Benders Mennonite Church DISTRICT: Weaverland-NE PA LOCATION: 975 Benders Church Road, Pen Argyl, PA 18072 DATE OF FOUNDING: 1955 AVERAGE SUNDAY WORSHIP ATTENDANCE: 48 SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE: Sunday School – 9:00 a.m.; Worship Service – 10:10 a.m. PASTOR: Brent Stoy In early 1952, three men from the Goodville and Lichtys congregations in eastern Lancaster County and one from the Mission Board felt a call from God to start… Read More
Joy Unspeakable Outreach, Revival, and Racial Integration in Steelton, Pa. By Richard Cline My name is Richard Cline. At almost 99, I may be the last living person who served at the beginning of Sharon Mennonite Church in Steelton. Myers Street, a mission church for white people, began in Steelton in 1935. Concerned also for black children, the mission decided to follow Bible school with a separate… Read More
New Bishops James Sutton began as bishop in the new Eastern Ohio District, which has five congregations. James Sutton’s vision is to encourage pastors and congregations to continue and advance the work of Christ, the work of disciple making and kingdom building through personal prayer and evangelism, public proclamation and invitation, and engagement with our communities through “good Samaritan” works of love and compassion. He lives in… Read More
Mark Wenger Departs Leadership of STEP Dr. Mark Wenger ended his leadership of the STEP (Study and Training for Effective Pastoral ministry) program on June 28 after 13 years of dedicated service. He provided the formative leadership of this new program in its early years, which placed it on a firm financial footing. As STEP gained momentum, Wenger provided mature guidance that included a complete curriculum refresh two years ago and… Read More
STEP Graduation On May 13, 13 students graduated from STEP, the three-year leadership-training program. Each student received a Certificate in Pastoral Ministry from Eastern Mennonite University. This graduating class brings the total number of STEP graduates to 105. The graduates were Maurice Baruti, Lanny Dinh, Richard Dinh, Matthew Eberly, Rodney Horst, Charles Lauver, Jaye Lindo, Anthony Martin, Matthew Martin, Jeff McLain, Jill Miller, Tibebu Shanka, and June… Read More
Millport Mennonite Church DISTRICT: Lititz LOCATION: 820 Log Cabin Road, Leola, PA 17540 DATE OF FOUNDING: 1956 AVERAGE SUNDAY WORSHIP ATTENDANCE: 150 SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE: Sunday School – 9:00 a.m.; Worship Service – 10:00 a.m. PASTOR: Kerry Martin While God works through a corporate congregation in various ways, he also works through individual relationships. At Millport, the congregation takes the missional calling very seriously. Many… Read More
Evangelical Garifuna Church DISTRICT: New York City LOCATION: 344 Brook Ave, Bronx, New York 10454 DATE OF FOUNDING: 1987 AVERAGE SUNDAY WORSHIP ATTENDANCE: 100 SERVICE TIMES: Sundays, 2:45 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:00 p.m. PASTORS: Celso and Zulma Jaime God gave EMM the vision to establish a Garifuna church in the Bronx in 1986. Pastors Migdolio Miranda and Matias Arana in Santa Fe, Honduras… Read More
Multiplying Pains Compiled By Brinton Rutherford Living things move through various life stages. A congregation, a living thing of sorts, also moves through stages. Any congregational change can produce growing pains. Multiplying a new faith community from an established church is one of those pain-generating experiences. Since a new faith community requires leaders, the sending church always sends away some of its leaders. Josef Berthold, pastor at… Read More
Expectant Hope Trusting God through all of life’s seasons By Marcia Mylin In recent years, Lancaster Mennonite Conference (LMC) has been experiencing growing pains. The process has been painful and costly in unexpected ways. Such remodeling is usually messy and can be stressful, especially when the finished product is not clearly seen. In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis describes it well: Imagine yourself as a living… Read More
A Brief Summary of the State of the Conference Address By L. Keith Weaver In this season of Lent, we posture ourselves in prayerful repentance, remind ourselves of the passion of our Lord and seek to say “no” to ourselves in order to say a greater “yes” to Jesus. Whatever the state of the conference, we maintain a humble dependence on the grace and mercy of God. It is only in Jesus that the new… Read More