Đất Ẩn Giấu Người Viết Dan Ho Chúa chúng ta đã kể câu chuyện ngụ ngôn về người nông dân rải hạt giống trong Lu-ca 8:4-15 (Ma-thi-ơ 13:1-23; Mác 4:1-20). Chúa Jesus đã dùng ngụ ngôn này trong số những ngụ ngôn khác để dạy các môn đồ của Ngài về Nước Đức Chúa Trời. Chúa Jesus đã kể ngụ ngôn cho một đám đông lớn tụ tập.… Read More
The Hidden Soil By Dan Ho Our Lord told the parable of the farmer scattering seed in Luke 8:4-15 (Matthew 13-1-23; Mark 4:1-20). Jesus used this parable among others to teach His disciples about the Kingdom of God. Jesus told the parable to a large crowd that gathered. In the story, a farmer scattered seed. As he scattered the seed, some fell on the footpath, some among rocks,… Read More
Dwelling in the Word 2019 LMC has chosen a Dwelling in the Word text for 2019. The practice has been to allow the text to form and shape us as individuals and as a conference. Romans 8 in English and Español has been affirmed as the Dwelling in the Word text for this year. Romans 8:38-39 38“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels… Read More
Moderator Travels: Keith Weaver, LMC Moderator, traveled extensively in recent months with several visits to Indiana and Ohio, one to western New York state, and several visits to New York City, one to Philadelphia, and one to Florida. His level of travel has greatly increased in the last two years. As LMC continues to expand, travel is expected to remain high. Technology additions at the LMC office… Read More
LMC Mission: The Conference Executive Council instituted a six-month process to revisit and possibly refresh the statement of LMC mission. The current mission and vision statements are twenty years old. Pastors will respond to a brief questionnaire to gather some current data on how leaders are seeing and understanding the direction of LMC into the future. A small team will then work with that data and bring… Read More
Revisiting The Triquis of Mexico Lester A. Blank traveled to Mexico, October 15-21, 2018 with a small group including his sons, Nelson and Paul. They visited the site of the Blank family ministry in the 1960s. The Triquis are an indigenous group with villages located in the high ranges of the Sierra Madre Mountains in southern Mexico. The ministry, including others besides the Blanks, involved medical aid, teaching the Bible,… Read More
World Fellowship Sunday As a participating group with Mennonite World Conference, LMC congregations have the opportunity to celebrate with congregations around the world. The date for MWC Sunday was set to commemorate the first known Anabaptist re-baptisms in Zurich, Switzerland, January 21, 1525. Commemoration typically takes place on January 20 or 27, the two Sundays closest to January 21 this year. However, LMC staff suggests churches commemorate the… Read More
Village Chapel District: Groffdale Location: Voganville, PA Date of founding: Original building 1848 – this fellowship began 1971 Average Sunday worship attendance: 35-40 Time of Sunday worship service: 9:30 am Leadership:Tom Philpot (associate pastor), Jeff Horst (lead pastor), and Ellwood Martin (Elder) In the past year, Village Chapel, along with the Groffdale district, has supported the construction of a new church building in Catel, Guinea Bissau. One… Read More
A Tale of Two Churches Two rural/suburban congregations experiment with ways they can work together By Robert Brody How does leadership respond when an aging congregation experiences long-term numeric decline? What are the options? Close, merge, and restart are common strategies. Two congregations in close proximity to one another, although in two different districts, tackled this problem last year. One congregation reversed a downward spiral. The other has… Read More
Una historia de dos iglesias By: Robert Brody ¿Cómo responde la dirección cuando una congregación que envejece experimenta un declive cuantitativo a largo plazo? ¿Cuáles son las opciones? Cerrar, fusionar y reiniciar son estrategias comunes. Dos congregaciones muy próximas entre sí, aunque en dos distritos diferentes, abordaron este problema el año pasado. Una congregación invirtió una espiral descendente. La otra no ha podido hacerlo. Esta es su historia en desarrollo e… Read More