Focus

Nelson Kisare, the leader of the Tanzanian Mennonite Church was asked, “What is the most pressing need of your church?” He answered, “First, theological training; second, theological training; third, theological training.” In response to this, William Higgins finds it a privilege to work with our global partner churches in Vietnam, Kenya, Tanzania, Guinea-Bissau, and other places.

In early 2022, Leon and Naomi showed the course to a dozen couples in south-central Kenya. One of those couples was Stanley and Anne, who pastor a church in the area. They felt that the course strengthened their marriage and gave them the ability to have conversations about areas of their marriage that they stayed away from before.

The Vietnam Mennonite Church consists of over 100 places of worship. The needs for training pastors and workers are great. They have organized a 4-year Bachelor of Theology program (with 20 students in the current cohort), as well as a ministry training certificate program (with 40 students in the current group).  Their request for training from EMM workers is for courses in theology, biblical interpretation, and ministry from an Anabaptist perspective.

The Kairos course is an exciting nine lesson interactive study of the purpose and plan of God from Genesis to the end of the age. Focusing on the biblical, historical, strategic, and cultural dimensions of missions, this course seeks to align every believer's worldview with God's heart for the nations and mobilize the whole Church for His global mission. The next course starts on Saturday, October 19, but the deadline to register for thi next course is on Wednesday, October 16. You can learn more and register now online at emm.org/kairos.

Unexpected Peace is a new documentary film that follows social anthropologist and EMM worker Jonathan Bornman as he explores three stories: the Amish school shooting in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania; the murders of Murid migrants from Senegal in Harlem, New York; and Muslim-Christian conflict in Solo, Indonesia. You are invited to the premiere of Unexpected Peace, which will be during the Red Rose Film Festival. The screening will be on Saturday, November 9 at 12:30 p.m. at Penn Cinema in Lititz, Pennsylvania. If you would like to see the full trailer, learn more, and get tickets, go to unexpectedpeace.com.

Kingdom Teams (K-Teams) are short, summer experiences that provide opportunities for youth to engage with discipleship training and cross-cultural service, in the U.S. or (new this year) in the Czech Republic. Check out these few stories of how God was at work through K-Teams this summer.

The Thornes have been experiencing a shift in mindset about money. Frequently, they receive financial requests. From an American perspective, financial requests oftentimes are viewed with some level of suspicion and at times perceived as one not able to be financially “independent.” As they have experienced these requests, the Lord spoke to Nate and said, “Instead of becoming annoyed by the constant requests, see it as a window into the financial hardship that a lot of people are experiencing here.”

EMM’s strategic focus is to identify, equip, and send missional leaders to serve on multi-generational and multi-ethnic teams who invite people to follow Jesus as maturing, multiplying disciples and nurture transforming communities of worship. We primarily focus on least-reached people groups of Central Asia, Central Europe, Southeast Asia, and West Africa, and refugees in Lancaster, Pa.

EMM is passionate about equipping Christians around the world with discipleship, leadership, and cross-cultural training from an Anabaptist perspective. We’re inviting you to a special EMM vision and fundraising banquet to learn more about how God is at work through the ministries of training. We hope you can join us for this year's banquet. The theme is, "A Crown That Lasts Forever." Like last year, we're offering three different banquets! You can learn more and register for the banquet online at emm.org/banquet.

We have another way that you can connect with EMM this fall. If you or someone you know is a business leader, you might want to know about our Business Leaders’ Breakfast on September 24 at 7 a.m. Learn more and register for this event at emm.org/breakfast.

There’s a reason EMM worker Christy Harrison does not work in mission recruitment. If she worked as a recruiter, she would tell potential candidates way too much. If you were interested in working internationally, Christy would tell you that this work is hard and slow. That learning to speak coherently in a new language takes way longer than you ever thought it would.