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News archive
Contact: Laurie L. Oswald (316) 283-5100, E-mail: LaurieO@MennoniteUSA.org
A new family at Bally (Pa.)
Mennonite congregation is fruit of missional outreach
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| From left, Sallie Reppert and her
parents, Dave and Bonnie Reppert, enjoy fellowship with
Ken and Ann Ehst, all members of Bally (Pa.) Mennonite
Church. |
by Laurie L. Oswald
This is
the first story in a series depicting Franconia Mennonite
Conference, one of 21 area conferences in Mennonite Church
USA.
BALLY, Pa. (MC USA) -- When Bally Mennonite Church describes
how it's being missional, it only has to tell the story of
families like the Repperts.
In 1997, Sallie Reppert, a high school senior, came to Bally's
youth group for the first time and later became the congregation's
children and youth ministry coordinator. She brought her mother,
Bonnie Reppert, to visit the church, and her mother became
a member. Her father, Dave Reppert, became a Christian at
Bally in 1999, and is a men's Bible study leader and chair
of Bally's mission and evangelism commission.
They came and stayed because they found a caring church family
that not only talks about Jesus but also strives to be his
disciples who love and serve others, they said. And now the
Repperts are helping to welcome an influx of newcomers at
Bally -- a predominantly ethnic Mennonite congregation since
it began in the 1720s. As one of the oldest congregations
in Franconia Mennonite Conference, it's reaching beyond its
historical boundaries to widen its circle within the community.
"I found so much caring and warmth with the people
at Bally, so much integrity and honesty," said Bonnie
Reppert, who helps with Bally's hospitality ministry. "It
was so much different here than at my former church. It had
a lot of Sunday churchgoers, but then people didn't connect
during the week.
"But at Bally where people
are connected because of an emphasis on building community,
I have grown so much spiritually and have changed a lot of
my thinking. I'm much happier where I can have good friends,
a good support group."
After attending Bally for some time, Bonnie Reppert took her
husband, Dave Reppert, who had not been in church -- except
for Christmas and Easter -- since he was 17 years old.
"The first time I went to a Bally prayer retreat
with my wife, these Mennonite people were so friendly that
it was almost scary," Dave Reppert said. "I had
been trying to avoid God and church, but these people made
it really hard to do that. But then I gave my heart to the
Lord during the retreat, and so many things have changed.
"I even let go of a job I had for years because
I had to work some Sundays, and I felt that was not right.
So, I took half the pay to move from being a salesman to being
a plumber. But God is faithful and has taken care of my family
even with all this change."
Dave and Bonnie Reppert are not the only ones going through
changes. Bally is changing, too. Expanding its small fellowship
hall into a larger and more functional space, engaging in
new outreach ministries and altering its Sunday school hour
to be more welcoming to newcomers has brought new growth,
said Ken and Anne Ehst, longtime members at Bally. They are
also good friends with the Repperts. Ken Ehst is an elder
and was Dave Reppert's mentor in those early days.
Relatedness at Bally stems from the fact that everyone are
God's children, rather than by sharing a last name such as
Miller or Yoder, the Ehsts said. The congregation stretches
new people in their faith, but the new people's faith also
stretches the congregation.
"As Dave and Bonnie
say how much Bally has helped them grow, I know that they
have caused us to grow just as much," Anne Ehst said.
"We have all been so safe among our own kind, that we
often didn't outright express much about our faith, and having
new people here brings a fresh perspective.
"I
grew up in a Mennonite pastor's family, and we just assumed
that faith was there. But hearing about Dave's journey, observing
the changes in his life and seeing how real his faith is to
him has made me more excited for what I have. My own faith
has become so much more real to me."
The fruit of these changes has ripened in the last couple
of years, but the seeds of this new growth were planted years
ago, said Jim Ralph, Bally pastor. For the last couple of
decades - including the 17-year pastoral leadership of Roy
Yoder and the year and a half interim leadership of Bob Petersheim
- the congregation has grappled with its need to reach past
its historical roots and graft in new branches.
"When Roy was here, he did some of the heavy digging
up of the soil, and I give him all the credit for the love
and patience it took to get the ground ready for what God
wanted to do here," Ralph said.
To show how much significant work was -- in the three years
from when Yoder left and Ralph came on -- the church added
three times the square footage to its building and paid for
two-thirds of it before the mortgage was put in place, Ralph
said.
The expanded fellowship hall -- also used as banquet hall
for special events -- has brought in many newcomers, Ralph
said. The membership of the congregation has remained at about
130. But events such as a Valentine's banquet held for the
community brings in new guests, who later come on Sunday mornings.
"The first half of my Tuesday mornings are
spent writing letters to visitors and guests," Ralph
said. "Since July [2002], the master list of guests includes
about six sheets with about 200 names. Most of those people
who come as guests are brought by other guests."
Some of those guests came as a result of Bally reaching into
the community and inviting unchurched neighbors to such ministries
as Vacation Bible School, he said. Three teams canvassed the
community by going door-to-door with bags of cookies to invite
children to VBS, who also draw their parents into the church,
he said. The team members prayed for people at their doorsteps,
if they expressed needs.
The congregation also asked, "What would Sunday morning
look like if our guests became our focus?" In answer
to that question, Bally changed aspects of the morning: adding
more greeters to guide people to classes or the sanctuary;
forming classes for seekers and newcomers; and adding a play
table for children who may feel uncomfortable going to a new
Sunday school class.
Just as important as changes in activities are changes in
attitudes, Ralph said.
"In the post-modern
mindset, one belongs before they believe," he said. "That
means that a woman may help in the kitchen before she talks
about her relationship to God, or that her agnostic husband
may help with boys' club before he starts believing in God.
"That's so different from the old idea of keeping
people at arms' length until they make some kind of decision.
If we continue our willingness to accept and embrace and invest
in people regardless of whether they make a decision or not,
we'll find the conversion rate and requests for baptisms will
rise. And it will happen because the Holy Spirit did the work."
Photos available.
Laurie L. Oswald is news service director for Mennonite Church
USA.
Pennsylvania youth head for
unknown destination on mission road trip
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| The Zion Mennonite Church youth
group in Birdsboro, Pa., prepares to leave for their
mission road trip on July 25, 2002. |
by Laurie L. Oswald
This story is the first in a series
depicting Atlantic Coast Conference, one of 21 area conferences
in Mennonite Church USA.
BIRDSBORO, Pa. (MC USA) -- Imagine asking your parents if
you can go on a missions trip with your youth group and then
saying, "By the way, Mom and Dad, we don't know where
we're going until we get there."
And then see puzzlement cloud their faces. That's what Alex
Pabellon saw when he told his dad that his youth group from
Zion Mennonite Church in Birdsboro were traveling west to
an unknown destination in three recreational vehicles in late
July 2002.
Pabellon tried to explain. On their trip, "Live2Worship,"
they would interview hundreds of people on videotape by asking
the question, "What do you live for?" At the end
of the trip, they would compile the interviews and produce
a video to give away free. To do this, 13 teenagers and six
youth leaders would pray and worship their way across several
states, asking God each day where they should go next. They
would stop at state-park campgrounds to sleep at night, worship
and pray with strangers in cities, do drama on the streets,
minister to the lonely and hand out tracts.
His dad was not impressed. "I'm 21 years old, but my
dad was still very concerned," said Pabellon, one of
six youth group leaders who took the trip. "His first
question was, 'How can anyone take a trip and not know where
they are going?'"
Despite the concern of Pabellon's father and other parents,
some members of the youth group convinced adults of their
vision -- a vision they felt the Holy Spirit inspired. It
led them on a 10-day trip that began July 25 and took them
as far as Chicago. By the time they got back home Aug. 5,
they had also been to Cincinnati and many smaller communities
and campgrounds. They logged about 1,600 miles across Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois and back again.
"Our
youth committee had times of prayer and fasting to see what
God had in store for us for our missions trip because we felt
that it was time to do something different, " said Lyn
Laudenslager, a youth group leader who is a student at Rosedale
Bible Institute. She conducted interviews each day during
the trip, for a total of about 200.
Kristi Walls, a teen youth group member, said, "Jeff
Stoltzfus, our youth minister at Zion, encouraged us to think
outside the box, and we came up with this road trip idea.
We definitely felt it was from the Lord and that it was really
cool."
They broke out of the box of traditional mission ideas --
painting at camps, working with kids, going to a convention.
And the world outside the box was eye-opening, they said.
People find many reasons to live that aren't tied to religion
or God. Some common answers included family, friends and lovers.
Some people cited money and pleasure. Others didn't know.
"Many people seemed to be searching deeply and looking
for something to satisfy their hearts," Walls said. "They
often said, 'I don't know what I'm looking for, but I will
find it someday.'"
Daniel Minotto, a teen youth group member, said, "I edited
a lot of the interviews, and many people said women, boyfriends
and money are what made them happiest. I saw that the world
tries so hard to find joy in sex and money and pleasure.
"But I realize that one can't really find true joy
outside of God. And the people who seemed most content were
those who were living for God."
The most touching interview for Minotto was with a homeless
man in downtown Chicago. "The man said he had been homeless
for 15 years but that he lives for Jesus," he said. "He
said he doesn't want to be on the streets, but he also realizes
that it isn't money that would really make him happy. Still,
he seemed to be striving for something."
Pabellon said many answers were tinged with the seriousness
of 9/11's aftermath, while others showed that America is shallow
and materialistic.
"At best, this country seems
to have some well-meaning humanitarianism, especially after
9/11," he said. "At its worst, this nation seemed
spiritually poor and empty. ... In either case, God is the
great equalizer. What struck me most was the contrast between
people who have hope and those who don't."
The youth hoped to spread the hope of Jesus Christ wherever
they went, as they strove to live out the theme of their trip,
Laudenslager said. "Our goal was to spend lots of time
worshiping and praying, and going wherever we felt Jesus wanted
us to minister to people," she said. "We called
it Live2Worship because we wanted worship to be the key --
and 'live' because we wanted to live life together in that
mode."
As they lived to worship, they also prayed for God's guidance
each day as to where to go next. They asked God if they should
go east, west, north or south, Laudenslager said. Often God
led by giving several people the same impression. Sometimes,
practical realities dictated, such as how many miles they
felt they could travel the next day.
They also maintained a web site -- www.live2worship.org --
with remote internet connections during their trip. Many people
were curious and wanted to learn more. One RV had the web
site painted in bright colors on its side, bringing attention
everywhere they went. The youth are putting new updates on
this currently operating site.
As the youth spread the kindness of God everywhere they went,
they also experienced the kindness of strangers -- like the
time they went to a Sunday morning service in Bellefontaine,
Ohio, their trip's last stop.
"When we pulled
into Bellefontaine really late on Saturday night, we ended
up going to a small Baptist church the next morning,"
Minotto said. "One woman said that it was such a blessing
to see young people living for God that she wanted to take
us all out to eat at Arby's. She said it was the best money
she ever spent in her life."
Many of the road trip participants said this was the best
road trip they'd ever taken in their lives - especially since
it's a journey that never has to end.
"What
I loved most about the road trip is that the trip isn't over,"
Walls said. "It was cool to realize that when we came
home, things didn't have to be different. We could still walk
across the street to the Mobil service station and share God's
love with people.
"In fact, we can even do that
better in our hometown because we actually have the time to
establish relationships. We couldn't establish relationships
on the road, because we always had to move on." Photos
available.
Laurie L. Oswald is news service director for Mennonite Church
USA.
Conference executive uses gifts to help Mennonite Church
USA develop capacities
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| Phil Bergey interacts with participants
at a Leadership Consutlation in Kansas City, Mo., in
April 2002. |
by Laurie L. Oswald
SOUDERTON, Pa. (MC USA) -- If it's true that behind every
passionate person there is someone or something that feeds
his vision, then Phil Bergey is a prime example.
In following Bergey's date book for a week, one may ask where
he gets the stamina to do three jobs: serving as staff associate
for the executive director's office of Mennonite Church USA's
Executive Board; as executive for Franconia Mennonite Conference;
and as executive director of MRN Ministry Resources, which
provides consulting and training resources to help ministries
fulfill Jesus' Great Commission.
Bergey doesn't answer that question by citing creative drive
or good business. Instead, he credits inspiring role models
who instilled in him a love for Christ and the church and
an ability to integrate the use of his gifts for the furthering
of God's kingdom.
"I feel blessed to have had
strong leadership figures who passed on the torch of faith,"
Bergey said, citing two examples: his father, Willard Bergey;
and the late Marlin Miller, former president of Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind.
From his father, he gained a love for business and for the
church, he said. Bergey at 19 began a decade-long partnership
in a three-generation family electrical business. And his
parents were longtime members of Franconia Mennonite Church,
where Bergey was baptized. He also served there as a youth
leader at 21, became part of a leadership team at 24 and congregational
chair at 26.
From Miller, he learned to use his gifts to further God's
kingdom, he said. Miller, who served as Bergey's mentor and
advisor, died in 1994, a year after Bergey graduated with
a master of arts in theological studies. Prior to seminary,
Bergey received an undergraduate degree in history after studying
at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., and
Goshen (Ind.) College.
"Marlin was really busy
running the seminary and helping to write the Mennonite confession
of faith, and yet he still took time for me," Bergey
said. "He was a blend of intelligent creativity and compassion
in one person who was wise and humble and focused on helping
the church be a sign of God's reign in the world."
These men no longer coach Bergey, but he's grasped the faith
they passed on and is running the race for all he's worth.
Their mentoring helped Bergey to use long-range vision, sound
administration, stewardship-focused business, churchwide networking
and Christian discipleship to bear fruit in a mission-minded
ministry. He brings his wide berth of experience and gifts
to his role as staff associate for the Executive Board, said
Jim Schrag, executive director for the Executive Board.
"Phil is valuable to this churchwide role because
he uses his longtime experience in the conference and congregational
settings to inspire forward-looking ideas on behalf of the
whole church," Schrag said. "He then builds strategies
around those ideas that help all of us use our full capacities
to be part of the missional church God calls us to be."
Bergey describes his vision and perspective with two words
-- "alignment" and "capacity-building."
He helps all parts of the church align with God's purposes
and then offer their gifts for the good of Mennonite Church
USA.
"Christ's church will always move forward,
that's never in question," Bergey said. "But what's
always at question is what part we'll play in all that. The
church is founded on Christ and is carried forward by human
action. It's always dependent on our collective ability to
be in alignment with God's Spirit and God's agenda.
"My role is to work with others to discern their niche
in God's kingdom and to creatively live out the contributions
of that niche," he said. "Anabaptists bring a unique
perspective that's needed by the church in the world. All
of us need to make sure that we are making a contribution
to the whole."
He helps the Executive Board and area conferences to increase
their capacities in the areas of identity-formation, communication,
leadership development, resourcing and funding, he said. Part
of his work is helping area conferences to implement the denominational
funding system, called Firstfruits. Current challenges to
implementing the system are integrally tied to all these other
areas, he said.
"The denomination equips its
leaders to equip the conference leaders to equip the congregational
leaders to equip their members for ministry," Bergey
said. "Yet congregations learn from members, conferences
from their congregations and the denomination from conferences.
At best, it's a seamless web of learning and sharing resources."
Bergey's work with MC USA's 21 area conferences is deeply
informed by his own experience as a conference executive.
It's a post he began in 1993 when he moved back to the Souderton
area after seminary with his wife, Evon, and their children.
He's learned that a leader is only as effective as those he
or she works with, he said.
"I can only work
at these things because of the amazing people I work with,"
Bergey said. "They are people with significant gifts
who believe in a common vision for transforming the church
into one with a missional identity."
Bergey and those he works with began a five-year restructuring
phase in the conference in 1996 to deepen missional identity
within congregations.
"In order to meet the
growing needs of a congregations becoming centers of mission,
Franconia changed from its previous overseer model to a conference
ministry team model," Bergey said. "That model builds
around a team of conference ministers with unique strengths
to give more time and energy to congregational health and
growth."
In 1997, Bergey took the idea of congregational health one
step further. That's when the idea for MRN Ministry Resources
first emerged. Bergey's participation in a two-year leadership
development program sparked the MRN vision, which became reality
in 1999.
"I realized that conferences can't
keep doing business as usual because their role is changing
in the life of the church," he said. "Conferences
often don't have the fully-orbed capacity to meet the needs
of the congregations in becoming healthy centers of mission.
"So MRN is available to come alongside conferences
to help them provide things they can't provide -- through
consultants, resources and training. For example, a conference
only has to buy what it needs for a specific purpose, rather
than hiring a staff person."
In the final analysis, Bergey said he knows that the most
important resource for the church body is its head, Jesus
Christ, and the Holy Spirit working through its members. He's
daily aware of his dependence on God to fulfill his date book
of demands.
"I've learned in more than 20 years
of church work that the church is made up of people, including
myself, who surprise and disappoint others," Bergey said.
"But God uses people for furthering the church. ... It's
an awesome thing that God trusts us to be co-workers in spite
of our humanity.
"In my work, I don't just observe
others but also myself. I know how human I am. But I am so
grateful that God finds ways to use that." Photos available.
Laurie L. Oswald is news service director for Mennonite Church
USA.
Author provides insights and
ideas about relationships in Anabaptist context
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Will Schirmer |
by Brenda Oelschlager
Contact: Craig Pelkey-Landis at MRN Ministry Resources (215)
723-5513 or www.mrn.org
SOUDERTON, Pa. -- In his first book, Reaching Beyond the Mennonite
Comfort Zone: Exploring From the Inside Out, author Will Schirmer
provides an insightful look at relationships in the context
of Anabaptist fellowship. He speaks to how stereotypes have
affected how Mennonites and non-Mennonites think about each
other.
His focus is on the Mennonite denomination, but Schirmer is
quick to point out that many of the issues in the book are
common to any church body.
"As Christians,
God calls us to have a deeper fellowship with people, especially
other Christians," he said. "The common bond for
all Christians is our love for Jesus. If we seek to join in
fellowship and regard those we go to church with as having
values common to ours, it can be frustrating when those relationships
don't develop at a deeper level." He provides biblical
models of Christian fellowship found in the book of Acts,
chapters 2,11, 13 and 15.
When it comes to building deep, strong relationships within
and outside of the church, Schirmer said, "Sometimes
we miss the mark. We need to look at what we're doing and
how we interact with others. We need to be a blessing to others
in the church and beyond."
Because he came from a New York City metropolitan lifestyle
with a Baptist background, Schirmer sometimes struggles to
fit into the largely rural, conservative, Pennsylvania German
heritage that often plays a significant role in Mennonite
congregations, he said.
Drawing on some of his personal experiences with the people
and practices of the Mennonite Church, Schirmer said that
Mennonite emphases attracted him to the church. They included
biblically sound theology, its stance as a peace church, Anabaptist
heritage of believer's baptism, positive family values, living
a simple lifestyle and community service. But he cautions
that some of these very positive characteristics can also
hinder newcomers from feeling welcomed or finding a sense
of belonging.
"The Mennonite church has the
biblical insight of what a community of faith is -- a sense
of belonging and community is the best gift a church can give,"
he said.
"People today are hurting, seeking,
not connected. The church needs to provide a place to find
or rebuild a sense of support, community, purpose and compassion.
You won't find these things in the fast-paced, disjointed
world. It is the church's responsibility to focus on these
elements. In God's church, all should be welcomed."
He asks questions such as, "What does it mean to be a
good Christian? What does it mean to be a good Mennonite?"
He tries to strip away the denominational baggage that often
obscures the true believers' heart.
"In my
life experience, what matters most are the matters of the
heart," he said. "I hope the book will be useful
in helping congregations of all denominations stimulate conversation
and promote change."
The book is available through the MRN Ministry Resources at
www.mrn.org, and Cascadia Publishing House at www.pandorapressus.com.
Brenda Oelschlager wrote this article, reprinted by permission,
for Buxmont Living.
Review of Chapter Five, "The
Ideal Family and the Mennonite Church"
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by Craig Pelkey-Landes
In the context of the book, which examines the cultural
context of the close-knit Mennonite community of southeastern
Pennsylvania, the subject of the ideal family is a key part
of Schirmer's critique of that community.
Don't be confused. Schirmer is being helpful and hopeful,
not by avoiding painful issues, but by confronting them
head on. The premise of this chapter on the ideal family
is to confront the unreal expectations some have about what
family life should look like and to remind us that God walks
with each of us in our imperfection.
Schirmer's book is largely about perceptions -- especially
perceptions Mennonites have about non-Mennonites, and vice
versa. The perception of perfect families works against
the desire to welcome all people -- in the midst of their
imperfection -- into the church. I've heard this termed
the "shiny, happy Christian" syndrome.
An added dimension of the "perfection" dynamic
in a strongly German Mennonite congregation is the perception
of perfect lineage. If you have a last name like Yoder or
Landes, the perception is, your family is more perfect than
a Smith or a Pham. No one would come out and say this directly,
of course, but too often, when you're a Smith in a Mennonite
congregation, you know you're not a Yoder.
Schirmer looks at family configurations -- such as married,
with children, single, bi-cultural and married with no children.
He looks at family members -- youth, senior citizens, etc.
How do Christian communities, and Mennonite congregations
in particular, welcome or turn away families that do not
fit the ominous "norm"? This is a challenging
look, for all Christians, at how congregations interact
with families, in all their complexity.
Craig Pelkey-Landis is director of communications for MRN
Ministry Resources, which provides consulting and training
resources to help ministries fulfill Jesus' Great Commission.
What is Missional?
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by Jim Lapp
It is not uncommon to hear complaints about the language
of "missional church." People are not opposed
to the church having a mission. Nor do they resist supporting
missionaries. But missional, what is this all about? A gimmick
devised by the Mennonite Church USA? A ploy to raise money?
An effort to create confusion, or worse, to spread disinformation?
In spite of what your word processor tells you, the word
missional has been around nearly 100 years. To some extent
it expresses a simple change in grammar -- from mission
as a noun to mission as an adjective or adverb. So the church
that flourishes in mission is a "missional church."
And when a church does things to enhance its mission it
does things "missionaly." There, a simple lesson
in syntax makes it all clear.
Or does it? Let me try again.
- Mission in the popular mind is frequently equated with
evangelism, service or outreach. Missional refers to the
whole scope of the church's ministry in the world, sharing
the gospel in both word and deed.
- Mission has often been related to "winning the
lost" or welcoming new people to the faith. Missional
speaks about the whole process of disciple-making, from
conversion to life-long formation as followers of Jesus.
- Mission often has been limited to a few committed people
who are sent somewhere else to do the work of Christ.
Missional sees the whole congregation as a sent community
with both a local and global mission.
- Mission often is assigned to a committee or department
in the church. Missional permeates all the departments
of the church from ushers to teachers to elders to youth
leaders to custodians to (you name it).
- Mission is often a fad that gets pumped up around the
annual mission Sunday, mission offering or through some
high powered missionary speaker. Missional refers to the
year-round ministry and focus of the congregation in keeping
with the eternal purposes of God for the church.
Personally I am coming to like the word missional. But the
word is not as important as the idea that the whole congregation
be put on notice that it's primary purpose is nothing less
than continuing the mission of Jesus in the world, and that
every part or aspect of the church must have this missional
focus. In other words, the Great Commission of Jesus shapes
and colors the whole church from inside out toward this
one goal.
Is that new? Probably not for many congregations and people.
But before we discard the missional concept too quickly
as simply new clothes for an old idea, let's honestly reflect
on how missional we really are. Maybe a new word will move
us past the familiarity of missions as we have known it
and prod us toward what God intended and desired for us
all along. If that happens, I say bravo for missional!
Jim Lapp is conference minister for Franconia Mennonite
Conference.
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