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Committed to serving people
How do you stay in relationship in a diverse global communion comprised of 110 national member churches scattered across 61 countries, with vastly different economic circumstances and political and cultural contexts, speaking more than 30 different languages? “Mennonite World Conference is an organic community and not a bureaucratic institution. As a global church, we are…
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Mentoring the next wave of global church leaders
From YABs to General Council: A path laid through mentorship “The strength of the young and the wisdom of the old, the Lord wants both,” said Timo Doetsch from Arbeitsgemeinschaft Mennonitischer Brüdergemeinden in Deutschland (AMBD) in Germany. He took to heart what church planter Lawrence Warkentin said to him many years ago – and so…
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No one was left behind
The General Council is the decision-making body of Mennonite World Conference. Using consensus decision making, they discern strategy, policy and statements that guide the global Anabaptist family. Out of 106 General Council delegates who were present at the triennial meetings in Germany in 2025, more than 60 were representing their church for the first time. (As…
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Assembly 18 theme revealed: Christ unites us
“If you come to the next Assembly, you can also have a shirt like mine!” said Kelbessa Demana, General Council delegate for Meserete Kristos Church (MKC). Dressed in a traditional, crisp white shirt with intricate embroidery, he was part of a delegation that invited the General Council to the upcoming Assembly 18 in Ethiopia. Held…
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Terms renewed and specialists appointed
As Mennonite World Conference’s Executive Committee and General Council delegates gather for worship, fellowship and discernment, there are farewells and hellos. Members of the Executive Committee and the Commission serve six-year terms. The terms are staggered to ensure continuity. Executive Committee The Executive Committee is elected from the General Council (GC) and meets annually. Two…
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From celebration to commemoration
Mennonite World Conference (MWC) concludes its triennial General Council (GC) meeting 26-28 May 2025 in Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany, with a clear framework for the future.
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Bigger responsibilities in the global church
At the meetings in May 2025, General Council members will vote on a proposal for every Mennonite World Conference full member to have one Young AnaBaptist (YAB) delegate in the General Council starting 2028.
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Powering the spinning wheel
Join in prayer for the global family “Prayer has been our spinning wheel. Thanks to the global church for the resilience in your prayers. It is encouraging to know that someone somewhere in the globe is reporting your issues to God,” says Okoth Simon Onyango, Mennonite Church Uganda, bishop. The members of Mennonite World Conference…
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General Council leaves a mark
At a prayer meeting, a Mennonite World Conference staff member prayed that the presence of Anabaptists gathered in Germany for General Council meetings would leave a mark. Although the prayer was to leave behind the fragrance of Christ, there will also be a living memento of Mennonite World Conference’s visit. The Executive Committee, Commissions, Creation…
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Anniversaries, fellowship and consensus
Around the world, Anabaptists are marking 500 years of our Jesus-following movement with worship services, historical lectures and regional gatherings. For Mennonite World Conference (MWC), the anniversary year coincides with the triennial meeting of the General Council. Additionally, 2025 is a double anniversary: it also marks 100 years of MWC drawing together Anabaptists into one…
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General Council learns about unity
“The unity on the conference was more important than each position,” says Paul Duck, church leader in MWC member church Convenção das Igrejas Irmãos Menonitas (COBIM) in Brazil. “We agreed to create a path or a highway, not too narrow but also not too wide where both groups could live peacefully.” During online General Council…
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YABs in MWC’s General Council
Decision making in a large group can feel like a game of misunderstood messages, says Matthias Claassen, General Council delegate for Konferenz der Mennonitengemeinden in Uruguay. It’s important to have leaders in the room representing a variety of ages and experience in addition to the various national churches that make up MWC. Claassen was one…
