Reflecting on the STEP Program “How has STEP impacted your faith and praxis?” That’s the question we asked our STEP year two students as they get ready to enter into their third and final year of the program. Soon, these students will be creating and implementing a missional experiment, where they will put what they’ve learned into practice. The year two cohort (soon to be year three) consists of eight… Read More
Make Room by Mercedes Thomas These were the words shared with me a week and a half ago during a visit with Aled Griffith, Nick Scott, and Shane Good. Aled is the Team Leader for Synergy, a family of churches across the UK, Spain, and the US Midwest. Visiting from the UK, Aled brought along his friends Nick (from New Zealand) and Shane (from Indiana) to Lancaster,… Read More
The Impact of STEP A Conversation with Graduates from Slate Hill By Mercedes Thomas “The STEP Program is best begun without an end in mind.” That’s what Joy Fasick, Associate Pastor of Slate Hill Mennonite Church, shared when asked about the STEP Program. Joy was a graduate of STEP in 2012—Slate Hill’s first graduate—and now serves as an instructor in the program. I had the opportunity to conduct a… Read More
Life as an Urban Missionary by Michael Clancy As I enter my eighth year as an urban missionary, I wholeheartedly dedicate myself to helping men transition from prison and programs back into society. In 2016, I met Shawn Connatser, a man with long hair and a warm smile. He first attended my Bible studies at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility, and soon after, he became part of our congregation through… Read More
What would happen if LMC was no longer here? By Mercedes ThomasCommunications Director That is one of the questions members of LMC’s Financial Stewardship team have been asking ourselves this year. Despite our substantial growth—from 176 congregations in 2018 to 309 at the end of 2024—our congregational giving is slowly decreasing. As a team, we need to ask why. And consider how we can better share the ways our leadership and staff support our… Read More
Movement Update: June 2025 by Rodney Martin Glenn Kauffman and I recently completed a survey asking how many leaders LMC has trained in the past year. After we thought about it for a moment we realized, to our surprise, that the number is higher than we imagined. In our movement development work, Glenn and I are leading—or learning to lead—two different labs by the Movement Leaders Collective. They are… Read More
IMA in Europe: An Answer to Prayer By TOM ESHLEMAN, LMC’S GLOBAL DELEGATE International Missions Association (IMA) members from all over the world gathered in Medan, Indonesia in October 2023 for eight days of prayer, intercession, fasting, worship, and mission collaboration. The 2023 meetings began with the traditional role call of members from Africa, Asia, Central America, and the United States. When they called for Europe, the room fell silent. To the… Read More
Midway Mennonite Church District: Great Lakes East Location: Columbiana, Ohio Average Sunday Attendance: 65 Worship Service: Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Pastor: No local pastor. John Miller, LMC Bishop Founded: 1801Learn More: https://www.midwaymennonite.org/ Midway Mennonite Church traces its origins back to 1801. Mennonites had migrated from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia and settled in the areas now known as Columbiana and Mahoning counties in northeastern Ohio. Jacob Oberholtzer, a bishop… Read More
LMC at Movement Leaders Collective’s Global Gathering in London Bishop Elders Rodney Martin and Keith Blank, and Movement Navigator Glenn Kauffman in London in May 2025 for Movement Leaders Collective’s Global Gathering by Rodney Martin Glenn Kauffman, Keith Blank, and I recently attended the Movement Leaders Collective (MLC) gathering in London. MLC hosts an annual, three-day Global Gathering. Previously held in the US, the gatherings include a variety of collective partners (church groups and… Read More
Chenunda Creek Fellowship District: North PennLocation: 2030 Independence Road, Andover, NY 14806Average Sunday Attendance: 25Worship Service: 9:40 amPastor: Stephen RichardFounded: 1956Learn More: https://chenundacreekfellowship.org/ We are a joyful congregation of believers nestled in a valley in the grand hills of Allegany County, NY. In 1956, Seventh Day Baptists (SDBs) who built the meetinghouse we now use asked Mennonites from Lancaster County, who had settled in the area, to run… Read More