Focus

Did you know that in Southeast Asia alone, there are nearly 674 million people from more than 1,820 different people groups? Of these people, just under 6 percent identify as evangelical Christians. Very simply put, that means that in Southeast Asia alone, there are more than 633 million people who have not experienced the life-transforming power of Jesus. 

Jacob E. Brubaker was a pattern maker who frequently traveled to New York City. During one of his trips, he was intrigued watching the banana boats come in to dock and asked someone for more information about where the boats were coming from. Upon learning that someone could pay a small fee to also ride on the boat back to its home country of Guatemala, Brubaker was very intrigued by the idea of Central America.

As the post-war world was working to reorganize itself, Mennonites found opportunities to share the peace of Jesus through relief work. Many people think of the Second World War as being fought in European and Pacific theaters but forget about the toll that the war took on the African continent. One of these places was Ethiopia, which had been occupied by Italian forces from 1935 to 1941. Mennonites began working in Ethiopia in 1945, and by the end of 1947, EMM had sent its first missionaries there also, Daniel and Blanche Sensenig.

Elam Stauffer was confused by Chief Nyatega’s invitation to start a church in an empty field. He responded, “To whom shall I preach? The trees? The people are down there.” He was right: the people were down there. But what Elam didn’t realize at the time was that even though the people were down there, the people also went up to Katuru Hill.

When Marvin Lorenzana shares with congregations, he often says that Jesus came not to launch just a “church,” but rather a “movement.” This movement, Jesus called the “Kingdom of God” and, as He taught in more than one way, it was meant to grow exponentially as generational disciple making takes place.

EMM worker Lucy returned to the U.S. a few months ago after having served in the Middle East. She is living a very different life than she was three months prior.

Early in January, when Andre and Karen’s first attempt to return to Thailand was thwarted, Andre began to wonder if God would ever allow them to get back into the country. He reflected on the discouragement of Nehemiah in the presence of the king. When the king asked Nehemiah what was bothering him, Nehemiah responded, “The wall in Jerusalem is broken down and I want it repaired.”

EMM worker Jen Hoover serves in disciple-making in Costa Rica with her family. Recently, she asked the question, “Do we need to rent a mixer?" It was a simple question, asked in the presence of three individuals who processed the question very differently.

Jesus calls us to invite the stranger in, to love our neighbor. Come join us on April 28 at 7 p.m. at 450 N Prince St, as we engage with the topic of immigration from a kingdom perspective, featuring Philip Gottschalk, author of the recent book “Entertaining Angels Unaware.” Learn from refugees who were resettled in Lancaster, share your questions and experiences, hear how you can get involved, and enjoy an international snack.

Carol and Alan Wert serve as EMM workers in Wales, which is in the U.K. In March, they had the opportunity to join thirty people from all four nations of the UK gathered to explore the topic of Reimagining Church in a post-Covid setting.