Prayers of gratitude and intercession

Global Anabaptist Project collects data on the MWC family worldwide

The results of the recent Global Anabaptist Profile (GAP), an extensive three-year survey of 24 member conferences of Mennonite World Conference (MWC), are cause for celebration: the church is growing and the gospel is spreading – and the churches of the Global South are the primary witnesses. Although the survey confirms what many of us already knew – that MWC’s growth is predominantly to be found in Latin America, Africa and Asia – the GAP’s unprecedented scope reveals new demographic data and additional information on identity and practice, offering a level of analysis that will serve churches in both the Global North and the Global South for many years.

For those conferences who participated in the GAP, the results of the survey are already providing them with new tools and insights to enrich their ministries. “We see much in the information that is very valuable to us,” said Research Associate Reynaldo Vallecillo from Amor Viviente in Honduras. “This helps us see our needs, especially in areas of teaching.”

Tigist Gelagle of the Meserete Kristos Church, Research Associate in Ethiopia, agreed. “Cultural context is important, but our context also includes our Anabaptist roots. We want to take this back to our churches.”

Sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism, the GAP provides church leaders with the most comprehensive portrait of MWC member churches to date. Twenty-four MWC member conferences from five continents were selected for participation in the profile. Conference leaders appointed a Research Associate to conduct the survey in their respective churches.

In 2013, these Research Associates met together with GAP directors John D Roth (Goshen College, Indiana, USA) and Conrad Kanagy (Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania, USA) to determine their research approach. Together, the group formulated a significant portion of the questionnaire, organized around the seven Shared Convictions of MWC, with additional questions on demographics and specific beliefs and practices. The resulting questionnaire was then translated from English into 26 languages, followed by back-translation into English for purposes of comparison and accuracy.

Research Associates began their work in 2013, generally travelling in person to the selected congregations to explain the GAP, implement the survey and conduct interviews. In some of the conferences, congregations were relatively close together or could be reached via email. But in others, like the Communauté Mennonite au Congo and the Communauté des Églises des Fréres Mennonites au Congo, travel required fording rivers and spending long periods away from home.

Research Associates reconvened in 2015 to share their experiences and initial findings. In the intervening year, Kanagy (who has extensive experience in carrying out other church member profiles) spearheaded an analysis of the composite data from all participating conferences. The resulting profile is based on 18,299 individuals representing 403 congregations.

“[The GAP] was a massive effort,” said Kanagy. “To have accomplished this in three years is a credit to God’s grace and amazing efforts by many.”

Who are the member churches of MWC?

The conclusions of the GAP, to be published in full later this year, identify certain areas of significant commonality within the global church, as well as highlighting major differences. Overall, the survey found that the differences between the churches of the “Global North” (North America and Europe) and those in the “Global South” (Latin America, Africa, and Asia) are more important than differences related to denominational affiliation.

• The average age of a respondent in the GAP survey is 46 years. Among continents, however, there is substantial variation; North American and European church members are nearly a decade older on average than members in Africa, Asia or Latin America. Furthermore, 54 percent of members in the Global South are between the ages of 18 and 45. A concentration of members in this range predicts future church growth, since this is the range in which people bear and raise children. In the Global North, just 34 percent of members are of childbearing age.
• On a global scale, GAP respondents were evenly divided between men and women. Respondents were more likely to be female in Latin America and Europe, and more likely to be male in Africa and Asia. In Africa, however, these rates were almost certainly affected by higher illiteracy rates among women. Despite efforts by Research Associates to accommodate church members who were unable to read, illiterate women were often unable to complete the survey.
• Sixty-two percent of all GAP respondents live in a rural area. However, continental differences are again important. Nearly 90 percent of Asian respondents and close to two-thirds of Africans live in rural communities, while European and Latin American church members are more likely to live in urban areas.
• There are striking educational disparities among MWC groups surveyed, a factor underscoring much of the social and economic disparity present within the global church. In the Global South, educational levels remained fairly consistent, with between 46 and 58 percent of church members graduating from high school. In the Global North, that range jumps to between 78 and 93 percent.
• The average age of conversion among GAP respondents is 19 years. North American respondents had the lowest age of conversion at 14 years of age, while Latin Americans had the highest at 23 years. Differences regarding age of conversion can reflect evangelistic activity: newer churches tend to be more active in attracting adult members from outside the church, resulting in a higher average age. Older churches more often rely on conversions of children and youth within the church, pushing the average age lower. [See “Average age of conversion”]
• Many of the respondents are relatively recent Christians, with Latin America at the epicentre of this growth. Sixty-five percent of Latin American respondents have converted since 1991. In Africa, 54 percent of members have become Christians within the past 25 years. Meanwhile in North America, only 22 percent of respondents had converted since 1991. This finding helps to explain the remarkable growth within conferences in the Global South during the past 25 years, particularly in Latin America and Africa. [See “Average year of conversion by continent”]

What are their beliefs and practices?

Some beliefs and practices – many of them core Anabaptist Christian convictions – are almost universal among GAP respondents. For example, 94 percent of respondents claim that it is very important to be born again, and 91 percent identify Jesus as the only way to God. Similarly, the vast majority of respondents identify the Bible as the Word of God.

There is also a noticeable wariness regarding military service. Seventy-six percent of respondents, if faced with obligatory military service, would either refuse to serve or would select non-combatant military service. In the Global North and the Global South, a nearly identical percentage – 61.9 percent and 62 percent respectively – would choose conscientious objection.

But the survey also reveals points of major difference. Overall, there are greater differences between the Global North and the Global South, but denominational and continental differences are also present. For example, awareness of Mennonite World Conference – the body that draws each of these conferences into active relationship with the others – diverged along both regional and denominational lines. Fifty-five percent of those in the Global South express awareness of MWC, compared to 75 percent of Global North respondents. By denominational affiliation, 66 percent of Brethren in Christ are aware of MWC, 76 percent of Mennonite Brethren, and 46 percent of Mennonites.

When examined in greater depth, even some of the commonly shared beliefs and practices reveal shades of difference. For example, although the majority of respondents claim the Bible as the Word of God, 55 percent of respondents from Africa, Asia and Latin America add that the Bible should be taken literally. Only 20 percent of North American or European respondents shared this view (74 percent of respondents in the Global North favoured “interpreting the Bible in context”). Furthermore, different regions identify more strongly with certain portions of Scripture. While Europeans and North Americans find the New Testament to be the most relevant for them, only 28 percent of those in Asia, Africa and Latin America said the same. Instead, respondents in the Global South were more likely to identify both Old and New Testaments as relevant.

Charismatic gifts are also more common among those respondents in the Global South. Eighty-four percent of those in Africa, Asia, and Latin America have prophesied, spoken in tongues, been miraculously healed or involved in liberation from demonic oppression, compared to 31 percent of those in Europe or North America.

The Global North and Global South should not be seen as homogenous groupings, however, as there are also important regional differences. Africans and Asians, for example, were most likely to have experienced liberation from demonic oppression, while 56 percent of Latin Americans have been miraculously healed from an injury or illness.

Personal evangelism, a strong characteristic of the early Anabaptists, similarly varies. Whereas 51 percent of African respondents speak of their faith to people outside of their family and church circles at least once a week, only 13 percent of Europeans do the same. Thirty-three percent of Asians and 26 percent of Latin Americans invite non-Christian friends to church on a weekly basis, compared to only 9 percent of North Americans.

The GAP suggests that personal evangelism is a regular practice among many in the Global South, but a relatively rare exercise for those in the Global North.

What does the data tell us?

What accounts for these differences? We all read the same Bible, but we interpret it differently and find differing degrees of relevance in its various parts. We all claim the presence of the Holy Spirit among us, but experience very different manifestations of that same Spirit. We have all joined the same peace church tradition, but military service or policing roles are alternatively tolerated or resisted. We have all received the good news, but some are much more likely to evangelize than others.

Some Research Associates responded to the differences they saw in the GAP results with anecdotal explanations. When faced with a divisive civil war, for example, the Convenci√≥n de Iglesias Evangélicas Menonitas de Nicaragua developed a strong stance against military service that has survived to this day. “We recognized that we would be killing other brothers in the church,” said Marcos Orozco. “We were clear that we couldn’t do this.” African and Asian associates testified to the reality of ancestor worship in their contexts as an influence in their reliance on Old Testament passages addressing similar practices.

Yet, the particular dynamics of each conference’s context do not fully explain why so many of the significant differences emerging in the GAP data fall along divide between the Global North and the Global South.

The destructive socio-economic and political implications of this divide are writ large in our world, and, at times, they are reflected within the church. In this sense, the data from the GAP survey is a call to repentance. But it is equally an invitation to wonder and praise for the different ways the gospel is inculturated in each context. And at its core, it is a unique opportunity for greater unity within Mennonite World Conference.

Research Associates repeatedly affirmed their appreciation for the sense of unity they gained through their participation in the GAP. Regina Mondez of the Integrated Mennonite Churches of the Philippines reflected, “I appreciate that despite different languages and cultures, the numbers communicate [a unity] across culture in ways that words could not.”

Marcos Orozco agreed, summarizing the GAP’s six-point purpose statement in one succinct sentence. “We need to learn from the experiences of other brothers and sisters in the global church family, recognizing that we each have strengths and weaknesses that we need to reinforce and improve.” 

—Elizabeth Miller is project and communications manager at the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism. She lives in Goshen, Indiana, USA, and is a member of a Mennonite Church USA congregation.

This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier October 2016

Conferences participating in the GAP

• Argentina (Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Argentina)
• Brazil (Alian√ßa Evangélica Menonita)
• Canada (Brethren in Christ General Conference)
• Canada (Evangelical Mennonite Conference)
• Colombia (Iglesias Hermanos Menonitas de Colombia)
• Congo (Communauté Mennonite au Congo)
• Congo (Communauté des Églises de Fr√®res Mennonites au Congo)
• Ethiopia (Meserete Kristos Church)
• Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Br√ºdergemeinden)
• Germany (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Gemeinden in Deutschland)
• Guatemala (Iglesia Evangélica Menonita de Guatemala)
• Honduras (Organizaci√≥n Cristiana Amor Viviente)
• India (Bihar Mennonite Mandli)
• India (Conference of the MB Churches in India)
• Indonesia (Gereja Injili di Tanah Jawa)
• Malawi (BiC Mpingo Wa Abale Mwa Kristu)
• Nicaragua (Convenci√≥n de Iglesias Evangélicas Menonitas)
• Paraguay (Convenci√≥n Evangélica Hermanos Menonitas Enlhet)
• Paraguay (Vereinigung der Mennoniten Br√ºder Gemeinden Paraguays)
• Philippines (The Integrated Mennonite Church of the Philippines)
• South Africa (Grace Community Church)
• USA (Brethren in Christ General Board)
• USA (U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches)
• Zimbabwe (BiC Ibandla Labazalwane kuKristu eZimbabwe)

The GAP was translated into 25 languages:

•  Afrikaans (South Africa)
•  Amharic (Ethiopia)
• Bahasa Indonesia
• Chichewa (Malawi)
• Chishona (Zimbabwe)
• Dorze (Ethiopia)
• English
• Enlhet (Paraguay)
• French
• German
• Hindi (India)
• Javanese (Indonesia)
• Kikongo (DR Congo)
• Lingala (DR Congo)
• Oromo (Ethiopia)
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Russian
• Sindebele (Zimbabwe)
• Spanish
• Swahili (DR Congo)
• Tagalog (Philippines)
• Telugu (India)
• Tshiluba (DR Congo)
• Tumbuka (Malawi)
•  Xhosa (South Africa)
•  Yao (Malawi)

The purposes of GAP are:

• To develop a deeper understanding of global Anabaptism.
• To provide information to guide mission and priorities.
• To strengthen relationships among MWC churches.
• To inform the development of MWC priorities.
• To establish a baseline against which to measure future change.
• To train leaders to conduct church profiles in the future.

Average year of conversion by continent

• North America – 1975
• Europe – 1982
• Asia – 1984
• Africa – 1991
• Latin America – 1995

Average age of conversion by continent

• North America – 13.6
• Europe – 17.3
• Asia – 16.3
• Africa – 20.7
• Latin America – 23.2

How do our member churches express the MWC Shared Convictions in beautiful, local variety throughout our global body?

The October 2016 issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier seeks to discern the variety of reasons why Anabaptist communities from around the world come together to form MWC. In the articles that follow, writers reflect on the question: How does Christ’s love for us motivate and guide our response to strangers in our local context?

Holistic care in Semarang

In the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, Indonesia, the Mennonite church responds to the needs of the community across religions and class with holistic care, supported by local government institutions and religious institutions.

The church witnesses to God’s love and grace by welcoming its Muslim brothers and sisters and people from various religions. “They are not enemies; they are those who need God’s love and help, just as we all do,” says Victor Purnomo. He is a pastor of Jemaat Kristen Indonesia Injil Kerajaan (Gospel of the Kingdom Church, Indonesian [Mennonite] Christian Fellowship). “Without the walls of hatred or anger, the church is able to work creatively to reach the needs of the city and ultimately the hearts of its people.” Churches like JKI Injil Kerajaan build their ministry on good relations with the local citizens. Reaching out to the levels in society with the most need, the church has found this population quick to respond openly and gratefully.

Holistic care

The church’s holistic care includes offering academic scholarships for children through Sekolah Terang Bangsa (Light of the Nations School), the church-run elementary, junior high, senior high school. This ministry has opened up the hearts of many parents: “If you can love the children, the parents will be very proud because their children are being cared for and valued,” says pastor Victor.

The church also reaches out to its neighbours through social ministries like disaster relief. “The church needs to be the most sensitive to the needs of its city. We provide the answer for them,” says Victor. “When there is a fire, we are the first to provide food. That really touches them. At the point they have nothing, there is the church responding.” This also builds relationship with the government.

The officials have specifically asked for assistance because of the available facilities. During recent floods, churches sent volunteers on rafts filled with food and supplies. People across different religions have said, “The church is amazing. Our own people do not even care this much for us, yet the church is the first to help.”

Healing prayer

Other social ministries occur in the open-air markets where rice, vegetables, cooking oil, clothing and other supplies are sold below the normal price. Here, the church shares the gospel and offers prayer for healing. Not planned to be a crusade, these events focus more on sharing godly values.

Participants from the church sing secular songs with positive value or national pride, as well as Christian songs that do not explicitly name Christ. There is a time of prayer for the sick, when at last the people find out that it is the Lord Jesus who healed them. In their time of need, they do not mind who does the healing as long as they are healed.

Thousands have committed their lives to Christ through these events in the market. The church openly supports social ministries like food distribution during the evenings of Ramadan (Muslim month of fasting). Feeding more than a thousand people each day for four weeks a year, the satellite church in Permata Hijau (Green Diamond area of Semarang) has opened up its doors for gatherings, games, prizes and stories from God’s Word.The sick are healed and miracles bring people to Christ. Supporters, seeing the effect and fruit of the ministry, willingly provide funding and provisions from their own businesses.

Respectful reputation

In Pondok Pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), the church volunteers come wearing religious head coverings as guests who respect their neighbours in faith. They share about values like having vision, love and forgiveness. In turn, Islamic boarding schools have asked to attend the church Christmas gatherings. After praying according to their own faith tradition, these Muslims sit to listen to the Christmas programs. Students mentioned that their Christian friends are good, not forcing them into Christianity, but giving good values that they can learn from.

This has piqued their interest. When schools join events located at the church, we freely share Jesus. Even police officers have openly supported the church. When religious extremists threatened the church in Semarang, the police were the first to notify the church leaders and send help. When churches like JKI Injil Kerajaan were accused of “Christianization,” the church responded that they are helping society in poverty. 

They maintained peaceful communication. Others reported that the church does not force itself on others. The police then defended the church. Strong networks and relationships between the church and other institutions are essential.

The church must be more than an organization that leads services among the Christian community. Its potential includes building bridges for those in the city to know Christ through holistic service. The great commission (Matthew 28:18–20) is to share the gospel to all the world with the great commandment in mind, that we would love God and our fellow people (Matthew 22:35–40). It is not a matter of debating which commandment is the most essential, but allowing them to walk hand in hand. 

— Lydia C. Adi serves as the international relations representative for the Jemaat Kristen Indonesia Synod. She holds master’s degrees in cross-cultural studies (Fuller Theological Seminary, USA) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Biola University, USA). Together with her husband Anton K. Sidharta, network pastor at JKI Maranatha in Ungaran, they have founded the Unlimited Fire JKI Youth Network and have bridged relations with churches across denominations and countries. Anton and Lydia live in Ungaran, Indonesia with their son, Caleb. 

This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier October 2016

How do our member churches express the MWC Shared Convictions in beautiful, local variety throughout our global body?

The October 2016 issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier seeks to discern the variety of reasons why Anabaptist communities from around the world come together to form MWC. In the articles that follow, writers reflect on the question: How does Christ’s love for us motivate and guide our response to strangers in our local context?

Our mission and Shared Convictions   

As Anabaptist-Mennonite Christians, our mission is closely linked to the identity we have recognized and confessed. For this reason, What We Believe Together: Exploring the Shared Convictions of Anabaptist related Churches, comprises what is needed to communicate to faith communities who we are and the work the Lord has entrusted us to carry out.   

Social, economic and cultural injustice has increased in Mexico. Violence causes casualties every day. To witness to Jesus in this context requires clarity as to who we are, by whom and to what we have been called. I feel that What We Believe Together, clearly responds to these questions, especially point seven: “As a worldwide community of faith and life, we transcend boundaries of nationality, race, class, gender and language. We seek to live in the world without conforming to the powers of evil, witnessing to God’s grace by serving others, caring for creation and inviting all people to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.”

In my church in Mexico (Conferencia de Iglesias Evangélicas Anabautistas Menonitas de México – CIEAMM), we believe that each local congregation and each faith community is the seed and fruit of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. In line with this conviction, we seek to understand and live out the gospel of peace, justice and reconciliation proclaimed by Jesus in a holistic (comprehensive) way. Thus, when he went through cities, towns and villages proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, he healed every disease and sickness (Matthew 9:35).

Likewise, we must be agents of holistic healing in each area of our community and social life. Our mission must be embodied in the world, just like Jesus; and he reminds us every day that, as the Father sent him, he is sending us (John 20:21).

In CIEAMM, we are aware that every local church is strengthened by the Holy Spirit, a truth that is well grounded in What We Believe Together. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Christ calling us and strengthening us for the compassionate mission. Jesus Christ felt the pain, suffering and conditions experienced by people as his own, and felt compassion for them. Compassion is not about feeling momentary pain; it means identifying with the person who is in distress, and be moved to action and service to ease the pain that deeply hurts human beings.

Jesus was compassionate and his deep identification with those who suffered led him to action (Matthew 9:36, Matthew 14:14, Mark 6:34, Matthew 15:32–37, Luke 7:12–15). If we say that we follow Jesus, then we must be compassionate, as he was.

We have promoted the printed book as well as the digital version of What We Believe Together in the CIEAMM. The volume has been studied in different ways in each church affiliated to CIEAMM. In some cases, each chapter became a Sunday school lesson; in others, each one of the seven Convictions was presented as a sermon theme; and we have also encouraged study groups. Our aim is to give a copy of What We Believe Together to every new church member as a study guide.

There is little printed and digital material on Anabaptist identity and mission available in Spanish. This is why What We Believe Together is appreciated by CIEAMM as a good summary of the distinctive beliefs of the global family which we are a part of, especially because most of our church members are people with low and medium schooling, with little reading habits and systematic studies.

It has been enriching and a blessing for the members of CIEAMM to know that they are a part of a global community, whose identity is centered on Christ, made up by “saints from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). This identity principle is central to building reconciling communities and seeking to put into practice the gospel of peace taught by Jesus Christ.

The vision of the church communities which make up CIEAMM is “to be a church family whose authority lies in the Word of God, which forms disciples for holistic growth as they follow the example of Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit to be embodied in our reality.”

Our mission is to “serve and reflect the gospel of peace through Jesus’ model.” What We Believe Together was the biblical-theological basis on which we developed what we confess as the vision and mission of CIEAMM. For the people of CIEAMM, this document has been a tool for thought and action as Anabaptists in the Mexican social, economic and religious context.

—Carlos Martínez García is a journalist and pastor in Mexico. He is moderator of the Conferencia de Iglesias Evangélicas Anabautistas Menonitas de México (CIEAMM). 

This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier October 2016..

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Songs of the Trinity and shalom

How can unity between different nations or communities be achieved? Many methods have been sought since the Tower of Babel times. In that Bible story, the people attempt to achieve unity by having a common vision and a call to work toward the same goal; and as we well know, the endeavour fails.

Having a common narrative is another strategy to create unity. A unified story describing a common and inspiring origin can prove to be a cohesive element. However, it is very difficult to find a stimulating narrative involving various peoples or different cultures.

Another alternative – sometimes attempted in politics and in religion – is to eliminate all differences and promote a single way of viewing life, thus destroying diversity. History has shown us many times the failure this alternative represents.

An option sometimes preached in church circles is to establish a list of beliefs that must be sustained by a group of people in order to clearly determine who belongs in or who is outside of that group. Unfortunately, creeds and confessions of faith have sometimes been used in this sense.

When we consider the outcome of the Global Anabaptist Profile research (GAP), we can ask ourselves the same question: What can facilitate the unity between groups of such diversity within Mennonite World Conference (MWC)?

Over several years, MWC member churches were involved in a research process seeking to reveal who we are as Anabaptists today. In the present issue of Courier, we can see some conclusions indicated by this survey. As one of the articles suggests, such diversity within our global family becomes a unique opportunity for greater unity.

And yet, what makes that unity possible?

It isn’t the text of our Shared Convictions, which emerged in recent years as an expression of our experience of following Jesus in each context. MWC member churches walked in unity without this text for more than 75 years.

Neither is it a question of a common history. Although as Anabaptist churches we identify with the Radical Reformation of the 16th century, clearly, the complexity of the origins of our faith is as amazing as our present diversity.

According to the Scriptures, there is only one possible explanation. The unity of our global community has not been the result of human effort or something that we are able to produce. It is a gift of God that we can enjoy today through the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst. True communion is made possible not by institutional laws and formalities, but by the work of Christ on the cross, where God created a new people including many cultures, races, tribes, and languages.

Today, it is possible to sit down at the same communion table and appreciate the beauty of our diversity only if we do so around the Lamb of God, who is the center of our faith and the foundation of our unity.

Come and celebrate with us the miracle of unity and the beauty of our diversity!

—César García, MWC general secretary, works out of the head office in Bogotá, Colombia.

This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier, October 2016.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word hospitality? It usually reminds me of the experience I had when I visited a country in another continent.

I thought Colombians were good hosts until a family from a different culture hosted me. It was just amazing: the amount and quality of food they offered, their tangible efforts to make me feel very welcomed, every detail in my room, their questions, their respect and readiness to serve in every possible way.

However, more than anything else, it was their attitude that touched me. They were ready to stop all their activities and just focus their generous hearts on serving their guest.

Hospitality is defined as the ability to pay attention to a guest. This is very difficult because we are troubled by our own needs. Our own concerns prevent us from shifting our focus from ourselves towards others. If sin is the focus of the soul on itself, as Augustine of Hippo described it, then a life without sin is one that is able to focus on others. In other words, a life of hospitality is a life with no sin.

Jesus is the best example of what hospitality means. In his life and death on the cross, God enters into the world of human existence. Through his compassion, he focuses his attention on others instead of on himself. It is through Jesus’ suffering and brokenness that God shares the mortality, frailty and vulnerability of humanity. And then, in the book of Revelation, Jesus makes room in his glory for the multitude of all the nations that come to worship him.

Jesus’ attitude and focus on the other brings healing to the people who have been abused, who have experienced pain and suffering. Neither the injustice of Jesus’ wounds, nor the reality of his ultimate triumph and lordship lead him to take care of himself. He is there to bring comfort, guidance and to shepherd others. Jesus has come to serve, not to be served – and this even in his glory.

Today, when we face the crisis of refugees that we see around the world, our call to hospitality as the body of Christ invites us to reveal God’s presence in the midst of that suffering and pain. It is a call to provide hope, healing, guidance and care. It is a call to focus our attention on those that are persecuted, sick and without a home. Even though we may experience many needs and enough problems to worry about, the call to serve others is still there. Regardless of our poverty, lack of resources, disagreements, conflicts, projects and plans, the call to focus our attention on others is still there.

That is the reason why this issue of Courier/Correo/Courrier addresses this topic. The family that received me was such a good host not only because of their culture but also because of the way in which they lived out their experience of Christ. May God lead our global community to respond to others with the same attitude, living out our experience of God according to the steps of our Lord Jesus Christ!

—César García, MWC general secretary, works out of the head office in Bogotá, Colombia.

This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier April 2016.

These reflections are a brief summary linking the historical development, profile and tendencies of the multiethnic Anabaptist communities and Mennonite churches in Latin America that belong to MWC, and present the challenges faced by Mennonites in their mission work, ministry and witness for peace and justice as they follow Jesus in a multiethnic continent.

1. Multiethnic character of Anabaptist and Mennonite communities and churches 

Argentina. In 1917, the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities in Elkhart, Indiana, sent missionaries Josephus W. and Emma Shank, and Tobias K. and Mae Hershey to Argentina; in 1919 they planted the first Mennonite church in Latin America in the town of Pehuajó. This missionary effort led to church-planting among the Tobas in 1943.  

Mexico. Ever since the first decades of the past century, the Mennonite presence in Mexico was characterized as ethnic due to migration. An example is Old Colony Mennonites, originally from Russia, migrating from Manitoba and Saskatchewan (Canada). It was located in the city of San Antonio de los Arenales, Mexico, from 1922 to 1926, founded with the migration of around 6,000 people.

Paraguay. A total of 1,763 Mennonite settlers from Canada emigrated to Paraguay between 1926 and 1927, establishing Menno Colony. Fernheim Colony, which was also located in the Paraguayan Chaco, was made up of 2,000 migrants from: a) Molotschna in Russia (1930–32), b) Amur, a region near Harbin in China (1932),c) a small group from Poland. The third colony called Friesland was founded in 1937 due to the breakup of Fernheim Colony and was located in eastern Paraguay. It was from this colony that missionary work began among the Enhelt in 1937, which led to a new indigenous Mennonite church organization in Yalve Sanga (Lago Armadillo). 

The Mennonite Anabaptist history in Latin America must be seen as the encounter between the evangelical brothers and sisters sent by North American mission societies and the Latin and native peoples of this continent. On the other hand, Mennonite colonists (with many ethnic and cultural customs inherited in Europe in the 16th century) settled in the territories of native, Afro-descendant and mestizo peoples. The encounter between culturally diverse people occurred in very different historical contexts and countries; through mutual aid and cultural, ethnic and social tensions, churches that emerged today are a part of Mennonite World Conference.

In the Mennonite-Anabaptist communities and churches, conversations and praises to God can be heard in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Creole-English, Creole-French, but also in Qom, Guaraní, Bribri, Enlhet, Cabécar, Kekchí, Tupí, Garífuna, Quechua, Emberá-Wounmeu and many other indigenous tongues. The dynamics of the interaction between the various cultures in the formation of churches and faith communities was fostered since the very beginning by Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite voluntary agencies, education organizations, Mennonite seminaries and universities (largely from the United States and Canada, but also from Europe). They provided vitally significant input on the practice of following Jesus.

Throughout the history of constant migrations, tension can be seen between those who prioritize the growth of communities and the building of temples – without challenging the social structures of their times – and those who emphasize the struggle for peace and justice as a priority of the gospel. On the basis of these migrations – of Mennonite groups of German origin, as well as internal and external migrations by indigenous peoples – Anabaptist communities and churches emerged.

Regarding the beginning of this movement in Latin America, the presence of Anabaptist-Mennonite churches and communities in almost all the countries is characteristic of the last decades (1980–2015). When MWC’s 2015 statistics are compared against those of 2013, the countries that show the greatest Anabaptist growth are located in Cuba (150%), Haiti (70%) and Bolivia (80%). Here, we observe that Mennonite communities marked by intercultural encounter and an understanding of the purpose of ministry and evangelism share significant aspects linking them to their past.

Cuba. In the 1950s, the Brethren in Christ came to Havana, Cuba, to evangelize together with Quakers and Nazarenes in Cuatro Caminos. In 1954, the Franconia Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities (USA) sent missionary Henry Paul Yoder and his family to plant a church in the province of Las Villas, in the town of Rancho Veloz. The revolution headed by Fidel Castro against the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959 brought about a great exodus of North American missionaries who left the island in succeeding years. During the revolutionary period, the leadership of Juana M. García was fundamental to maintaining the church work that the Brethren in Christ had begun in the town of Cuatro Caminos, in Havana. On August 19, 2008, new missionary work was begun by Mennonites in Cuba. Pastor Alexander Reyna Tamayo and his family had served before as pastors of the Iglesia Evangélica Misionera (evangelical missionary church). In 2004, he met Janet Breneman from the USA and Jack Suderman from the Canadian Mennonite church, after they had given courses on Anabaptist tradition in the Iglesia Evangélica Libre (Evangelical Free Church). In agreement with the Iglesia Evangélica Misionera, Alexander Reyna contacted the Canadian Mennonite church and formed this new organization that works in small home cells in the provinces of Santiago de Cuba, Olguín, Granma, Villa Clara and Cienfuegos. The tremendous growth experienced in Cuba, especially in the last decade, reflects the new political situation on the island – which has recently renewed diplomatic relations with the United States – and the religious openness it is experiencing.

Haiti. The poorest country in Latin America with a population originally from Africa, Haiti has suffered its governments’ political and economic crisis as well as a devastating earthquake on January 12, 2010. Haiti is another example where Anabaptist churches have a multiethnic profile and service tendencies.

In the case of Cuba and Haiti, we need to carry out a detailed study in order to explain their great numerical growth as well as the current cultural profile of the life and mission of the members of their communities.

Bolivia. This country received the greatest migration of conservative Mennonites of German background to Latin America in the last two decades. From 1980 to 2007, a total of 53 new colonies have been established in the provinces of Pando, Beni and Santa Cruz. These colonies originated from the internal division of other Mennonite colonies in Bolivia, Belize, Paraguay, Mexico, Argentina and Canada. In 2007, altogether these new colonies had a population of 30,618 people (including adults and children).

In civil society, one of the reactions to this situation seemingly is that agrarian reform still hasn’t come to Latin America to strengthen the most disadvantaged groups, such as the native peoples or those of African origin. Our questions once again are oriented toward: a) the relationship that arises between the Mennonite colonies and the surrounding native population; b) the role of missionary societies and the founding of churches whose purpose is to follow Jesus based on their own cultural and ethnic roots. The challenges of the gospel amid the mis/understandings between such diverse communities are just as strong as at the time of the first ethnic migrations of Mennonites in Latin America. 

2. Statistics of Mennonites in Latin America

I. Central American Region (including Mexico):

II. Caribbean Region

III. South American Region 

Grand Total: 199,912

Statistics from Mennonite World Conference, Membership, A Community of Anabaptist related Churches, Membership, June 2015.

3. Pastoral challenges

These brief reflections lead us to consider the following pastoral challenges in light of the multiethnic reality of Latin America.

Renewal in the Spirit. The experience of the Spirit, like that of our ancestors in the 16th century, should mean enlightenment and strength so as to recreate our Anabaptist identity in order to take on a) a critical view of the state, b) a theology and pastoral practice in favour of the poor, c) a contextual biblical hermeneutic of nonviolence, d) a commitment for peace and justice, e) a great tolerance of the diverse forms of understanding the profound mystery of God in the multiethnicity of Anabaptist churches and communities, and in the civil society.

Movement of Latin American Women Theologians. The meeting of African women theologians that convened in 2003 at the MWC Assembly in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, marked a great challenge for Latin American women. From this meeting arose the “Movement of Latin American Women Theologians,” which has carried out various meetings in Latin America with the support of the MWC project “Global Gift Sharing.”

At the MWC Assembly held in July 2009 in Asunción, Paraguay, 120 Latin American Mennonite women met to reflect on the theme: ‚ÄúJesus’ liberating message for women today.‚Äù At the 2015 MWC Assembly in Pennsylvania, USA, the ‚ÄúMovement of Latin American Women Theologians‚Äù gathered with Anabaptist women theologians from all around the world to promote a global network. One of the major challenges of this movement is how to integrate women into leadership to represent the multiethnic character of Mennonites in Latin America. Based on this great diversity of peoples and cultures, our families, churches and movements will be able to bear greater witness in society and at the heart of MWC itself.

Witnesses for peace. The witness of those who work for peace, even risking their lives for other people’s well being, reminds us of Jesus’ words: ‚ÄúBlessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God‚Äù (Matthew 5:9). The testimonies from Mennonite organizations such as Justapaz in Colombia and Mennonite Central Committee during the revolution in Central America in the 1970s and 1980s remind us that it is possible to contribute toward peace. But this leads us to reflect on how shall we bear witness in the new scenarios in Latin America with the growth of the population, the destruction of ancestral cultures and peoples, racism, xenophobia, youth unemployment, environmental pollution and new forms of oppression and violence that destroy populations and life on our planet.

Pastoral models. It is necessary to carry out a more detailed analysis of what the Anabaptist and Mennonite witness has been in Latin America. In the 1970s, a method was developed which guided pastoral action in many communities: “see, judge and act”; in other words, with the help of the social sciences, analyze what occurs; judge this in light of of the Word and following Jesus, and finally respond through the ministry with concrete actions. Maybe it is time to acknowledge that this method challenges us once again to review our pastoral tasks, but not only in the sense of analyzing a situation of injustice on a macroeconomic and social level, but also based on the needs of a ministry that is attentive to the new expressions of family in the whole continent and the cries of new marginalized groups of our society which also include our indigenous, Afro-descendant and poor mestizo peoples.

The Afro-Caribbean expression. The Caribbean is the region in Latin America which has had the most difficulties in organizing itself due to its history, political complexity and great diversity of languages. At the MWC Assembly in Asunción, Paraguay, in the Latin American caucus, the representatives of the Caribbean expressed their need to also be organized as a region. The strengthening of the theological, social and pastoral reflections of the Anabaptist churches and communities in the Caribbean should be a priority for MWC. Afro-descendant churches in the Caribbean greatly enrich the multiethnic character of MWC, which will strengthen the dialogue between these sisters/brothers and the Afro-Brazilian churches and the Mennonite churches in Africa. 

Great ethnic and cultural diversity. Amid economic poverty, the Mennonite communities of indigenous peoples and those of African background in the whole continent, share with us their historical, cultural and spiritual heritage. Through their stories and myths buried deep in the rainforest, the seas, the rivers, the rocks and grasslands, they urge us to protect and look after Mother Earth. Their visions and dreams help us to see the disorder caused by economic systems that protect the economic interests of transnationals, or ‚Äúpromote development‚Äù at the expense of destroying cultural diversity. 

The visit of the brothers and sisters of indigenous peoples such as the Métis and Ojibwe (North America), the Quechuas (Peru), the Kekchíes (Guatemala), the Emberá and Wounaán (Panama) to the territories of indigenous peoples in the Paraguayan Chaco during the MWC Assembly in Paraguay (2009), is a beautiful sign of unity and fraternity amidst diversity. From this desire to learn from one another and to put our gifts at the service of others, this great ethnic diversity of Mennonites in Latin America can nurture the Anabaptist community; and, furthermore, make real our efforts to be instruments of God in the creation that waits eagerly in the pains of childbirth to be set free, thus we groan inwardly for the redemption of our bodies (Romans 8:18–25).

‚ÄîJaime Prieto is from Costa Rica, married to Silvia de Lima from Brazil, and they are the parents of Thomáz Satuyé. Jaime has a PhD in Theology from the University of Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany (1992), has been a member of the Costa Rican Mennonite Church since 1971, and now belongs to the Asociación de Iglesias Evangélicas Menonitas de Costa Rica (member of MWC). He is author of Mission and Migration, the volume on Latin America in the Mennonite World History series published by MWC.

This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier April 2016

The first Mennonites arrived in Brazil during the year 1930, coming as refugees from Russia/Ukraine, where their property, churches and schools were taken over by the state during the Stalin years.

Thousands of Mennonites (15,000–25,000) and other groups took their few belongings and travelled to Moscow in 1929 to get a visa. Only 5,000 received permission to leave the country. Arriving in Germany, they were not allowed to stay there, so they had in mind to migrate to Canada. Because of the economic depression of the 1930s, Canada only accepted a few of these migrants, mainly those who had close relatives already living in the country and who were in good health.

The other two options of countries that would receive them were Brazil and Paraguay. European and North American church leaders encouraged the refugees to move as a group to Paraguay, where there was already a settlement of Mennonites from Canada. In Paraguay, Mennonites already had several privileges like exemption from military service and the right to self-government of the colonies. Around 3,000 chose to go to Paraguay.

Early struggles

Another 1,300 chose to move to Brazil. The real reasons for the choice to Brazil are not very clear. Arriving in Brazil, they were settled in a hilly, rainforest region in the south, completely different from what they had known in Russia. One settlement group (Stolz Plateau) could not develop, and they found a good place in Curitiba (300 km north). Here, there was a colder climate and prairie land. Within a few years, all Mennonites had moved away from the original settlement place.

Among the settlers, there were three different groups: Mennonite Brethren, Mennonite Church (kirchliche) and Evangelical Mennonites. Initially, all the services were held together except the assembly meetings, everything in the German language. During World War II – which Brazil joined in 1942 – the use of the German language was prohibited in public until the end of 1945. So the churches conducted their services in Low German, sometimes in Russian and even began to use Portuguese.

Outreach

The first outreach project began in 1948 with an orphanage for abandoned children and with it the first exclusively Portuguese-speaking congregation, in the outskirts of Curitiba. It had the support from Mennonite Brethren (MB) workers from North America. Several other church planting projects followed, and soon the Association of Mennonite Brethren Churches was formed with Portuguese-speaking congregations. In 1994, the German-speaking conference and Portuguese-speaking conference merged, creating COBIM (Convenção Brasileira das Igrejas Evangélicas Irmãos Menonitas: Brazilian MB conference). Today, COBIM has more than 60 congregations and several mission projects in Brazil and Africa.

In the year 1955, the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities of the Mennonite Church General Conference in the United States sent their first missionaries to Brazil. Several congregations were planted in Sao Paulo, central Brazil and the Amazon region, forming the Alliança Evangélica Menonita (evangelical Mennonite alliance). The Associação das Igrejas Menonitas do Brasil (AIMB: association of Mennonite churches in Brazil, a merger of two German-speaking groups and other evangelical Mennonites), and COM (Commission on Overseas Mission) joined this church planting project and began to send missionaries in 1976. AEM now has some 35 churches and congregations and mission projects in Brazil and Albania.

In the year 1965, Mennonite Central Committee started several agricultural and social development projects in Northeast Brazil. In 2012, this outreach was ended. Some local organizations (AMAI) are keeping on several of the projects, in promoting peace and reconciliation. Three congregations were planted and are affiliated with AEM.

The AIMB conference formed by Mennonites and evangelical Mennonites has nine churches and congregations. For many years, they had their services in German. In the 1980s, this began to changes as the churches moved into using more Portuguese to reach out to neighbours and to the Brazilian context. Their strongest mission project is Associação Menonita de Assistência Social (AMAS: Mennonite relief organization) with six daycare centres for low income families, caring for more than 1,000 children daily.

In 1960s, a group of Holdeman Mennonites (Church of God in Christ Mennonites) moved from the USA to central Brazil (400 km west of the capital city Brasilia), and formed their colony in Rio Verde in the state of Goiás. Their contact with the larger Mennonite community in Brazil is mainly through Anabaptist/Mennonite literature they distribute.

After 85 years in Brazil, the number of church membership of all conferences may be estimated as 12,000 to 15,000. In the last 30 years, there have been several divisions and splits in the churches and conferences, mostly because of Pentecostal/charismatic renewal movements. A desire to move away from the German ethnic church culture has also been a factor that led to the formation of several independent Mennonite congregations.

What are the main challenges for Mennonites in Brazil?

1. Identity. What does it mean to be a Christian Mennonite in Brazil, where 90 percent of all evangelical Christians are Pentecostal/charismatic/neo-charismatic. Related to this, we still have an ethnic church culture. One leader observed: “We do not live in the colony anymore but the colony is still in us.” Brazilians do not understand this Mennonite mindset and find it foreign to their culture.
2. Outreach and acculturation. How to be committed and faithful to a Jesus-centred interpretation of the Bible in the midst of a context of all kinds of religiosity, “Christian superstition,” “direct divine revelation,” power controlling-centred gospel, prosperity gospel, etc.
3. Diversity and conflict. The congregations with the German speaking background are reaching to the end of language change. Some have two services, one in each language and others have bilingual worship. Interethnic marriages are more common than before. The new baptized members are mostly non-German background. Cultural and theological diversity are every day more present.
4. Leadership. The concept of a servant leader, appointed by the congregation, forming team leadership is being challenged by power-oriented, hierarchical, productivity-centred, even “self-appointed” leadership.

But the Holy Spirit is moving among the different conferences and congregations, to support and help out more each other. The Theological School Fidelis belongs to the 3 bodies: AEM, COBIM and AIMB.

Other projects as the Mennonite School Erasto Gaertner and the Nursing Home Lar Betesda, are under a joint board with Mennonites and Mennonite Brethren.

The need to dialogue, to share experiences, to learn from each other is getting every time more important.

Peter and Gladys Siemens are team pastors at Vila Guaíra Church, Curitiba, Brazil. Gladys also serves on the Deacons Commission of Mennonite World Conference.

This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier April 2016

Mennonite national churches in Brazil

*Alliança Evangélica Menonita

Members: 2,900

Congregations: 35

Headquarters: Paulista, Brazil

Presiding officer: Cristiano Maiximiano de Oliveira

*Associação das Igrejas Menonitas do Brasil

Members: 1,184

Congregations: 9

Headquarters: Curitiba, Brazil

Presiding officer: Fridbert August

Church of God in Christ, Mennonite

Members: 344

Congregations: 5

±Convenção Brasileira das Igrejas Evangélicas Irmãos Menonitas

Members: 6,960

Congregations: 70

Headquarters: Curitiba       

Presiding officer: Emerson Luis Cardoso

Igreja Evangélica Irmãos Menonitas Renovada

Members: 3,350

Congregations: 27

Headquarters: Sao Paulo

Presiding officer: Jose Eguiny Manente

* indicates membership with MWC

± COBIM has re-engaged the process of taking up membership with MWC

www.mwc-cmm.org/maps/world

Accessed January 2016