Focus

EMM workers Owen and Abby* had just begun a new assignment in a different country in Southeast Asia. Owen and Abby are currently doing language learning at a YWAM base in their current country. They were able to join in some of the ministry to a local village. They celebrated one person choosing to follow Jesus.

If you pass by 450 North Prince Street in Lancaster, you might think it’s just another office building with a coffee shop on the first floor. You might even think that Lancaster doesn’t need another building like this one, even if the coffee and tea are excellent. But that would be an incorrect assumption … because of other activities that you might not notice. Every Tuesday and Thursday morning a...

Ana Borntrager, who is participating in EMM’s Advance program recently arrived safely in Cambodia for the outreach portion of the program. Advance is a 9-month, gap-year program to connect and grow with a team of young adults in a cross-cultural setting through hands-on discipleship training, ongoing mentoring, and missional outreach.

This season we’re reminded of Jesus' birth. An EMM worker named Elizabeth (whose last name we can’t mention due to sensitivity concerns), wrote a beautiful poem about how Jesus' birth calls us to proclaim his life, death, and resurrection to all people around the world.

EMM worker Tim Groff had the opportunity to sit beside Pastor Victor Gonzales on a long van drive from Managua to the village of Orinoco on the Caribbean coast and listen to his stories. As they traveled with other Garifuna pastors from Honduras, they heard amazing stories of faith; the tales of how God had sustained the church among the people living there.

Now, the Advance participants get to take many of these cross-cultural learnings that they gained in Lancaster with the Neighbors Community Center and grow in their learning internationally. One team will go to Cambodia in Southeast Asia and the other team will be going to the Gambia in West Africa.

Today’s Focus is pulled from our Archives — a beautiful poem called “To Give Thanks” written by Daisy Yoder, who with her husband, served with EMM in Ethiopia for more than 20 years. They wrote in 1974 about how they would spend sleepless hours under their shelter in the desert wondering and praying about the mission in the Danakil region of Ethiopia.

If you would like to support EMM’s work of training, we invite you to join us by partnering financially. We encourage you to make a gift to EMM’s Impact Fund by December 31. You can give online . We are so thankful for your continued generosity!

North American Vietnamese Mennonites and EMM began to reengage with the church in Vietnam in the 1990s, spurring on a new season of growth. The church was legally registered and recognized by the government in 2007. Since then, the church continues to see lives transformed and ministry multiplied. In fact, the church has grown more than 400% since 2020.

Ana Borntrager is participating in Advance Global, a 9-month, international discipleship and service opportunity. Ana is halfway through the discipleship portion of Advance. She appreciates all of the prayers during this time. The team has been enjoying the wonderful fall Pennsylvania weather. From fall festivals to corn mazes to the tri-weekly bike rides that Ana takes to the office.

Nelson Kisare, the leader of the Tanzanian Mennonite Church was asked, “What is the most pressing need of your church?” He answered, “First, theological training; second, theological training; third, theological training.” In response to this, William Higgins finds it a privilege to work with our global partner churches in Vietnam, Kenya, Tanzania, Guinea-Bissau, and other places.

In early 2022, Leon and Naomi showed the course to a dozen couples in south-central Kenya. One of those couples was Stanley and Anne, who pastor a church in the area. They felt that the course strengthened their marriage and gave them the ability to have conversations about areas of their marriage that they stayed away from before.

The Vietnam Mennonite Church consists of over 100 places of worship. The needs for training pastors and workers are great. They have organized a 4-year Bachelor of Theology program (with 20 students in the current cohort), as well as a ministry training certificate program (with 40 students in the current group).  Their request for training from EMM workers is for courses in theology, biblical int...

The Kairos course is an exciting nine lesson interactive study of the purpose and plan of God from Genesis to the end of the age. Focusing on the biblical, historical, strategic, and cultural dimensions of missions, this course seeks to align every believer's worldview with God's heart for the nations and mobilize the whole Church for His global mission. The next course starts on Saturday, October...

Unexpected Peace is a new documentary film that follows social anthropologist and EMM worker Jonathan Bornman as he explores three stories: the Amish school shooting in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania; the murders of Murid migrants from Senegal in Harlem, New York; and Muslim-Christian conflict in Solo, Indonesia. You are invited to the premiere of Unexpected Peace, which will be during the Red Rose Fi...

Kingdom Teams (K-Teams) are short, summer experiences that provide opportunities for youth to engage with discipleship training and cross-cultural service, in the U.S. or (new this year) in the Czech Republic. Check out these few stories of how God was at work through K-Teams this summer.

The Thornes have been experiencing a shift in mindset about money. Frequently, they receive financial requests. From an American perspective, financial requests oftentimes are viewed with some level of suspicion and at times perceived as one not able to be financially “independent.” As they have experienced these requests, the Lord spoke to Nate and said, “Instead of becoming annoyed by the consta...

EMM’s strategic focus is to identify, equip, and send missional leaders to serve on multi-generational and multi-ethnic teams who invite people to follow Jesus as maturing, multiplying disciples and nurture transforming communities of worship. We primarily focus on least-reached people groups of Central Asia, Central Europe, Southeast Asia, and West Africa, and refugees in Lancaster, Pa.

EMM is passionate about equipping Christians around the world with discipleship, leadership, and cross-cultural training from an Anabaptist perspective. We’re inviting you to a special EMM vision and fundraising banquet to learn more about how God is at work through the ministries of training. We hope you can join us for this year's banquet. The theme is, "A Crown That Lasts Forever.&quot...

There’s a reason EMM worker Christy Harrison does not work in mission recruitment. If she worked as a recruiter, she would tell potential candidates way too much. If you were interested in working internationally, Christy would tell you that this work is hard and slow. That learning to speak coherently in a new language takes way longer than you ever thought it would.

One of the most encouraging components of Carissa Sherer’s time in Guatemala has been the recurring affirmation she has felt from the Lord in being there now, particularly in this season in the ministry.

For Michael Clancy, Nick* was more than a person to work with: he was a friend who was growing in his relationship with Jesus, even while using drugs, which Michael hated and Nick knew very clearly that Michael did. It was here that Michael was able to walk with Nick in-between the cracks. In an area where a program wouldn’t be able to work, Michael saw an opportunity.

We’re excited to be launching a new course on Radix called The Foundations of Christian Leadership. It will be a hybrid-format course beginning on September 19 — with weekly self-study modules and biweekly video calls. This course will offer a biblical look at Christian leadership focused on three key components: Character, Knowledge, and Skill. Register now at radixtraining.org/foundations .

“We believe the same!” Lea’s friend energetically interjected with a smile and a tap on her desk to reinforce the point. The almost weekly refrain sometimes felt like an indictment that Lea had failed miserably in communicating the basics of her faith.

The image of the overflowing cup comes from the days of David and was a symbol of invitation, welcome, or dismissal. If a host kept the cup full, the guests knew they were welcome. If the cup was empty, not refilled, the host was indicating it was time for the guests to leave. However, if the host really enjoyed the company, he would fill the cup until overflowing and let it spill over the rim, sa...