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Global Youth Summit (GYS)
Life in the Spirit: Learn, Serve, Worship 34 delegates: 4 from North America, 4 from Europe, 11 from Asia, 6 from Africa, and 9 from Latin America. In delegate sessions, some common challenges for young people that surfaced were loneliness and the need for belonging, the need for good leadership, bridging the generation gap and…
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Learning together to handle diversity
Wednesday morning There have always been two main kinds of learning: academic and experiential. Most of us have an inclination toward one or the other, but the reality is that both are necessary for learning. Knowledge doesn’t do anyone much good if it’s not applied. Alternatively, it’s often counterproductive and wasteful to implement something without…
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Learning together to discern the will of God
Wednesday morning Learning together to discern the will of God”: the first Christians were confronted with this challenge from the beginning. Indeed, “learning together to discern the will of God” is not mere wishful thinking! It is not a comfortable process. In fact, it is the major challenge of Christian life; of our personal lives…
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Practice before the storm
Wednesday night When he was 17, my grandfather was forced to fight in World War II (WWII). When I started talking about my plans to study peace and peace theology, he got a little upset. He said: “You talk about peace and war, but you don’t know what you’re talking about! When war comes, you…
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Puppies and goats are welcome at the table
May we learn from Jesus what God is truly like, crafting a plan to save the world, working in time and space to bring that plan to its glorious fulfillment and pouring out grace on individuals all along the way. May we learn from Jesus what we are called to be, barrier crossers who minister…
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A fruitful event
Following Jesus together across barriers Mennonite World Conference (MWC) global Assemblies are the equivalent of a Sunday meeting at a local congregation. Through the liturgy, we declare the sovereignty of Christ in our global church, challenging nationalism, racism and other false ideologies that claim our obedience and following. Through teaching, workshops and preaching, we affirm…
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Together proclaim the “manifold wisdom of God”
India The missionaries from USA started Mennonite mission work in central India, presently Chhattisgarh state in November 1899. They began with philanthropic works, providing relief to the drought-stricken people. The first baptism of 43 new converts was in December 1900. At the beginning, membership grew very rapidly. In 1949, when the Mission Work Golden Jubilee…
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The brightest and best
Canada It was 20 years ago when my husband and I were mourning the messy demise of our church, which had destabilized during the renewalism of the 1990s. I felt both cynical and yet wistful, regarding the charismatic. In search of sanity, stability and solid teaching, a nearby Mennonite Brethren church caught our attention. Could…
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Pentecostalism, Anabaptism and the Africa Christian climate
Zimbabwe Pentecostalism has become the most rapidly growing expression of Christianity in the world today. Anabaptists in the African context are not foreigners to this reality. The desire to break free from missionary control, or better put ‘a quest for spiritual liberty’, has seen an impetus in the Pentecostal expression within Anabaptist domains. In Southern…
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Exuberance for the Spirit
Brazil For many Brazilian evangelicals, Pentecost is not a one-time event of the past. There is a clear awareness of the Spirit in daily life. About 70 percent of evangelical churches in Brazil are Pentecostal and the others are influenced by the Pentecostal movement. Factors that influence our view of Pentecost We don’t have a…
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Worshipping a living and active Spirit
Germany My church journey in and out of Mennonite and Pentecostal traditions begins before I was born. Because of a thoughtless and frankly embarrassing comment from the pulpit toward her at age 15, my mother left the Mennonite church at the age of 18. She and my father raised their children in evangelical churches until…
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Meet your Executive Committee
An Executive Committee is elected from the General Council and meets annually. Two members from each continental region are elected from the General Council; a president and vice-president are also elected by the General Council. A president-elect begins a term three years before the handover of responsibilities. The treasurer and general secretary are also members…
