Worshipping Together at Fall Leadership Assembly 2025 By Ryan Horst I was very excited—and more than a bit intimidated—by the opportunity to be a part of the planning and execution of the worship time for the Fall Leadership Assembly 2025, held at my home church, Weaverland Anabaptist Faith Community. The vision put forward to not only blend two worship teams (Weaverland and Ministerios Peniel Internacional), but also to sing songs in both… Read More
Dismissal to Delight By Susan Simkins As the daughter of an alcoholic father who was mentally ill, I felt like an inconvenience. When my dad often offered no word or glance to acknowledge my entry into the room, I came to believe my absence was preferable to my presence. Without realizing it, I projected my dad’s behavior onto my heavenly Father. I approached God cautiously, bracing for indifference… Read More
Celebrating 500 Years of Anabaptism While the theme of this issue—liminality and communitas—may seem like a strange, modern-day idea, it is actually a defining characteristic of the early Anabaptist movement (even though they didn’t use the same words to define it). A movement or a people that embodies liminality and communitas is one that embraces risk as a community together, dedicated to pursuing the Gospel mission. We see this unity… Read More
A Message from the Shalom New Editors We would like to express our gratitude to Sandra Granthon Roman for her unwavering dedication in serving as the Contributing Editor of Shalom News for the past few years. Her boundless creativity, commitment to LMC, and deep appreciation for God’s beauty have been a great source of inspiration in this role. We wish her and her husband, Alexis, all the best as they continue to… Read More
Celebrating the Lord’s Supper in LMC’s Fellowship of Churches By Al Stoltzfus “This is my body,” Jesus said to his disciples on the day of the festival of unleavened bread when the Passover lamb was sacrificed. Jesus was about to give himself to be the sacrificial lamb. Mathew, Mark and Luke all contain a Last Supper narrative (Mt 26:17-30; Mk 14:12-26; Lk 22:7-23) in which Jesus, in the context of the Passover meal, took… Read More
New Ways of Worship – Giving By Bishop Tuyen Nguyen & Paul Pearce, LMC Development Team Every Sunday, or at least most Sundays, we take an offering (give money) as part of the Worship service. It may go towards missions, benevolence or just paying the bills. “The offering is an act of worship, an instance in which we are invited to give up something that we value – our money –… Read More
Why Give to LMC “The generous man [is a source of blessing and] shall be prosperous and enriched, And he who waters will himself be watered [reaping the generosity he has sown].” Proverbs 11:25 (AMP) When the LMC Financial Stewardship Team (Louis Kabamba, Tuyen Nguyen, Paola Sanchez, Mindi Hoover, and Paul Pearce) spend time together, we meditate on the Word of God, listen to the Holy Spirit, share what… Read More
A Word From The Chairman of the STEP Oversight Comission Hello, my name is Tom Eshleman. I’ve been a STEP instructor for eight years and have recently begun chairing the STEP Oversight Commission (SOC). The primary purpose of SOC is to give vision and oversight to the STEP program. I’ve witnessed STEP students profoundly impacted by the relationships they form with their fellow students who are also responding to God’s call to ministry. The STEP… Read More
A Word of Thanks Thank you, gracias, merci, danke … to our LMC congregations for noticing, affirming, sending, and supporting students who are sensing a call from God! I encourage you to continue to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit at work in the hearts and lives of those around you. Let’s continue to call out and fan into flame the gift of God present in each congregation member.… Read More
Shalom News special edition LMC gathered at Petra Church on March 31 and April 1, 2023, for the Spring Leadership Assembly and Celebration of Church Life. The missional conference included worship, equipping, and fellowship focusing on becoming “A Holy Spirit-led movement to make disciples of Jesus.” The plenary sessions celebrated LMC’s mission to make disciples of Jesus. They were inspired and framed by the paintings titled: The Invitation, Just… Read More
