Board Reports: Mennonite Brethren Missions/Services: The Year of Global Mission

The MB Missions/Services report was a fast-paced, multifaceted, two-hour report frequently punctuated by applause and several spontaneous standing ovations. It was an opportunity to celebrate what North American Mennonite Brethren have done right. The only reason that this convention could even talk about "internationalization" is that MBM/S missionaries started the process that allowed the Mennonite Brethren Church to grow to 229,000 members in 17 national conferences.

The news was not all good, but MBM/S chose to see challenges as opportunities, meeting them with flexibility and creativity. For instance, giving is flat, and the number of full-time missionaries has dropped from 129 in 1990 to 52 today. However, by using other types of missionaries (short-term missionaries, mission associates and global volunteers) and by funding national workers, MBM/S actually supports a record missionary force of 1167. Similarly, when churches began bypassing the MBM/S program to do their own mission projects, MBM/S decided to switch gears and help churches with the projects the churches want to do.

Multitudinous worship

The report started with a parade of flags, accompanied by fast-paced music. This introduced the theme of the report: a vision of a multitude from every people group worshipping God (from Revelation 7).

Next came two segments on Youth Mission International: a short video containing enthusiastic snippets from various YMIers, and "The Top 10 reasons why not to go on YMI" (See Top Ten.) MBM/S is one of three agencies which sponsor YMI.

A new strategy for the 21st Century

The central reports on various aspects of MBM/S's work were illustrated with well-designed graphics running simultaneously on an overhead, and were followed by opportunities for floor discussion.

In the first of these reports, General Director Harold Ens outlined how MBM/S is shifting priorities to follow an overall mission strategy:
* a shift of some resources from Latin America to Asia;
* a focus on unreached people groups, particularly in the "10-40 window";
* an increased focus on reaching urban peoples;
* new efforts in the former Soviet Union in partnership with national churches;
* an ongoing shift from direct church planting to training national workers.

This new strategy was summed up in a Mission Statement: "The mission of MBM/S is to participate in making disciples of all people groups, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ cross-culturally and globally, in Spirit-empowered obedience to Christ's Commission and in partnership with local Mennonite Brethren churches."

This strategy was quickly endorsed by the delegation when it was presented as a recommendation.

CORE and COREPLUS

Board chair Neil Fast then described how MBM/S is shifting its approach in order to respond to the desire of North American churches to have more direct input into missions. MBM/S's regular program, planned and directed by MBM/S, is now called CORE; 15% of this program is now funded by individual MB congregations supporting particular parts of the MBM/S program under the "Adoption Options" provision.

COREPLUS is a new umbrella for overseas mission projects started and funded entirely by individual MB congregations in North America, which MBM/S is offering to assist with its expertise.

Fast noted that while contributions to the CORE program are slowly declining, COREPLUS is growing dramatically.

By cutting CORE program and administrative costs, MBM/S finished the previous biennium with a small surplus. It still hopes to increase CORE giving, so it can restore its two-month operating reserve, improve service to its constituency and field staff and increase the full-time missionary force to 75 or 80. To do this, MBM/S is requesting annual contributions of $100 per member from US churches and $125 per member from Canadian churches.

Fast also announced that, in response to repeated requests from churches, MBM/S is increasing from 13% to 20% the amount of its budget it is spending on "constituency ministries". This means that missionaries will spend twice as long on "Ministry in North America" (with most of the focus on speaking in churches rather than rest for the missionaries). MBM/S has also created "regional mission advocates" -- volunteers who will have major contact with every church in their area at least four times a year (contacting the pastor twice and the missions committee once and providing a missions speaker once).

In the discussion that followed, delegates praised many aspects of MBM/S's new approaches.

The many faces of MBM/S

Rapid fire interviews of mission workers displayed the many faces of the new MBM/S:
* Trevor Godard, missionary to Colombia
* Jerrold and Jean Paetkau, missionaries to Lithuania
* Laurence and Leona Hiebert, missionaries to Japan
* Randy Klassen, director of Youth Mission International
* Doug Hiebert, a veteran YMIer
* Werner and Elsie Ann Kroeker, MBM/S representatives in India
* Nick Dyck, who has gone on evangelistic trips with Church Partnership Evangelism, an initiative started in a local church that has now come under the wing of MBM/S
* David Dyck, a pastor whose congregation increased its interest and support for missions after it was linked with the Khmu outreach in Thailand through "Adoption Options"
* Harry Strauss, a pastor who ministered to missionaries in three areas through the Pastor Overseas Program
* Ed Boldt, a regional missions advocate
* Nicolai Dueckman, who leads a 53-church conference in Omsk, Siberia, which is a partner of MBM/S. Dueckman received a standing ovation after describing his years in prison for preaching the gospel, as well as his conference's current evangelistic efforts. The Executive Council used this occasion to pass a recommendation protesting proposed restrictions on religious freedom in Russia (see sidebar, and story in news section).
* Harry Janzen, executive secretary of the newly combined German-Portuguese MB conference in Brazil
* Miguel Forero, president of the Colombia MB Conference, who will become MBM/S Secretary for Latin America in January, 1999. This is another step in MBM/S's "internationalization", as a majority of MBM/S's regional secretaries are now from the regions rather than North America.

* Jeanine Janzen, the only North American member of the Esengo choir from the Congo, which had delighted audiences totalling 35,000 on its tour of North America and raised offerings of $125,000. Janzen introduced an offering, Esengo-style, with Esengo singing via video while delegates danced to the front of the sanctuary to give themselves and their offerings.

Seven missionary couples who retired in the past biennium after a combined 412 years of service were honoured with long rounds of applause and a final standing ovation. Four of the couples were not present because they have returned to mission assignments as retiree volunteers. Eighteen new full-time missionaries were introduced via video. (The retirees were listed in the Board reports issue of the MB Herald and The Christian Leader last spring. The new missionaries will be described in a news story in an upcoming issue.)

Everyone who had worked for MBM/S in some capacity (about a quarter of the congregation) was called to the front, and all who had supported MBM/S (the rest of the congregation) were asked to stand as a musical video expressed "Thank you for giving to the Lord" on behalf of those who had been reached with the gospel.

JC

Resolution Concerning Religious Freedom in Russia

Be it resolved that the 416 delegates assembled in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada for the 61st convention of the General Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches in Canada and the United States solemnly request on this 12th day of July 1997, that political leaders in Canada and the United States utilize their personal and diplomatic influence to prevent a dramatic loss of religious freedom in Russia.

In particular, we strongly urge our political leaders to convey to President Yeltsin and other Russian authorities, representatives and ambassadors the view that the proposal which would deny legal status to all religious organizations with less than 15 years of registered status, should not be enacted into legislation.

We strongly urge our political leaders to commend President Yeltsin and the Russian government for the great progress which has been made in providing religious freedom and other basic democratic rights but also to urge President Yeltsin and the Russian government not to adopt fundamentally anti-democratic measures which violate Russia's constitutional guarantees, which contradict Russia's international treaty obligations, and which reverse Russia's impressive progress in establishing democracy, a climate of freedom, and respect for human dignity.

This resolution shall be forwarded to:
Prime Minister Jean Chretien;
Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy;
Leader of the Opposition, Preston Manning;
other Members of Parliament;
President Bill Clinton;
Secretary of State Madeline Albright;
Majority Leader Newt Gingrich;
Senator Trent Lott;
other Senators and Congressmen;
Representatives of the Media; Ambassadors from Russia.
This resolution was adopted unanimously by the delegates on July 12, 1997.

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