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World Fellowship Sunday: a communion of 500 years
Every year on the Sunday closest to 21 January, Mennonite World Conference invites its 107 member churches to join in a celebration of World Fellowship Sunday. The worship themes vary from year to year, but the rationale for the timing of the event has remained constant – on 21 January 1525, a small group of…
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Learning global Anabaptist faith through MWC’s Shared Convictions
A quiz on global Christianity and Anabaptism (including MWC statistics) prepared participants from Nihon Menonaito Kirisuto Kyokai Kyogikai (Japan Mennonite Christian Church Conference) for a discussion of the Shared Convictions of Global Anabaptists. For the annual Peace Missions Centre seminar 15–16 July 2018 at Fukuzumi Mennonite Center in Sapporo, Japan, the group from Japan Mennonite…
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10 principles of leadership transition
The Bible tells stories of leadership transition: Moses walked with Joshua and prepared him to lead the Israelites; stories in the books of Kings tell of less wise approaches to the end of ministry. Healthy leadership transition is as necessary today as ever. There are several necessary elements: the call of God and a willingness…
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YABs Fellowship Week 2018
This year, we will celebrate our third annual YABs Fellowship Week June 17–24, 2018. The theme is “Called to be Free,” centred on Galatians 5:13–15. We encourage each everyone to choose and adapt these materials in a way that will be useful to your context, translate them where necessary, share and distribute them to all…
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Joy in the Spirit
Songs, testimonies and biblical reflection celebrate the Holy Spirit at Renewal 2027 As a local band played “You are the most high God,” international guests from the global Anabaptist family swayed and sang at this year’s Renewal 2027 “The Holy Spirit transforming us” event at Nyamasaria Primary School’s auditorium in Kisumu, Kenya, and headquarters of…
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Ministry partner update: IBICA – November 2017
The International Brethren in Christ Association (IBICA) is the common network for all national conferences of the Brethren in Christ church with the aim to facilitate communication, build trust and cooperation within our global community, and to establish common and mutual understanding through our set of core values. An associate member of MWC, IBICA has some…
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Still transforming
A rediscovery of Scripture was both a root and a fruit of the Reformation, the movement out of which Anabaptism grew. Not that the Bible had been lost, but it was not accessible to the average person. Nor did many people who understood themselves to be Christian have the conviction that the Bible has something…
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The Holy Spirit transforming us
Bogotá, Colombia – Throughout the history of the Christian church, followers of Jesus have been transformed and renewed by the living presence of the Holy Spirit. We persevere with hope in the face of overwhelming challenges. Today, the churches in the Global South are especially attentive to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.…
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Ministry partner update: IBICA – August 2017
The International Brethren in Christ Association (IBICA) is the common network for all national conferences of the Brethren in Christ church with the aim to facilitate communication, build trust and cooperation within our global community, and to establish common and mutual understanding through our set of core values. An associate member of MWC, IBICA has some…
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A Young Anabaptist takes flight
Almost a year ago, a step onto a plane was the first into a whole new world of not only learning many new things, but meeting a bunch of inspiring people. In February 2016, my first year as a member of the Young Anabaptists (YABs) Committee started. A little nervous, a little apprehensive, but a…
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Praying for Europe
Leaders of Mennonite national churches in Europe held their annual meeting 28–30 October 2016, in Vienna, Austria. Mennonite World Conference was represented by Chief Events Officer Liesa Unger, Europe Regional Representative Henk Stenvers, YABs committee member Jantine Huisman, and Executive Committee members Rainer Burkart and Jean Paul Peterschmidt. Pray for the needs of the…
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YABs Fellowship Week in Bogot· and around the world
Bogotá, Colombia – In June 2016, the dream of worshipping together as the global family became a reality, when local young people from three denominations celebrated the inaugural YABs Fellowship Week with a joint worship service in Bogotá. “It was another space to feel the connection between us, as young Anabaptists in the world, that…
