have a unified serviceonce a year. And we get all of thechurches together to celebrate bap-tisms.” —Janae Rempel

Deaf congregationserves in HaitiNo language barrier helpsAmericans, Haitians connect

Laurelglen Bible Church in Bakers-field, Calif., sends short-term mis-

sion teams internationally every year.One of the biggest challenges for partic-ipants is the language barrier.

But for a team of six who traveled toHaiti in August, this was not the case.They had never been to the country, norhad they learned the native language,Creole. Instead, the American team wasable to communicate with the Haitiansusing a language both preferred—American Sign Language.

“When we got there, we immediatelyconnected to the deaf community,” saysJeff Jackson, team leader and LaurelglenDeaf Church pastor in an email inter-view. “The deaf Haitians were sothrilled to see deaf Americans, becausethey got to know one another and sharecultures using sign language.”

Jackson, who has visited Haiti over40 times, led the team with his wife,Maura. This is the second team Laurel-glen has sent to Haiti; the first was in2016. The group flew to the country viaMissionary Flights International, withthe goal of supporting the Haiti Chris-

tian Center for the Deaf.“There are many deaf scattered all

over Haiti,” Jackson says. “This is anopportunity for the deaf to have school,to have a place to learn and study read-ing and writing. That way they willhave the capability to read and under-stand the gospel of good news.”

Connecting across culturesThe relationship between the Laurel-

glen deaf congregation and the deafcommunity in Haiti began several yearsago. After assisting with hurricane reliefin the Dominican Republic, Jacksonmet missionaries from the ChristianCenter and visited their facility.

“I was blown away,” Jackson says.“They all captured my heart.”

He returned many times over the nextseveral years.

Unfortunately, the center was eventu-ally forced to close, and those who wereonce united were scattered again, saysJackson.

But leaders began home Bible studiesand worship services again, and after

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Jeff Jackson, center, team leader and pastorof Laurelglen Deaf Church, brought a group

of volunteers from the Bakersfield, Calif.,church to minister at the Haiti Christian

Center for the Deaf. Photo credit: Laurelglen Deaf Church

saving money for seven years, they pur-chased land. They constructed a ram-shackle building using whateversupplies—wood, tin and cardboard—could be found.

Laurelglen provided funds for food,materials, salaries and labor. Otherchurches joined the effort and helpedconstruct a building from cement andhardier material. Construction is ongo-ing but nearing completion.

“It’s amazing to see what’s been hap-pening, even though they have beenthrough several barriers along the way,such as hurricanes and bad weather,”Jackson says.

Opportunities to serveDuring their time in Haiti, the Lau-

relglen team supported the deaf com-munity in a number of ways.

Team members taught Bible studyworkshops on the parable of the sower,the fruits of the spirit and the armor ofGod. As a result, two men prayed to in-vite Jesus as their Savior. The team alsoled a Sunday service, providing the ser-mon, music, testimonies and prayer.

“It was a successful and awesomeevent throughout the weekend,” Jack-son says. “The Haitian deaf adults werethrilled and attentive because we aredeaf sharing to the deaf in their lan-guage.”

For multiple days, the team assistedwith the construction of the ChristianCenter, painting and cleaning trash tohelp prepare for the start of school for 34students and 12 staff members.

The week was capped off by baptiz-ing six Haitians in a nearby river.

“We all celebrated with joy, givingthem a huge congratulations,” Jacksonsays. “It was beautiful.”

Team members inspired, changed Other than Jackson and his wife, the

other members of the Laurelglen teamhad never been on a mission trip outsideof the United States. They werechanged by their experience and

wished they could have stayed longer.Estefani Arevalo was struck by the

Haitian’s dedication to gathering to-gether. A leader of the 20-year-oldgroup at Laurelglen’s deaf congregation,she has often observed Americans making excuses for going to church. In contrast, the Haitians would walklong distances over dangerous roads to gather.

“They really inspired me,” Averalosays. “God opened my eyes, and beingaround those who are on fire for theLord has also made me have a fire forthe Lord.”

Deborah Marlatt says she learnedabout friendship, patience, sharing, giving, humility and standing bold inher faith.

“Life in Haiti is hard, poverty there isextreme and real, but that didn’t stopthem from living for Jesus,” says Mar-latt. “Their love for Jesus and each otheris so contagious.”

Jackson, who plans to take moreteams to Haiti next summer, is glad tosee a rekindling interest in evangelismin his congregation. Only 1.5 percent ofthe deaf in the country know Jesus, ac-cording to the Laurelglen website.

“I definitely saw that this team wasimpacted in an almighty way,” Jacksonsays. “They came home with a different,new perspective, which motivates themto continue to share the gospel of goodnews in sign language to their peers.”— Jenae Suderman

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Local churches host national livestream conference IF:Gathering designed as discipleship tool

USMB women are among the hundreds of women nationwide

and around the world preparing to hostwomen from their congregations andcommunities for the fifth IF:Gathering2018, a unique simulcast conference tobe held Feb. 9-10.

IF:Gathering, founded in 2013, is thebrainchild of Jennie Allen, a pastor’swife and author from Austin, Texas.The vision of IF:Gathering is to workacross denominational lines to gather,equip and unleash women to be disci-ples who make disciples by providingresources that local church leaders canuse to serve other women.

A livestream conference that bringsnationally-recognized speakers to localvenues is a great fit for the situation inwhich Rachel Baker, women’s ministryleader at South Mountain CommunityChurch (SMCC)—West Jordan Cam-pus, finds herself.

“Utah is such an unusual place to doministry,” says Baker, who moved toUtah two years ago with her husbandKile, who is the SMCC-West Jordancampus pastor. “There were so manythings available to us [in California andColorado], and we came to Utah andthere is nothing for women here,” Bakersays.

Being part of a large women’s gather-ing shapes one’s understanding of Godand his people, Baker says. “It’s so neatto commune with the larger body ofChrist and to realize that God’s churchis not isolated. We are all connected toeach other. We’re this web, this beauti-ful large church and I think the womenhere in Utah had no idea that we arepart of this beautiful large church.”

The opportunity to gather as thebody of Christ across denominationallines is what motivated Sara Wichert,Hillsboro (Kan.) MB Church, to initi-ate a community-wide IF:Local in 2016and again in 2017. This year the plan-ning team involves seven women repre-senting six churches.

“Our hope is that through this week-end, our community of women are en-couraged to love God more and then togo out and love others,” Wichert says.“One of my favorite parts of our time to-gether has been gathering with like-minded believers across generations anddenominations.”

The IF:Local planning team in Gar-den City, Kan., is also comprised ofwomen from a variety of churches, in-cluding Garden Valley Church, theUSMB congregation in that city. LesaEnsz, who represents Garden Valley onthe planning team, says women appre-ciate attending a local conference.“There was great fellowship, worshipand encouragement,” she says.

IF:Gathering begins Friday eveningand concludes late Saturday afternoonso most IF:Locals provide Saturdaylunch. Local organizers have the optionof using the IF:Gathering live-stream orpurchasing the digital download. Of thefive IF:Local organizers interviewed forthis story, three are planning to watch

the 2018 live-stream and two will beusing the download, holding theirIF:Local on another weekend. TheIF:Local at SMCC-West Jordan, whichuses the download, also uses their ownworship team.

Organizers encourage those who arenew to hosting an IF:Local to providegood information on what to expect.“There are a lot of women who don’tknow what it’s all about,” says LisaClubb, who is on the planning team atBuhler (Kan.) MB Church.

Organizers agree that keeping it sim-ple and being flexible is key.

“If your turnout isn’t as big as you’dhoped, always remember God is in con-trol and the ladies who need to hearwhat’s being said will be there,” saysClubb. “And if it grows bigger than youexpected, God has that under controltoo.”

Stacey Canaday, of Grace Commu-nity Church in Sanger, Calif., saysIF:Gathering provides a “safe environ-ment where women can have authenticconversations with one another, whichleads to greater faith and deeper rela-tionships. Jesus will meet us whereverand whenever we invite him into theconversation, and IF:Gathering is agreat tool to help start the conversation.”—Connie Faber

body life


The IF:Local hosted by SMCC-West Jordan is one way Christian women are encouraged to be disciples making disciples making disciples, says Rachel Baker. "If you live in Utah and call

yourself a Christian, you are called to ministry," she says.

Ministry to people “not like us”The Life Center becomingmore multicultural

The Life Center, a MennoniteBrethren church in Lenoir, N.C.,

is becoming what long-time pastorTerry Hunt has yearned for—a healthy,multicultural church.

“When we started looking for newways to grow and impact our commu-nity some 12 years ago, we found thatthe huge majority of African-Americansin our community were already church-goers,” says Hunt, who is African-American. “So, we began to pray andask the Lord what to do, and we feltGod saying that we needed to take thegospel to people who weren’t like us.”

Hunt, along with The Life Centerleaders, began to ask what they neededto do to be able to reach a different cul-ture. They found that to become a mul-ticultural church meant that, for onething, they could no longer focus solelyon the worship style that members ofthe congregation had grown up with.

“We no longer just use traditionalAfrican-American music; we now singmore contemporary music that peoplelisten to on the radio,” Hunt says.

It also meant starting the worshipservice on time and stopping on time.

“We used to start whenever we feltlike it, and sometimes we could go onand on well past normal lunch time,” hesays with a chuckle.

When asked what some of the goodoutcomes have been in becoming moremulticultural, Hunt says. “Our churchnow better reflects the makeup of ourcommunity, which makes us more at-tractive when people come to ourchurch, and they see people of differentethnicities. The mix of different peoplegroups also allows us to go into various

ethnic neighborhoods and do outreach,rather than just the African-Americanpart of our community.”

Hunt adds, “Once we got to reallyknow people who were not like us, itchanged us for the better, knockingdown some of those old walls.”

When asked what advice he has forcongregations who would like tochange to better reflect the diversity oftheir communities, Hunt starts with theneed to address racism.

“If churches are not currently experi-encing a multicultural mix of people, afirst step in becoming more diverse isidentifying that racism is a sin,” saysHunt. “The church has allowed the cul-ture to shape our views about what our

churches should look like. We’vebought into that lie and we have segre-gated ourselves.”

Hunt says, “If a church really wantsto diversify, it needs to take a stronglook at itself to determine if the churchis open, welcoming, warm and invitingfor people who are not like (them.) Arewe willing to make room for people whoare not like us? That includes allowingpeople who are of different ethnicities tobe involved in our small groups, wor-ship teams, activities and even leader-ship roles. Our churches should modelwhat the kingdom of heaven will looklike—before we actually get there!”—USMB


body life


Thomas pioneers C2Cwork in U.S. God’s hand evident inThomas’ journey

Scott Thomas is passionate abouthelping people come to faith in

Jesus and become disciples who multi-ply the gospel in their communities.

Since August 2016, Thomas hasserved as U.S. director of C2C Net-

work, a multidenominational disciple-making ministry that helps assess, trainand coach church planters in order tomultiply the gospel in communitiesfrom sea to sea.

But Thomas’ call to ministry came when he was just a teenager.

Call to ministryThomas and his wife, Jeannie, who

currently reside in Nashville, share thesame Colorado hometown where theygrew up in the same church. The couplehas been married 36 years and have twomarried sons and two grandchildren.

Sports played a large role in Thomas’early life. He attended college in Col-orado on a basketball scholarship thencoached the sport for 20 years whileserving as a pastor.

Although Thomas grew up inchurch—his Sunday school teacher ledhim to Jesus when he was 9—his faithjourney was not always smooth.

“I walked away from the church fromage 14 to 19,” he says. “(I) was in a dra-matic and life-threatening car accidentthat simultaneously led me back tochurch and to give my life to him, to doas God desired.

“At age 19, I immediately began working in the youth ministry—al-though I was not remotely qualified.God used me to impact teenagers—with my athletic influence—and I tookmy first youth pastorate at age 20 whilein university.”

Thomas’ call to ministry stemmedfrom 1 Cor. 4:1-5.

“The Lord called me to be his servantfor his glory,” he says. “It was a hugeleap from my life of repetitive sin to arecognized son. Interestingly, I immedi-ately felt called to church-plant at 20years old. I knew I needed years of pas-toral training. I led three replantchurches before launching a new plantin 2003.”

Thomas attended Bible colleges inMichigan and Colorado, earning hismaster’s degree in Christian Leadershipand doing graduate work in businessadministration.

He was a youth pastor in Colorado for10 years before becoming lead pastor ofa church in Idaho. Thomas held leadpastoral roles in Idaho and Colorado for17 years before leading church-plantingfor Acts 29 Network from Seattle. Heserved 10 years there as a board memberand director and then president.

Disappointment to opportunity While at Acts 29, Thomas and Gord

Fleming, current C2C North Americandirector, were colleagues serving thesame church planter with Acts 29 andthe British Columbia MB Conference.Fleming and Mark Burch, C2C Cana-dian director, came to Seattle to sharewith Thomas their vision to launch anew nationwide network.

church plant update

In light of the new collaborative part-nership between USMB, C2C Network and MB Mission, the Chris-tian Leader visited with Scott Thomas,director of C2C US, in an email inter-view to introduce him to readers.


church plant update

“They will say that they raided my filecabinets, but I gave them a thumb drivethat had all of our systems and practicesin digital format, and I offered to help inany way they desired,” Thomas says.“Gord invited me to serve on the inau-gural C2C advisory team, and I alsohad the privilege to coach Gord in thoseearly years.”

In 2013, Thomas moved to Nashvilleto start a church-planting school. When plans did not come to fruitionbecause of lack of funding, Thomas was devastated.

“I didn’t tell anyone during those ini-tial distressing few weeks,” he says. “Imerely sought the Lord with intenseprayer. God impressed upon me that Iwas to equip and encourage pastors andtheir families in a Barnabas-type role.This was a role I had not ever taken. A couple of days later, Gord called meout of the blue to consider helping him in a supportive, ‘Barnabas’ role toserve C2C.”

Thomas began as a full-time contractemployee with C2C in December 2013,becoming C2C associate national direc-tor in June 2014. Five months later, heand Jeannie moved to Toronto.

Their plans hit a detour when, on aflight to Denver in March 2015, Jeanniepassed out as a result of a serious kidneycondition, and per doctor’s recommen-dation, had to stay in Denver, living in her father’s basement for 18 monthsbattling to become healthy enough to relocate.

Thomas returned to Colorado onweekends, and as a result, started anMB church in Pueblo, Colo.

“(I) handed it off to a planter afterC2C formally expanded into the U.S.,”he says. “It remains a highlight of mylife, and we had the joy of workingclosely with Don Morris and Tim Sulli-van to partner as a USMB church andwith Jon Wiebe for a church buildingloan from MB Foundation.”

Serving with C2C USThomas became U.S. director of C2C

on Aug. 1, 2016, and he and Jeannie,whose health has improved, movedfrom Toronto to Nashville.

As C2C US director, Thomas facili-tates discernment interviews and formalassessment with potential churchplanters, coaches existing churchplanters and provides training opportu-nities and recruiting events.

Thomas serves on local teams provid-ing temporary governance for churchplants and collaborates with USMBdistrict ministers and leaders for USMBchurch planting. He also works withFleming and a team of USMB pastorsto inspire and equip churches andplanters. C2C Network depends on donations to operate so Thomas alsodoes fundraising.

C2C’s focus is less on church plant-ing and more on helping people whoplace their faith in Jesus in turn to multi-ply the gospel.

“We don’t just want more churches;we want to plant the right kind ofchurches,” Thomas says. “Nothingtransforms a city or spreads the gospelmore effectively than the planting of agospel-centered, Spirit-led, mission-fo-cused church.”

Church planters often face fundingchallenges and discouragement with theslow process of gathering and growing agroup of believers, Thomas says. Heco-authored the book, Gospel Coach, tohelp equip pastors to disciple others. Hehas trained about 5,000 leaders with thismethod, he says.

A collaborative partnershipAt its September 2017 meetings, the

USMB Leadership Board approved arecommendation outlining a coopera-tive partnership between USMB, C2CNetwork and MB Mission. Read moreabout it here: (https://christianleader-mag.com/leadership-board-finalizes-historic-partnership/).

“The most exciting aspect of this col-laborative partnership among C2C,USMB, the districts and MB Missionis that we can synergistically focus onlocal, national and global mission withrisk-taking faith,” Thomas says. “I havereally enjoyed getting to interact withthe church planters launched originallywith the districts and USMB. I lovehearing their stories of faith, of vision, ofperseverance and of patient joy in themidst of a tough challenge.”

Thomas says the sustainability ofsome MB churches is being threatenedas people move to cities, increasing theneed for church-planting in urban areas.

Thomas has these goals for 2018: es-tablishing prayer partners in all 50states; establishing a financial supportbase from USMB districts, localchurches and individuals; partneringwith churches to plant 12 MB churches;hiring help to enable continued expan-sion of services to MB church plants;launching a church-planting school;having recruiting events in every districtand a major conference; establishing aU.S.-based assessment center; and developing a leadership structure forsending church planters.

Key to a successful church plantingventure is empowerment by God’sSpirit, Thomas says.

“No talent, no strategy, no creativity,no method and no location will ensure afruitful church plant,” he says. “‘Unlessthe Lord builds the house, they labor invain who build it’ (Psalm 127:1). Jesussaid, ‘I will build my church and thegates of hades shall not prevail againstit’” (Matt. 16:18). —Janae Rempel

Randy Friesenis the general director

of MB Mission, theNorth American

Mennonite Brethrenchurch planting

ministry whose visionis holistic church

planting that trans-forms communities

among the leastreached and whose

daily focus is to multiply healthy

disciples and missional leaders.

If you are interestedin receiving Friesen’s

daily devotionalwhich takes you

through the Bibleeach year, you can sign up at

www.mbmission.org.There are also stories

on video that will encourage your faith

and connect you tothe global church.

vantage point

Two and a half years ago at a U.S.Mennonite Brethren leadership

summit in San Diego, Calif., where thefuture ministry structure of the confer-ence was being discussed, the Lordmade it clear that he wanted us to con-sider what our ministries could give toone another rather than what a futurestructure could give to us. I was chal-lenged to consider what MB Missioncould contribute to the missional healthof our conference and churches, not justglobally but also here in North America.After extensive consultation and prayer, acollaborative vision for “one mission –local, national and global” is becoming areality. The Canadian Conference ofMB Churches recently released the C2Cchurch planting network to join MBMission in serving local churches andconferences in the U.S. and beyond.

MB Mission is committed to the threeanchor causes of church planting, disci-ple making and leadership developmentthat USMB churches have defined as thecore strategy. In many ways, we havebeen working at all three of these causesglobally for 117 years, and we are now re-leased to also support our U.S. Confer-ence, districts, churches and schools inthese same efforts here at home.

In November 2017, we assisted all ourUSMB church planter couples in attend-ing the continental C2C church planters’summit in Quebec City. Don Morris,USMB national director, shared with thehundreds of participants why workingthrough C2C was a strategic partnershipfor USMB. We heard from David andEssey Yirdaw, church planters in Den-ver, Colo., how God has provided re-sources, a better meeting location andnew families in this ministry. David, theson of an Ethiopian immigrant family toDenver, described the multinationalcharacter of the church God is givingthem in Denver. God is sending churchplanters from Africa to reach our cities.Mission is now “from everywhere to

everywhere,” and it is local, national andglobal.

I meet regularly with Don Morris andour district ministers as the NationalStrategy Team to discern and coordinatenational mission strategy and resourcing.We have affirmed C2C as our nationalchurch planting resource network. Ateam of USMB pastors—BrentWarkentin, Paul Robie, Brad Klassenand Fred Leonard—have joined Don inproviding ongoing counsel and supportto Scott Thomas, the C2C US nationaldirector. This investment by leadersfrom missionally engaged and growingMB churches is a big win for our family.We are now also serving and networkingwith other denominational families whowant to join the C2C network. God isusing the Mennonite Brethren to serveand bless others in his kingdom as we to-gether consider what God is asking us toshare, not just receive.

Jesus said, “I will build my church”(Matt. 16:18), and then he gave his disci-ples the task of making disciples of allnations, baptizing and teaching them toobey all he commanded (Matt. 28:18-20). We believe that means all of us arecalled to live on mission and share thegospel in our neighborhoods locally, to-gether through C2C nationally and to-gether through MB Mission globally.Our “One Mission” is the mission ofJesus, and we are joining disciples ofJesus around the world in that effort.

At our last National Strategy Teammeeting we agreed to assist localchurches interested in developing a local,national and global mission strategy. Thelocal expression of that strategy must in-clude equipping all of us to live on mis-sion, not just those who serveinternationally. We look forward to whatthis integrated approach to missionequipping and spiritual renewal canmean for both our church health and wit-ness in this world.w

Making disciples in all nationsWorking together for one local, national, global mission



church news

New Hope BibleChurch concludes60-year ministry

New Hope Bible Church, Grants Pass,Ore., held its final meeting Oct. 15,

2017, with baptism, breakfast, praise andworship, baby dedication, church historyand a message from Gary Wall, PacificDistrict Conference (PDC) district minis-ter.

New Hope was formally organized in1957 as the Grants Pass MennoniteChurch. In 1993, the church joined thePDC. Through the years, New Hope wasinvolved in youth classes and activities,Bible studies, various Mennonite andUSMB organizations, bilingual services,support of community services, prisonministry and U.S. and foreign missions.

“I celebrate and honor the ministry andfaithfulness of the New Hope BibleChurch family,” says Wall. “I have deeprespect and admiration for the congrega-tion and leaders who served faithfully andwell. The legacy of this Christ-centeredchurch will live on indeed.”

Wall affirms New Hope pastor LowellStutzman for his 20-year ministry thatcame to an abrupt end when Stutzmandied suddenly in March 2016. “Lowell’sministry reached far beyond GrantsPass,” Wall says. “He impacted youngmen and women who are serving in over-seas mission today. He inspired a congre-gation to embrace the Jesus way,unpopular and costly though it may be.Lowell loved people and worked diligentlyat building relationships with Hispaniccongregation members, creating an in-clusive fellowship of believers.”—CL

Christmas came early for the children ofGrace Community Church in Sanger, Calif.

In September, Grace Community received play-ground equipment from Jackson ElementarySchool, its adopted school across the street.JES removed the equipment for construction

and could not reuse it once removed. SangerUnified School District had the equipment dis-assembled and delivered to the church at nocost. The Playcraft equipment originally cost$31,726.—CL

Church receives playground equipment

MILESTONES

Baptism/MembershipSheyla Villanueva, Kyrsten Wilson, Zoe Smith andLacie Messerly were baptized Dec. 3 at SouthMountain Community Church, Lehi (Utah) Cam-pus.

Valerie Elwell Kadera, Les Lautt, Barb Lautt, TimRowell, Annelies Rowell, Nate Yoder and GraceYoder were received as members Nov. 19 at NorthFresno (Calif.) Church. Annelies Rowell was bap-tized.

Jack Maier, Tami Maier, Madi Sheppard, JaniceWillems and Katie Bair were received as mem-bers at Parkview MB Church, Hillsboro, Kan.,Nov. 19.

Jessica Heard, Lyndon Perry, Sean Williams, JulieWilliams, Matt Geiger, Becca Geiger, Josh Ran-dol, Robyn Randol, William Hawkins and KimHawkins were received as members at PineAcres Church, Weatherford, Okla., Nov. 19.

Alex Newkirk, Lauren Newkirk, Bella Gonzales,Klarisa Gonzales, Austin Dunn and Kylee Brew-ster were baptized and received as members Nov.12 at Heritage Bible Church, Bakersfield, Calif.Joseph Delgado and Michael Dyer were receivedas members.

Laura Marrufo and Hilda Humphrey were receivedas members at Corn (Okla.) MB Church Nov. 5.Laura Marrufo was baptized.

Katie Pearson, Shayann Helm, Megan Nooriala,Kaity Haskins, Tony Kowalewski, Hallie Morganand Ashtyn Barr were baptized Oct. 29 at SouthMountain Community Church, South Jordan(Utah) Campus.

Ryan Workman, Julie Workman, Neah Oleson,Jayme Garcia and Jeremi Garcia were baptizedOct. 29 at South Mountain Community Church,Draper (Utah) Campus.

Pamela Belmore, Joel LePere, Anna LePere,Mimi Perez, Charles Riley, Tonya Riley and

Michael Vaughn were received as members Oct.29 at Laurelglen Bible Church, Bakersfield, Calif.

Ava Baechler was baptized Oct. 22 at SouthMountain Community Church, St. George (Utah)Campus.

Dominik Proffitt, Hannah Proffitt, Scott Soptickand Terri Sturgeon were baptized and received asmembers Oct. 15 at Garden Valley Church, Gar-den City, Kan. Ken Penner and Emily Soptickwere received as members.

Ryan Bianchi, Tim Cotham, Derick Graham,Lukah Henderson, Mackenzie Huckeba, ColtonKaiser, Abigail Langdon, Giahnna Morrison, IrijahMorrison, Drew Parks, Ashley Pavletich, LincolnPavletich, Cody Pray, Emalee Reynoso, MatthewSchelebo Sr., Matthew Schelebo Jr., DesiraeSchelebo, Keyata Thurman and Anderson Toelkewere baptized Oct. 15 at Laurelglen Bible Church,Bakersfield, Calif.

Carson Duba, Gracelyn Fast, Kerstyn Fast,Kristina Gonzalez, Kelsi Houge, Tory Reinders,Alexis Roth, Justin Roth and Avery Schumakerwere baptized Oct. 15 at Bethesda Church, Huron,S.D.

Allison Wood, Daniel Hofer, Ethan Enns, GavinEnns, Jackie Avila, Joshua Reimer, Nicole Ward,Stephanie Wall and Tommy Balakian were bap-tized Oct. 8 at Reedley (Calif.) MB Church.

Katarina Becker, Brooking Becker, Jacob Huang,Lindsey Huang, Elizabeth Whittle and DwightHackett were received as members Sept. 24 atButler Church, Fresno, Calif.

Christian Yingling, Mark McComas and Amy Mc-Comas were baptized Sept. 24 at South MountainCommunity Church, West Jordan (Utah) Campus.

Stephanie Burkholder, Hannah Koster, RanishaReif, Kimberly McQueen and Tyler McQueen werebaptized Sept. 24 at North Oak CommunityChurch, Hays, Kan. Richard Brin, Liam Buller,Olivia Davis, Jared Kisner, Analeise Knisley, Kait-lyn Knisley, Blake Larson and Jada Thomas werebaptized Aug. 27.

church news

Roland Lekey and Elsie Lekey were received asmembers Sept. 17 at Hillsboro (Kan.) MB Church.

Eight people were baptized Oct. 8 at LighthouseChurch, Lakewood, Colo.

Four people were baptized at Axiom Church, Peo-ria, Ariz.

WORKERS USMB National Director Don Morris was ordainedNov. 12 at Cross Timbers Church, Edmond, Okla.

Ben Friesen was installed Oct. 15 as lead pastor atCornerstone Community Church, Topeka, Kan.

DEATHSArgaw, Henoch N., Aurora, Colo., member ofEthiopian Evangelical Church, Aurora, March 23,1998—Sept. 30, 2017.

Derksen, Mary (Froese), Reedley, Calif., memberof Reedley MB Church, May 27, 1919—Oct. 26,2017. Parents: Gerhard and Susie (Friesen) Froese.Spouse: Henry P. Derksen, deceased. Children:Dorothy Bartel, Wilfred Derksen, Janet Claassen,Lloyd Derksen, Beverly Staley; nine grandchildren,14 great-grandchildren.

Enns, Victor, Vista, Calif., member of Reedley(Calif.) MB Church, Nov. 30, 1930—Sept. 15, 2017.Parents: D.H. Enns and Katie (Balzer) Enns.Spouse: Katherine (Isaak) Enns. Children: DouglasEnns, Dave Enns, Sandi Greene; nine grandchil-dren, five great-grandchildren.

Faul, Donald G., Reedley, Calif., member of Reed-ley MB Church, Sept. 12, 1934—Aug. 3, 2017. Par-ents: Gus and Helen (Hiebert) Faul. Spouse: MarieFaul.

Gates, James Carlton, Akron, Ohio, member ofCollege Community Church, Clovis, Calif., Oct. 1,1952—Oct. 25, 2017. Parents: Charles and Michiko(Ikeda) Gates. Spouse: Brenda. Children: ChristinaGates. Step-children: Jason Cunningham, AaronCunningham; five grandchildren.

Kaufman, Delora Jean (Reimer), Hillsboro, Kan.,member of Hillsboro MB Church, Feb. 6, 1956—Oct. 14, 2017. Parents: Aaron and Margie (Bartel)

Reimer. Spouse: Kim Kaufman. Children: JesseKaufman, Denille Johnson; four grandchildren.

Klein, Carolyn Kathryne (Faul), Munich, N.D., one-time member of Rosehill MB Church, July 27,1929—Nov. 20, 2017. Parents: Charlie F. and Car-olina (Seibel) Faul. Spouse: Leonard. Children:CleoBeth Friesen, LuWanda Schroeder, MarwoodKlein, Robin Holcombe; 14 grandchildren; 11great-grandchildren.

Kliewer, Paul D., Reedley, Calif., member of Reed-ley MB Church, April 13, 1930—Sept. 30, 2017. Par-ents: Dan H. and Anna K. (Hodel) Kliewer. Spouse:Rachel (Regier) Kliewer. Children: Linda Parker,Bruce Kliewer, Becky Kiper; six grandchildren;seven great-grandchildren.

Kountz, Pam (Kroeker), Reedley, Calif., member ofReedley MB Church, March 18, 1956—Oct. 21,2017. Parents: Harvey and Roberta (Kroeker)Kroeker. Children: Keith Kountz, Karen Kountz;three grandchildren.

Neufeld, Eva Leona (Martens), Fairview, Okla.,member of Fairview MB Church, May 29, 1926—Oct. 7, 2017. Parents: P.A. and Maria KarberMartens. Spouse: Isaac Neufeld, deceased. Chil-dren: Don Neufeld, Keith Neufeld, Jean Neufeld;six grandchildren, one great-grandchild.

Neufeld, Ida (Penner), Fairview, Okla., member ofFairview MB Church, March 27, 1937—Oct. 15,2017. Parents: Dietrich and Martha (Harder) Pen-ner. Spouse: Orville Neufeld. Children: PhilNeufeld, Chuck Neufeld; five grandchildren.

Neufeldt, Norma “Ruth” (Enns), Buhler, Kan.,member of Buhler MB Church, Sept. 28, 1932—Oct. 22, 2017. Parents: Frank and Agnes Enns.Spouse: Emerson Neufeldt, deceased. Children:Joyce Nelson, Diana Rheingans, Philip Neufeldt,Michael Neufeldt; nine grandchildren; two great-grandchildren.

Peters, Barbara, Shafter, Calif., member ofShafter MB Church, April 23, 1937—Aug. 23, 2017.Parents: Menno and Vera Siemens. Spouse: Ed-ward G. Peters, deceased. Children: Kathe Winn,Russell, Jerry, Peggy Cruz; 10 grandchildren; 12great-grandchildren.

Ramirez, Josefina “Josie” R., Shafter, Calif., pas-tor’s wife and member of Iglesia CompanerismoCristiano, Nov. 15, 1952—Oct. 4, 2017. Parents:Martin Reyna and Josefina (Martinez) Reyna.Spouse: Roy Ramirez. Children: Rogelio RamirezJr., Marinela G. Ramirez; four grandchildren; onegreat-grandchild.

Regier, Les, Reedley, Calif., of Reedley MB Church,March 7, 1945—Sept. 28, 2017. Parents: Gus H.Regier Jr. and Erna (Klaassen) Regier. Spouse:Lovella (Isaac) Regier. Children: Tami Burnett,Todd Regier; six grandchildren.

Richert, Hilda (Warkentin), Reedley, Calif., mem-ber of Reedley MB Church, Dec. 24, 1921—Nov. 9,2017. Parents: Eduard and Susie Warkentin.Spouse: Talmon Richert, deceased. Children: Ken-neth Richert, Gerald Richert; 15 grandchildren; 35great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchil-dren.

Schmidt, Darlene, Hillsboro, Kan., member ofHillsboro MB Church, March 27, 1935—Oct. 17,2017. Parents: Herman and Kathryn (Hildebrand)Klaassen. Spouse: Malvin W. Schmidt. Children:Jerry Schmidt, Leroy Schmidt, Kelly Schmidt,Malvina Schmidt; four grandchildren, six great-grandchildren.

Siemens, Rose (Friesen), Shafter, Calif., memberof Shafter MB Church, June 14, 1923—Oct. 23,2017. Parents: Isaac and Helena Friesen. Spouse:William M. Siemens, deceased, Elbert D. Franz,deceased. Children: Sally Uhl, Mark Franz, RandyFranz, Marilyn Friesen; Stepchildren: WilliamSiemens, Wayne Siemens; 14 grandchildren, 21great-grandchildren.

Siemens-Lamb, Ruby (Rubena) Linda, San Jose,Calif., member of Lincoln Glen Church, San Jose,Calif. Oct. 30, 1926—June 29, 2017. Parents: Diet-rich Joel (DJ) and Sarah Penner Wiens. Spouses:Harry James Siemens, deceased, Vaughn Lamb,deceased. Children: Laura Taylor, Barbara Bruck-ner, Carole Lane; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren.

Sperling, Ruben Leslie, Shafter, Calif., member ofShafter MB Church, June 13, 1924—Nov. 13, 2017.Parents: Abraham and Katherina (Penner) Sper-

Bethany Church, Fresno, Calif., again staged “Journeyto Bethlehem,” a free drive-through experience of the

Christmas story. Guests are given a CD that they listen toin their cars as they drive through the busy marketplace ofJerusalem and into the small town of Bethlehem. The liveevent includes townspeople working outside their homes,angels dancing in the fields and Roman guards collectingtaxes. The production is staged on the church’s large, un-

developed property and the journey ends in the church’sfront lawn where hosts talk with guests and refreshmentsare served around campfires. Bethany first presented“Journey to Bethlehem” in 2014 and the event was well re-ceived. The event, which pastor Brian Wiebe describes asthe congregation’s gift to the community, continues todraw more and more visitors. “Journey to Bethlehem” waspresented Dec. 19-22, 2017. —Holly Goble

Bethany Church hosts drive-through story



church news

ling. Spouse: Aganetha Sperling. Children: LeannaWiens, Merl, Larene Hester, Gale, Dale; nine grand-children, 10 great-grandchildren.

Suderman, Emery L., Enid, Okla., member of BibleMB Church, Cordell, Okla., Oct. 7, 1935—Sept. 22,2017. Parents: Leonard and Christine (Epp) Suder-man. Spouse: Inez Javorsky. Children: James Sud-erman, Carol Garrison, Timothy Suderman; eightgrandchildren; one great-grandchild.

Thaden, Donald Robert, Sheldon, Iowa, formerly ofHuron, S.D., member of Bethesda Church, Huron,S.D., April 7, 1923—Nov. 8, 2017. Parents: Williamand Grace (Hassebroek) Thaden. Spouse: Ruth(Hofer) Thaden, deceased. Children: David Thaden,Tom Thaden.

Vix, Wesley D., Minot, N.D., member of Bible Fel-lowship Church, Minot, May 24, 1926—Sept. 22,2017. Parents: Emmanuel C. and Martha (Seibel)Vix. Spouse: Mavis Vix. Children: Lyndon Vix, KentonVix; seven grandchildren.

Willems, George D., Reedley, Calif., member ofReedley MB Church, July 24, 1928—Oct. 23, 2017.Parents: George C. and Lizzie (Dick) Willems.Spouse: Mary Ann Willems, deceased. Children:Debra Scott, Gary Willems; four grandchildren,eight great-grandchildren.

Yutzy, Lloyd Edward, Buhler, Kan., member of Buh-ler MB Church, March 14, 1942—Oct. 17, 2017. Par-ents: Edward and Emma (Miller) Yutzy. Spouse:Judy Balzer. Children: Brian Yutzy, Michael Yutzy,Tammy Houge; 11 grandchildren.

REACHING IN DISCIPLESHIP Hillsboro (Kan.) MB Church hosted a leadershiptraining session with material from the GlobalLeadership Summit Nov. 5, the first of four Sundaysfocused on growing as leaders.

FELLOWSHIPCollege Community Church, Clovis, Calif., held anAll Saints’ Day service Nov. 5 to remember loved

ones who have died. People were invited to bring amemento or token of remembrance.

REACHING OUT LOCALLY People from Laurelglen Bible Church, Bakersfield,Calif., visited seniors on Christmas Day, bringinggifts and stuffed animals.

People from Buhler (Kan.) MB Church served at theHutchinson Soup Kitchen Dec. 16 and baked cook-ies to bring. The church also purchased gifts andprovided donations for people in need through itsChristmas Outreach initiative.

People at North Fresno (Calif.) Church that partici-pated in an “Advent Conspiracy Class” were encour-aged to purchase at least one less Christmas giftand to use that money to support NFC’s five AdventConspiracy projects. The congregation also donatedsocks to The Light-House Recovery Center benefit-ting women and children in need.

People at Lighthouse Church, Lakewood, Colo.,filled stockings with essentials to give to deafwomen and children.

People at Grace Community Church, Sanger, Calif.,made sandwiches Dec. 8 to be distributed to thehomeless by HOPE Sanger.

Women at Stony Brook Church, Omaha, Neb., metDec. 1 to sing hymns, drink hot cocoa and collectfeminine products to help homeless women.

Cornerstone Community Church, Harvey, N.D.,joined area churches to provide Thanksgiving mealsfor 100 families. The church contributed 240 cans ofgreen beans and money to purchase 10 turkeys.

Mountain View Community Church, Fresno, Calif.,blessed families in its church body and neighbor-hood with boxes of food through its ChristmasBlessing Tree.

The Bridge Bible Church, Bakersfield, Calif.,hosted “Merry Christmas Bakersfield,” a free eventDec. 15 that included inflatables, hay rides, facepainting, interactive crafts, hot chocolate and

snacks...the congregation also provided 1,000turkeys for Thanksgiving meals that were deliveredThanksgiving morning. People from the churchgathered on “Turkey Tuesday,” Nov. 21, to put themeals together.

Garden Park Church, Denver, Colo., volunteeredwith Colorado Feeding Kids Nov. 26 to pack 3,000meals in one hour.

Ebenfeld MB Church, Hillsboro, Kan., donated 94food baskets to Main Street Ministries for needyfamilies in the area. Everence matched $2,000 ofthe church’s donations.

First MB Church, Wichita, Kan., bagged and distrib-uted turkey dinners to families in the Oaklawn com-munity, Nov. 18-19.

Shafter (Calif.) MB Church hosted its second annualSMBC Invitational wrestling tournament Nov. 18.

Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Denver, Aurora,Colo., held its annual holiday bazaar Nov. 11, sellinghandmade arts, crafts and thrift to benefit churchmissions.

Women’s ministry at Hillsboro (Kan.) MB Churchcreated ornaments for the community AlternativeGift Market Nov. 4.

Good News Fellowship Church, Ferndale, Wash.,hosted its 24th annual Crafts of the World sale Nov. 4.

The Food for the Badge group at Pine Acres Church,Weatherford, Okla., took plates of Christmas good-ies to each person working at the police departmentDec. 11.

Koerner Heights Church, Newton, Kan., partneredwith Salvation Army’s Harvest of Love to collect foodfor needy families in the community.

Grace Community Church, Sanger, Calif., hosts aMarketplace the first Saturday of the month to givefree food to the community in partnership with theCalifornia Food Bank and the Good Neighbor Cen-ter. Oct. 7, 25 volunteers served 100 people, givingout 6,000 pounds of food. Dec. 2, they gave away8,400 pounds of food.

Stony Brook Church in Omaha, Neb., is helping localfamilies in need by partnering with Project Wee Care

(PWC), a local charitable organization providing food,clothing, school supplies and gifts to needy families.PWC supplies the names of families and children to thechurch, and members of the congregation buy gifts for achild or purchase a grocery gift card for a family. Fami-

lies wrap gifts and bring them to church, then churchstaff delivers the gifts to PWC.

Noelle Riesenberg, pictured right, shopped with herparents to provide a Christmas gift for another younggirl. After this year, PWC will have helped more than10,000 families.—CL

Stony Brook Church provides gifts, groceries for needy

Photo credit: Stony Brook Church


Local Church Job Openings

Associate Pastor—Children and Family Min-istries: North Fresno MB Church is seeking afull-time associate pastor of children and familyministries. The church is located in an urban areaof the 500,000-plus city of Fresno, Calif., and isvery involved in the surrounding neighborhood.Main responsibilities include pastoral leadershipand oversight of children’s ministries, as well asother opportunities depending on the giftednessof the candidate. The candidate should have apassion for Jesus, the church and the city as wellas demonstrated ability to disciple and equip chil-dren and the volunteers who serve them. Formore information or to apply please contact JillBrooks, search team chair, at [email protected].

Ministry Job Openings

On-Site Staff: Main Street Ministries, Inc., a non-profit ministry in Hillsboro, Kan., that serveswomen and their children, has an immediateopening for on-site staff. This position includessome administrative/clerical support to the direc-tor, assisting residents with physical, emotionaland spiritual needs such as transportation to ap-pointments, etc., emergency/crisis intervention,supervision of residents’ scheduled classesand/or babysitters, monitoring curfew hours andother duties as needed. Normal hours are daily 6p.m. until 8 a.m. the following morning, everyother weekend and on the director’s day off. If theLord leads you our way, please contact KarenSites, MSM director, at 620-947-3393.

Executive Director: Grace Children’s Home, Hen-derson, Neb., is actively seeking applications for

the position of Executive Director. For many years,the primary focus of this ministry has been pro-viding residential care for teenagers that havebeen placed out of their home by the court sys-tem. The successful candidate will work with theBoard of Directors to determine both short termand long term goals of the organization as wemove forward. Inquiries can be sent [email protected] or call 402-363-5725.

University

Faculty: Fresno Pacific University is seeking qual-ified candidates for positions in Social Work,Spanish, Theater, Business, Biology, Health CareAdministration, and Nursing. Complete job de-scriptions and application requirements may beviewed online at the Fresno Pacific Universitywebsite: www.fresno.edu/careers.

GLOBALLY USMB congregations that participated in Opera-tion Christmas Child include Enid (Okla.) MBChurch, which packed 95 boxes and an additional10 boxes online; New Hopedale MennoniteChurch, Meno, Okla., where AWANA participantsassembled 100 shoeboxes; Bethesda Church,Huron, SD, that collected 54 shoeboxes and SalemMB Church, Freeman, SD, that packed 40 shoe-

boxes and filled 300 Mennonite Central Committeeschool kit bags.

Reedley (Calif.) MB Church supported the Free-dom Textiles ministry in Thailand with its Christ-mas stocking project.

North Oak Community Church, Hays, Kan., is re-sourcing World Shine Foundation Nursery and Pri-mary School in Rwentobo, Uganda, by raising$7,800 to enhance the school’s dining hall. Thechurch is also sending a team to minister at the

school. In the past, the church has given funds fora new kitchen and dining hall and school uniformsand shoes.

Volunteers at Rosedale Bible Church, Bakersfield,Calif., assembled 12 quilts in 12 hours on com-forter construction day to donate to MCC.

Reedley (Calif.) MB Church’s Meals for Missionssold frozen lasagnas, sauces and tri tip seasoningto raise money for an orphanage in Thailand.

CLEARINGHOUSE


from the national director

Don Morrisbegan serving as

the USMB nationaldirector Aug. 1, 2016.Prior to accepting thisnew position, Morrisserved as the USMBinterim executive di-

rector for two yearsand as the director ofMission USA since

2004. He and hiswife, Janna, live in

Edmond, Okla.,where they attend

Cross TimbersChurch.

If effective evangelism, reachingmore people with the gospel, were

left up to my dog, there wouldn’t bemany people coming to faith in Jesusanytime soon. My dog is a cute,white Westie with a comical person-ality that loves to sleep away most ofevery day. Except for a few randomforays into the backyard each day tolook for critters, bark a little and per-haps bask a few moments in the sun,he does little else but lay around.

Westies are known for liking highplaces, so typically you can find himasleep on the back of a chair or thecouch. He also likes to sleep next topeople, and if you nudge him in themiddle of the night he gives a grumpylittle growl. He’s just a lazy little dogwho likes to eat once in a while.

I thought of my dog’s lazy ap-proach to life when I consider thatonly 5 percent of believers in theUnited States have been instrumentalin someone else’s decision to becomea Christ-follower. I also recently reada related statistic: 75 to 90 percent ofpeople who come to faith in Jesus areled to him by a friend or family mem-ber. That means that Sunday school,church visitation, TV evangelists,pastors and other means add up toless than one-fourth of those thingswhich introduce people to Jesus andthen bring them to faith.

Let’s get this straight. Over three-fourths of all people come to faiththrough a friend or relative and yetonly 5 percent of friends and relativesare ever involved in doing so. Thesestatistics are mind-numbing. If even10 percent of Christians led a friendor family member to know Jesus, ouroverall evangelism in America wouldalmost double! So, why don’t we helplead people to know Jesus?

There are many reasons we cite tojustify why we don’t tell people thegood news: “I’m afraid I’ll get it allwrong or say the wrong thing” or“Everyone in my city has heard thegospel and has already made theirchoice, and I don’t want to bugthem.” Or here’s a good one: “I don’tknow enough Scripture.”

I think one of the main reasons wehave such a shortage of “I knowJesus, so should you” conversations isthat it takes lots of effort to developrelationships that ultimately get to thepoint where such conversations cantake place. It involves time, energyand being a good friend over time forthat to normally happen.

No, Westies don’t make goodevangelists. They’re too focused onbeing cozy at home. I don’t necessar-ily think it’s because we’re just lazythat we don’t tell people about Jesus.But, when I allow it to sink in thatcountless people I know and likelysix billion of the people currentlywalking the planet are headed for aneternity apart from God—that shouldcause me to want to help at least someof the them come to know our won-derful Savior. Shouldn’t it?

I think this should be the mostpressing thing we are about as Men-nonite Brethren. Jesus said, “The Sonof Man came to seek and to savewhat was lost.” Let’s join him.w

Friends bring friends to JesusEvangelism lessons from a Westie on what not to do

letting god guide page 12 hristian eader cdc welcomes … · $14,000-plus donations to usmb on...

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