Focus

John and Debbie Coats organized two workshops on training Cambodian Christian leaders on how to deal with spiritual bondages, including unrepentance and past ties to cults. Debbie wrote the materials, organized the workshops, and worked together with several Cambodian leaders who conducted the teaching.

Over the past few months, the Werts have picked up snippets of positive faith stories in the UK and abroad. So it has been an absolute joy for them to read The Bible Society of England and Wales’ recent report, “The Quiet Revival”. And what good news it is!

In 2016, a friend of EMM worker Bethany Tobin, named Songkran got a vision to move to the Nam Yuen district of Thailand and begin sharing the gospel. With the vision for multiplication he received through the leadership coaching with the Life Enrichment Church, he believed his witness would not just bring one person to faith or start one church, but catalyze a multiplication of house-churches. Audacious for a twenty-something, self-supported lay leader with a sixth-grade education? Not when you know the viral potential of Jesus’s Kingdom.

In Dangriga, Belize, Tim Groff and his team remain committed to their mission: to identify, disciple, and release. What does that mean? They spend time with many young adults, helping to identify potential leaders. They participate in and invest in a variety of discipleship opportunities for both young and older individuals. Actively seeking avenues for emerging leaders, they aim to have them ‘released’ or ‘sent’ to participate in ministry opportunities.

Last fall, Elizabeth took a course from Identity Exchange, the ministry of Jamie Winship, known for his incredible testimonies of God at work in his own life. After that, Elizabeth put together a workshop to lead people in Jamie’s basic "identity exchange" process with Jesus. In her own life, Elizabeth has found it helpful to do this exercise with Jesus again and again whenever she finds herself feeling and thinking negative and untrue things about herself in any situation that arises.

As Michael Clancy enters his eighth year as an urban missionary, he wholeheartedly dedicates himself to helping men transition from prison and programs back into society. Back in 2016, he met Shawn, a man with long hair and a warm smile. Shawn first attended Michael's Bible studies at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility, and soon after, he became part of their congregation through the Life Change program at Jubilee Ministries. Their relationship grew as Michael began to walk alongside him in discipleship, which continues today.

In his few years of ministry, Austin Zuercher has repeatedly seen this happen: he makes what he thinks is a well-thought-out plan, and in the end, it changes. He can choose to follow the vision God has given him and move forward, or step back due to obstacles. Every single time, Austin has observed that despite challenges, when the team steps forward in faith, God makes things more beautiful than they could imagine.

The Anabaptist movement celebrates its 500th anniversary this year. In these five centuries, Anabaptist churches have been multiplied around the world, making it a truly global movement. In fact, current statistics from Mennonite World Conference show that there are 2.1 million baptized Anabaptist church members around the world. Of that 2.1 million, only 28 percent of members are from the U.S. or Canada, and only 3 percent of members are from Europe. Perhaps you have heard these numbers before, or something similar. So, how did we get to this place today?

Jeremy and Jennifer* are EMM regional representatives for Southeast Asia. Their theme for this year has been ‘brokering relationships’. This is a new term Jeremy learned during a 20-hour road trip with an amazing group of people in the highlands of Vietnam. Jeremy and Jennifer have always seen relationships as the means and the ends of what they do in cross-cultural work. But as they understand their role better and deepen their connections around the world and locally, the need to broker, steward, and connect those relationships effectively is becoming their most important task.

Lena Kauffman served as a participant in the 2023–24 Advance cohort. She is currently serving as an Advance staff intern for the 2024–25 Advance team. So what inspired Lena to stay on as Advance staff? As Lena approached the end of her outreach, she found herself contemplating two options: returning to serve or going to college. She struggled to decide until she realized she could pursue both simultaneously.