New Peace and Justice Support Network coordinating minister announced

ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network/Mennonite Church USA)—Jason Boone, a Raleigh, N.C., resident with extensive experience in social justice ministries, nonprofit communication, and anti-poverty initiatives, has been chosen to lead the Peace and Justice Support Networkas coordinating minister.

Boone, who will work out of Raleigh Mennonite Church, began his three-quarter time position on Oct. 10. He builds on the work of recent Peace and Justice Support Network staff members Susan Mark Landis and Tim Huber.

As the coordinating minister, Boone will encourage, support and strengthen Jesus-centered peace and justice commitment and witness in congregations and area conferences, and across Mennonite Church USA. This position is shared among Mennonite Church USA’s Executive Board, Mennonite Mission Network, and the Peace and Justice Support Network.

“To do the work of Jesus, we have to be connected to Jesus, allowing the Spirit to refresh, sustain and inspire us,” says Boone. He says that Jesus-centered faith communities and groups can be powerful agents of change in our neighborhoods and in our world.

“I believe strongly that peace and justice is not the calling for a few, but rather a lifestyle Jesus equipped everyone to participate in,” says Boone. Peacemaking, he says, happens at many levels—from the family to the international arena—and takes many forms.

Boone wants to engage all congregations and members of Mennonite Church USA in living out the gospel of peace. This happens, he says, “when we prayerfully seek where the Prince of Peace is at work and where the kingdom is starting to break through, and then use our talents and passions to join that work. We need more ‘workers for the harvest,’ no matter where the harvest may be.”

Boone’s journey toward Anabaptism started with the friendship he developed with Duane Beck, pastor of Raleigh Mennonite Church, whom Boone sought out for guidance while serving as director for social justice at Vintage 21, an emerging church in Raleigh. At the same time, Boone was part of a study group that was reading books by Mennonite and Anabaptist authors. These experiences led him and his family to join Raleigh Mennonite Church about four years ago.

“My heart was opened during that time to the reality of Jesus’ teachings on nonviolence and living out the ethics of the cross on a daily basis,” Boone says.

Boone currently serves as elder chair of Raleigh Mennonite Church and co-leads the congregation’s peace and justice commission.

He worked most recently as general instructor for the Autism Society of North Carolina, providing support for individuals with autism. Before that, he worked for seven years for a regional hunger-relief and anti-poverty organization, including three years as communications director.

“Jason brings gifts and skills that can help celebrate, connect and encourage the remarkable initiatives already happening across our church,” says André Gingerich Stoner, director of holistic witness for Mennonite Church USA. “And I believe Jason can challenge us to deepen and strengthen our commitment to Jesus’ way of peace so that God can use us in ways we may not yet have imagined.”

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Jason Boone, a Raleigh, N.C., resident with extensive experience in social justice ministries, nonprofit communication and anti-poverty initiatives, has been chosen to lead the Peace and Justice Support Network as coordinating minister.