Focus

Lucy has been amazed at the range of human resilience she has seen from her perch on the balcony. It is amazing how God has made humans to be able deal with life's circumstances. People have been creative with entertainment, their spaces, and their resources. They can find community when they are not allowed to leave their homes. 

Multiplication is the heartbeat of EMM. EMM has a more than 100-year history of establishing churches in many parts of the world, that are now planting communities and fellowships of believers in their own contexts and cultures.

We are connected to each other. And we believe this because Paul told us so. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul describes the church as the body of Christ. There are many members, all different, but they all come together to form the body and without any one of those members, the body is missing an important function.

COVID-19 has presented unique challenges for Alan and Carol Wert. On March 23rd, the U.K. went into lockdown with each part of the U.K. enforcing their own rules. So what does this mean for the way the Werts minister to people?

Forty years ago, May 31 was a Saturday. It was the last day of the week, of the month, and of a lengthy personal quest for clarity for EMM worker Andres Prins. He was 22 and had returned from a youth meeting of a Mennonite Brethren church in Montevideo, Uruguay, to the nearby Bible school dormitory where he was living.

Just a few weeks ago, on April 22, a ministry in Sierra Leone called Nyandengoh! saw its first anniversary. Starting with just a few children in Mattru Jong, the ministry now serves more than 70 children in neighboring villages.

Seeing people watch the Jesus video and hear the gospel for the first time was well worth the effort it took to plan the event!

Did you know that EMM has a church revitalization coach whose main role is to help churches develop healthy personal and corporate spiritual lives? It’s true! His name is Antonio Ulloa and he frequently speaks in churches to equip and support them in their spiritual health and development.

A few months ago, a couple showed up at Michael Clancy’s church, easy to identify because they were obviously under the influence of heroin. Michael is an urban missionary serving with EMM in Lebanon city, Pennsylvania. During the service, the man kept drifting off, unaware of his surroundings, only to wake up, look around, and nod off again. The woman, on the other hand, was engulfed in the messa...

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor once wrote a wise statement about how our well-being is reliant on one another. She wrote: “We don’t accomplish anything in the world alone and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one’s life and all the weavings of individual threads from one to another that create something.”

A second chance at love brought Jim and Kathy Wohlers together after both of their spouses passed away from cancer. At their wedding more than 8 years ago, Jim and Kathy served their guests communion and told them that as they started their life together, they would be hand-in-hand as husband and wife in service toward others.

Sometimes as an urban missionary, Michael Clancy feels like his task is an uphill battle. He envisions his work of discipleship like being a pitcher on the mound, and his students are the batters who keep striking out as they fall back into their addictions. Michael is presented with a new “batter” every three or four pitches. Over the past 14 years, he can count a small handful of men who are con...

Ever since she can remember, Amy Herr has struggled with believing in the lie that her voice doesn’t matter.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact many people in nearly every country around the world. And EMM workers, serving in 30 different countries, have each experienced this outbreak in different ways. But in the midst of the unknown realities that lie ahead, EMM workers live courageously in the hope of Christ.

This summer, EMM Kingdom Teams will venture into a new region in Phenix City, Alabama. However, Alabama is not new to EMM — we began work there in the 1940s when we began sending evangelists.

Part of the Mennonite Church West Africa’s annual conference included a commissioning service for two men who are going out as missionaries. Less than one year after credentialing its first pastors, the church has discerned a call to start several new congregations.

Over the past fews weeks, I expect all of us have been following the developments of the COVID-19 outbreak around the world.

After a full day of engaging in her role as a teacher, Shirah Burns often likes to take a walk on the track of a nearby school. On this one particular night, there were a lot of people on the track. It was a beautiful night to exercise and as Shirah looked around she began to observe the people near her.

After almost four decades of walking with Christ, EMM Mission Team Director Lorri Bentch has learned that the cost of disobedience is always greater than the cost of obedience. Twenty-five years ago, she said “yes” to following her husband to Hungary to serve with EMM just one month after they were married.

As a new follower of Jesus Christ in her early 20s, Nancy Hostetter was drawn to missionaries when they visited her church. A short-term mission trip led to a discipleship training program which led to meeting her husband of 30 years, Michael. As their family grew, they chose to plant themselves in Puerto Montt, Chile.

Do Christians, Jews, and Muslims worship the same God? This is a perennial question that has led to much division in Christian theological circles. It’s also a question that EMM global David Shenk was invited to write about in a book called “Do Christians, Jews, and Muslims worship the same God?: Four views.”

Gibby Mane, pastor of the Catel Mennonite Church in Guinea-Bissau was visiting his in-laws in a village 5 miles from the church. During this trip, Gibby quickly became aware of a young man, named Milo, who was suffering from an overdose of alcohol.

In 2017, Betsy Stewart said “yes” to Jesus and went to Kenya for 6 months. Betsy’s term with EMM was spent at the Amani Gardens Inn in Nairobi, where she served as a hostess to guests who were traveling through the country. Betsy’s “yes” to Jesus was a “yes” to learning more about Kenya and its people — a place Betsy had visited several times before. But this kind of call wasn’t difficult for Bets...

Names are significant in the Dinka culture in South Sudan. Nicky Hess, who served as an EMM worker from 2016 to 2019 learned that early on when she was trying to learn the names of students and people from the community.

On December 14, 2019, the Lord welcomed home his faithful servant, Richard A. Showalter. Richard served as the sixth president of EMM from 1994 to 2011. He left a lasting legacy on both the organization he served and the Global Anabaptist church.