Focus

EMM workers Owen and Abby* recently moved to the same village where EMM workers John and Debbie* live. The family rented a truck recommended by friends, but it turned out to be much smaller than expected, requiring some creative packing to get everything loaded. Over ten people came out early to help, and despite packing well beyond its capacity, they still had to ship Owen's motorbike. The tr...

Kingdom Teams (or K-Teams) were dynamic experiences this summer for the students served through a migrant education program, the K-Teams staff, and the youth who participated in the teams. Kingdom Teams Director German Bernardez led a K-Teams staff that included Esther Milonde Makoma, Sapjah Zapotitla, and Yokebed Zapotitla.

In May, Valerie Mumau ended her five-month outreach in Upala, Costa Rica, and returned to the base in Heredia, Costa Rica. As May turned into June, she transitioned into the final chapter of Vida220, known as VidaMissions. VidaMissions is a two-month period during which youth groups, school groups, or families can come to Costa Rica and experience a ten-day mission trip. This summer, there were th...

EMM worker Jan Heindel serves in Dobris, which is in the Czech Republic, by teaching English, building local relationships, and discipling youth and young adults in her local congregation. She strives to model a biblical lifestyle in post-Christian Europe and nurture others into the freedom and life that Jesus offers.

EMM worker William Higgins serves globally, providing discipleship training, leadership development, and mutual learning and encouragement with EMM’s partners. Recently, William found himself in Ethiopia, specifically in Bishoftu, an hour south of Addis Ababa. This vast nation, home to 120 million people, also holds the largest Anabaptist national church in the world: the Meserete Kristos Church (...

John and Debbie Coats organized two workshops on training Cambodian Christian leaders on how to deal with spiritual bondages, including unrepentance and past ties to cults. Debbie wrote the materials, organized the workshops, and worked together with several Cambodian leaders who conducted the teaching.

Over the past few months, the Werts have picked up snippets of positive faith stories in the UK and abroad. So it has been an absolute joy for them to read The Bible Society of England and Wales’ recent report, “The Quiet Revival”. And what good news it is!

In 2016, a friend of EMM worker Bethany Tobin, named Songkran got a vision to move to the Nam Yuen district of Thailand and begin sharing the gospel. With the vision for multiplication he received through the leadership coaching with the Life Enrichment Church, he believed his witness would not just bring one person to faith or start one church, but catalyze a multiplication of house-churches. Aud...

In Dangriga, Belize, Tim Groff and his team remain committed to their mission: to identify, disciple, and release. What does that mean? They spend time with many young adults, helping to identify potential leaders. They participate in and invest in a variety of discipleship opportunities for both young and older individuals. Actively seeking avenues for emerging leaders, they aim to have them ‘rel...

Last fall, Elizabeth took a course from Identity Exchange , the ministry of Jamie Winship, known for his incredible testimonies of God at work in his own life. After that, Elizabeth put together a workshop to lead people in Jamie’s basic "identity exchange" process with Jesus. In her own life, Elizabeth has found it helpful to do this exercise with Jesus again and again whenever she find...

As Michael Clancy enters his eighth year as an urban missionary, he wholeheartedly dedicates himself to helping men transition from prison and programs back into society. Back in 2016, he met Shawn, a man with long hair and a warm smile. Shawn first attended Michael's Bible studies at the Lebanon County Correctional Facility, and soon after, he became part of their congregation through the Life Ch...

In his few years of ministry, Austin Zuercher has repeatedly seen this happen: he makes what he thinks is a well-thought-out plan, and in the end, it changes. He can choose to follow the vision God has given him and move forward, or step back due to obstacles. Every single time, Austin has observed that despite challenges, when the team steps forward in faith, God makes things more beautiful than...

The Anabaptist movement celebrates its 500th anniversary this year. In these five centuries, Anabaptist churches have been multiplied around the world, making it a truly global movement. In fact, current statistics from Mennonite World Conference show that there are 2.1 million baptized Anabaptist church members around the world. Of that 2.1 million, only 28 percent of members are from the U.S. or...

Jeremy and Jennifer* are EMM regional representatives for Southeast Asia. Their theme for this year has been ‘brokering relationships’. This is a new term Jeremy learned during a 20-hour road trip with an amazing group of people in the highlands of Vietnam. Jeremy and Jennifer have always seen relationships as the means and the ends of what they do in cross-cultural work. But as they understand th...

Lena Kauffman served as a participant in the 2023–24 Advance cohort. She is currently serving as an Advance staff intern for the 2024–25 Advance team. So what inspired Lena to stay on as Advance staff? As Lena approached the end of her outreach, she found herself contemplating two options: returning to serve or going to college. She struggled to decide until she realized she could pursue both simu...

Rat intestines for lunch, anyone? Wear a matching shirt with your host family. Sit on the floor for hours. Find creative ways to communicate when there is no shared language. Tag along on a hospital visit, a wedding, visiting neighbors, worshiping in outlying villages, helping sell grilled meat. These are just a few of the new experiences that participants in the new Isaan Doorways Program have ha...

In 2022, we set a new strategic focus for our work through 2028. This strategic focus, the Kingdom Multiplication Vision, is something with which we are diligently engaging to see people come to know Jesus. This episode of Focus serves as a way to update you on the progress we are making, and also to highlight the room for opportunity that we have together in our work of sharing Christ’s transform...

Jen Hoover, her husband, Daryl, and their sons serve with EMM and VidaNet in Costa Rica. This Focus is looking at a beautiful reflection written by Jen about another employee with VidaNet and how Jesus' light shines through her.

A soccer club has provided Genie* with amazing opportunities to connect with kids and share the gospel. She has had the chance to lead the end-of-club devotional/encouragement and was able to share a lesson about how we are all created unique and special to God. This was a special moment she will remember with much joy.

Sarah prayed, “Dear Lord, if it is in your will please allow the door to be opened so we can go into her house and pray for her and her family.” Just as soon as those words had come out of Sarah’s mouth, the little girl Sarah was praying about, and her mother walked by. It was God’s perfect timing....

“That would be the worst job in the world!” EMM worker Elizabeth* thought to herself the first time she heard of “recruiting full-time intercessors to join overseas church-planting teams.” She pictured the full-time intercessor locked up in a room from 9 to 5 with lists of all the problems in the country, reading these lists out loud to God over and over again. But now, she calls it the best job i...

Sarah Ariola has now been in the Gambia for several months, and she is experiencing living in community in West Africa on a new level. She and the rest of the EMM team pretty much do everything together. They even share a meal in one bowl called a "community bowl.”

Throughout this month, God has been showing Ana Borntrager that living overseas is not a big profound thing; it’s simply navigating mundane life in a new context. She finds it amusing how, as Christians, people tend to put missions up on a pedestal. For Ana, it’s about learning how to relate to the people around her, navigating the basic necessities of life, and sharing everyday experiences.

Exciting changes are happening with Carissa Sherer as Hope for Home is preparing to move to its new location in the town of Parramos. The moving day is February 12, and it will be quite the ordeal, as they move 13 children with special needs, as well as all of the items necessary to care for them.

Despite having heard the gospel for many years, Biak remained a committed Buddhist. An intelligent man who likes to learn, he explored aspects of Christianity at times, but he was not convinced ... until 2024.