Prayers of gratitude and intercession

  • 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 and humility to serve and be served – on both the part of the upcoming leader and those transitioning out.

    At their annual leaders meeting 24–26 February 2018, the Anabaptist church in Spain (AMyHCE – Anabaptists, Mennonites and Brothers in Christ of Spain) discerned these 10 principles about Christ-like leadership and how to develop it in the next generation.

    1. We have to fight with ourselves to overcome our history and our tendency, and return to the life of the first disciples and the early church.
    2. It is important to know your own gifts (both natural and spiritual) and to be recognized by others, to allow it to grow.
    3. It is important to be models to each other and to convey the hope of serving God and not only the burden.
    4. It is fundamental to awaken the thirst of God in young people.
    5. In the New Testament, there were no pastors: we do not need great pastors but a lot of little servants eager to serve God.
    6. Young people need resources as they work their gifts, listen to God and launch themselves into service.
    7. Young people should never walk alone. There must be someone at their side to offer security, instruction, confidence and pick them up if they fall.
    8. It’s better to start changing together now, starting with empowering young people who are already serving in ministry.
    9. Discipleship is a process of journeying together with each other and with Jesus. It requires dedication and commitment, and an understanding of relationship (recognition of one’s authority and how to submit).
    10. Guidance is a gift that experienced people can give.

    “Dialogue is always good, and even more so when there is a shared goal in mind,” says Judit Menéndez Olalla, a young leader who participated in the event.

    “Experienced leaders should desire even more than the youth that the wheel turns and the torch is passed on. The fact that a number of youth were invited to participate in this retreat has been practical evidence that their desire to work and serve with us is real.

    “The greatest challenge is not actually in the generational handover, it is in learning to work together.”

    —A Mennonite World Conference release by Karla Braun

  • “My members are rapists, kidnappers, murders and fraudsters – all washed by the blood of Jesus our Lord,” says pastor Ignacio Chamorro Ramírez.

    Chamorro is director of an integrated transformation program and pastor of La Libertad (“freedom”) church in Paraguay’s overcrowded Tacumbú national penitentiary – but he was once a prisoner like the men he serves.

    Chamorro’s life is a testament to Holy Spirit transformation.

    His youth spent on the streets without supervision led to bad decisions. At age 19, Chamorro went to prison for robbery for 20 days. “It was a traumatic experience, but made no change in my life,” he says.

    A few years later, Chamorro was imprisoned “for a crime I didn’t commit. I wasn’t charged for the one I did.”

    Resentment and bitterness grew in his heart, but he rejected any invitation to church.

    One day, he went with friend to study math. “The person leading talked about God, but I had nothing else to do so I stayed,” he says. “There, God touched my heart. Something new began in my life.”

    That was his introduction to La Libertad: a church inside the prison. “I learned about benefit of discipleship,… was baptized, and began to do for others what they had done for me.”

    When he was released, he finished high school, studied theology at Instituto Bíblico Asunción, and has worked with La Libertad since 2012.

    Inmates in Asuncion’s infamous Tacumbu prison participate in La Libertad church, a ministry of the Mennonite Brethren church in Paraguay. Photo courtesy of Ignacio Chamorro Ramirez.Members of Mennoniten Brüder Gemeinde Concordia (Concordia Mennonite Brethren church) began a ministry in the prison in 1984. For more than a decade, the ministry of justice has had an agreement with the congregation to manage this area with 535 of the 3290 inmates in the prison. Some 130 are committed members of the church.

    The church-run program in the prison emphasizes spirituality and education. It offers literacy and work skills: “It provides opportunity to recover dignity, economic freedom,” says Chamorro, “and, most importantly, to grow and develop the person’s life in Christ, and to continue to journey in love.”

    “God has power. God changes people,” he says.

    Chamorro shared his story at the triennial meeting of the Global Mission Fellowship (GMF) and Global Anabaptist Service Network in Kenya in April 2018. The prison ministry is a part of GMF member Vereinigung der Mennoniten Brüder Gemeinden Paraguays. “I encourage you to have a church inside a penitentiary,” he told them. “It is a great honour.”

    —A Mennonite World Conference release by Karla Braun

  • 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 190,000 attendees in over 30 countries around the world representing dozens of national churches.

    Nepal and Canada partner for peace

    The Nepal PEACE Project (Providing Essential Assistance for Children’s Education) was created by the leaders in the BIC Church of Nepal and is designed to work within the pre-existing local education system and church community networks. The local BIC Nepal churches provide tutoring and mentorship support, and with support from Canadian Be In Christ (BIC) churches, provide school supplies as well for students in rural villages. Children enrolled in the project are able to continue to be a part of their local communities while also accessing support with school stationery, school fees, school uniform, tutoring, healthcare, enrolment in local faith-based organizations and spiritual mentorship. This is a wonderful opportunity for two national churches to connect, relate and support one another.

    —Doug Sider, executive director, Be In Christ, Canada

  • The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.

    Summit, 3–5 June 2018

    The leadership baton passed from David Wiebe to Rudi Plett. David presented Rudi with a plate given to ICOMB from Mennonite World Conference (MWC) leader Larry Miller as a symbol of ICOMB’s relationship to MWC. Rudi shared his vision for the future and the delegates gathered around to pray for him and commission him.

    Summit business

    We discussed the merger between MB Mission and C2C. This new entity will be called Multiply. ICOMB will become the mother (giving identity and a family) for national church conferences whereas Multiply will be like a midwife helping give birth to new networks and conferences.

    There are currently more than 30 networks of local churches at different stages of maturity and development.

    Vic Wiens received a new mandate from MB Mission to work with ICOMB. He will become Emerging Conference Coach and support conferences on the path to ICOMB membership, and help to build the education/training grid in all regions.

    Emerson Cardoso (Brazil), formerly ICOMB Secretary, was elected chair. Andreas Isaak (Germany VMBB), was elected secretary.

    —Rudi Plett, executive director

  • The Canadian Prairies can seem like a hard place to live. It gets very cold in wintertime. The growing season is short, and the crop options are limited.

    For Prairie dwellers in Canada, it’s possible to think the shift in weather patterns – year after year, winters are milder than we remember – as a good thing. Who wants to ride a bike over snow and ice when you could drive in a heated car instead? Why should we inconvenience ourselves to care about the earth?

    Scientists are sounding alarm bells about the state of the earth. Whatever you call it, whatever you think caused it, scientists agree that climate change is happening.

    For Anabaptist Christians centred on Jesus, community and reconciliation, caring for God’s creation is not a political action but a divine calling.

    In our worship of God, we pay attention to the physical surroundings where live. We thank God for his creative work, and uphold our responsibility as stewards. Our task of tending and caring is written throughout the Old Testament and the New, Ndunzi Muller writes in the feature article.

    Similarly, we love people, made in God’s image, whether they are nearby or far away.

    Climate change causes people to suffer: often those with fewest resources to adapt or recover are the most affected. Increased frequency and severity of extreme weather patterns means storms are more destructive, droughts last longer and floods are more severe. Destroyed homes and livelihoods, hunger, displacement, even deaths result.

    As Christians, we must be aware of how our actions have affected our neighbours on the other side of the world, and begin to take different actions, large or small, to help rather than harm the environment.

    In rural areas in the Philippines, Anabaptist-rooted organization Coffee for Peace teaches that the earth does not need to suffer for human to make a living. They train farmers to work at peace with the land – and at peace with their neighbours and God.

    Rebecca Froese in Germany has the opportunity to act on a large scale. A participant in the World Council of Churches, she attended the Paris climate accords to call for justice. And she also takes action in her local congregation with recycling and solar initiatives.

    Similarly, José Antonio Vaca Bello acts in both ways in Colombia. He works with all kinds of allies to urge for moderation and better practices to halt environmental degradation from resource exploitation in his city. But he also acts within his local church, teaching that simple measures can make a difference.

    Based in the USA, Mennonite Creation Care Network provides resources for learning and for worship that can be downloaded from their website. Evangelical Christian and climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe posts videos on YouTube and Facebook to teach about the issues. From the grassroots, Carole Suderman writes tips on simple living for her local congregation, Boulder Mennonite in Colorado. Over 20 years, she has written nearly 1,000 suggestions for household practices, seasonal activities or advocacy. All these little steps are rooted in her Mennonite convictions of simplicity, responsibility to God’s task for us, and love for people.

    It’s easy to feel hopeless or fatalistic when we consider the complexity of God’s creation, and the changes it is undergoing due to human actions. Our calling to participate in the upside-down

    kingdom Jesus ushered in will not allow us to do nothing. The God who saves us also invites us to do his work on earth.

    —Karla Braun is editor of Courier and writer for Mennonite World Conference. She lives in Winnipeg, Canada.

    This article first appeared in Courier/Correo/Courrier April 2018.

  • The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.

    Expansion and reconciliation

    Convenção Brasileira das Igrejas Evangélicas Irmãos Menonitas (COBIM – the Mennonite Brethren church in Brazil) held a conference in October. They experienced the presence of God for new structures and refining their commitment to mission. Here is a picture of Pastor Reginaldo Valim leading the church in prayer. Years of prayer for repentance and renewal have resulted in a great move of God. The conference was held under the topic “Expansion and Reconciliation.” God is providing growth in COBIM. Members were called to be open for this expansion and for the work of reconciliation between people and God, and people and others.

    —David Wiebe, executive director

  • The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.

    Angola: “COMEX” meeting: 7–8 December 2017

    God was moving in our church in Angola through a meeting of church leaders from all regions (“COMEX”). President Jean Claude Ambeke reports that good leaders were put into place who will guide the churches in their regions. Some leaders were removed because they fell to the sin of corruption (taking bribes for election to office). This is a time of cleansing for our sister conference in Angola. Please pray for Jean Claude: physical strength, courage in face of opposition, wisdom to make hard choices.

    —David Wiebe, executive director

  • The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.

    Big news

    I have informed ICOMB that I will retire on June 30, 2018. Please pray for our future leader, structure and finances.

    I continue to be amazed at the power and flexibility of the gospel. It really “works” in every culture! But we must be careful when we seek to apply it. The community of Christ must covenant to live in love and contextualize the gospel together.

    It has been a tremendous blessing to serve ICOMB. I have been deeply enriched through the leaders and churches all over the world. And thank you for supporting me in prayer.

    —David Wiebe, executive director

  • The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.

    Executive Committee Meeting (9–10 February 2018) was a great blessing. Thank you for praying. We experienced the joy of the Lord in so many ways. We refined our mission statement to “Healthy, Missional Conferences Making Disciples.” We will present this to ICOMB Summit in June. It means that ICOMB’s work will continue to concentrate on helping our national conferences achieve their potential, and healthy conferences provide identity and community as a foundation for sustained mission work. We have asked Rudi Plett of Paraguay (ICOMB associate director) to consider replacing David Wiebe on 1 July 2018. David is retiring. We also have asked all national conference leaders to submit other nominations for the executive to consider. We will finalize our choice on 15 April 2018 as executive.

    —David Wiebe, executive director

  • The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.

    The ICOMB executive committee is happy to announce the appointment of Rudi Plett of Asuncion, Paraguay, to the position of executive director. Rudi previously served ICOMB as associate director – Latin America and as regional team leader for MB Mission from January 2017 until the present. He will begin to serve full time as ICOMB executive director starting 1 July 2018 immediately following the retirement of David Wiebe of Canada. Rudi will work from Asuncion.

    Rudi is well known to ICOMB leaders as former representative of the Vereinigung der Mennoniten Brudergemeinden Paraguay (German MB Conference), and ICOMB chair 2012–2016. Rudi was also pastor of the Concordia MB church in Asuncion until end of 2016.

    ICOMB chair Heinrich Klassen (Bund Taufgesinnter Gemeinden, Germany) expressed gratefulness to God the Provider, Jehovah Jireh. Rudi will be commissioned at the ICOMB Summit in Vienna, Austria, 2–5 June 2018.

    —David Wiebe, executive director

  • The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.

    ICOMB and MWC

    David Wiebe travelled to Kenya for Mennonite World Conference (MWC) General Council, 18–28 April 2018. During the first few days, we held a celebration of great musical variety led by a group from Ethiopia, and speakers from all continents. MWC is marking the 500th anniversary of the Radical Reformation with a meeting like this each year until 2027 called “Renewal 2027.”

    —David Wiebe, executive director

  • The International Community of Mennonite Brethren (ICOMB) is made up of 21 national churches in 19 countries with approximately 450,000 members. ICOMB exists to facilitate relationships and ministries to enhance the witness and discipleship of its member national churches – connecting, strengthening and expanding.

    God is doing something amazing among us

    I’ve worked for ICOMB as director for seven years. During that time, I tried to build the community and identity as a foundation for sustainable mission.

    We saw the International Confession of Faith translated into many different languages, the most recent being Chichewa in Malawi, and Russian for the Ukraine church. The confession is a major tool for building both identity and community.

    We made fraternal visits to all conferences. These visits also build identity and community.

    Thailand 2017 was the high point for me. A core ministry role for me is to bring the people of God together to discern where he wants to direct us. This was beautifully evident in Thailand. We pushed one another as we thought about mission!

    As a direct result of Thailand 2017, almost 20 emerging networks will officially join ICOMB in the future.

    As I see Rudi Plett’s vision for strengthening each conference toward their capacity for mission, I am very excited about handing the baton to him. I believe Rudi has the gifting to take off with speed and skill.

    —David Wiebe, executive director