February 27, 2023
God’s mission is first and foremost about the pursuit of God’s glory. Yes, it includes us, but it is not primarily about our needs, ambitions or hopes. God’s burning desire is for all of creation to know God’s glory—his awesome and utterly unique presence—and to give him the praise he deserves so that we might enjoy him together forever.
moreJanuary 11, 2023
What if the God of the universe did not wait for us to bridge the gap between us, whether that gap is mythical or existential, but instead, “gave up his divine privileges … and was born as a human being” (Phil. 2:7)? If that’s true—and I’m staking my life on the belief that it is—then we have a message that everyone deserves to hear. And they deserve to hear it in the cultural idiom that will make sense to them.
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December 21, 2022
President Aaron Kauffman brings Christmas greetings and gives a few recent highlights from the ministries of VMMissions.
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November 21, 2022
With your support, we were able to appoint 18 new mission workers in 2022, bringing our total number of those serving to 61 – kingdom ambassadors representing 12 countries, yet all with the same goal of sharing the peace that Jesus makes possible. This Christmas, help us call, equip, send and support more ambassadors of reconciliation through a donation to our Mission Fund.
moreNovember 1, 2022
I confess I feel some discomfort with measuring “success” in missions. Depth of transformation is not an easy thing to quantify, nor do we often see immediate results. Perhaps the key to long-term fruitfulness in Christian mission is faithful witness combined with patient trust in the Lord of the harvest.
moreMay 12, 2022
We launched A Church of Many Cultures in 2021 with the goal of raising $3 million for three new areas of ministry: Business for Transformation, Global Church Planting, and a Mission Training Center. I am happy to share that as of this month, we have raised nearly $2.7 million. If you haven’t already, please consider how God is calling you to support this campaign.
moreApril 18, 2022
In leading a 103-year-old mission agency, I confess it can be hard to see where we’re headed sometimes. We do our best to craft careful plans, [but] if we’re not careful, we can end up discouraged and disillusioned. To see the present clearly and make sense of it, it helps me to put on the lenses of God’s future.
moreMarch 21, 2022
Patience is hard. We see a broken world in need of Christ and want change to happen right now. But seeds lie dormant for a long time before springing to life. Please join us in providing the support that will allow our ministries to bear lasting fruit for God’s kingdom.
moreFebruary 28, 2022
“A key mentor of mine has been the Anabaptist missiologist, David W. Shenk,” Aaron Kauffman writes. “David and his wife Grace were missionaries in East Africa in the 1960s and ’70s before returning to Lancaster, Pa., where they helped to revitalize my home congregation. David encouraged me to explore my own call to mission as an adolescent. Even after I moved away, he made it a priority to meet with me for breakfast whenever I was back in town.”
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December 3, 2021
Christmas is about kindness, God’s kindness toward us in Jesus Christ. In a world where kindness is in short supply, this is good news. We are invited to throw off the shackles of sin and receive the new life only Jesus can bring. Thank you for helping us share this kindness of God through a gift to the Mission Fund and meeting our year-end goal of $160,000.
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December 2, 2021
I celebrate the move in Christian missions toward indigenous leadership and simple approaches to discipleship that can easily multiply among new believers. It is a welcome change from models that foster unhealthy dependency on foreign workers. Yet I also have some caution, especially when the emphasis is on speed and numbers.
moreJuly 27, 2021
As we are seeking $100,000 to reach our Mission Fund goal for the fiscal year ending in August, I want to share two recent stories of the healing only Jesus can bring. Dramatic physical healing is not always our experience today, yet Scripture promises that the cross is God’s ultimate answer to the sickness of sin. Your generosity makes these stories possible.
moreJune 29, 2021
Partnership is one of our deeply held values at Virginia Mennonite Missions. First, we partner with the church in mission. This year alone, we have joined hands with 92 churches as they added their people, prayers and funds to the task of making Christ known among the nations. We can do more together than we ever can on our own.
moreApril 23, 2021
When we heed the Lord’s call, we never know where we’ll end up. There will be sacrifice and hardship. But there will also be unspeakable joy. Like countless generations of sojourners before us, may we have the courage to say yes to God’s call.
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March 5, 2021
Where does hope come from? From optimism about the future? From careful planning to manage the unknown? From confidence in human ingenuity, wealth or strength? These can be temptations for all of us. Yet Scripture tells us that God alone is the source of our hope.
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December 7, 2020
As 2020 came to a close, we invited you to help us reach our goal of raising $100,000 by December 31. Thank you for helping us reach our goal! Gifts are still coming in; as of January 4, we raised just over $101,000.
moreOctober 29, 2020
A vital truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ: love tears down walls. And it was love that led John Perkins to tear down the wall of a formerly segregated health clinic in Mendenhall, Mississippi. As Perkins puts it, “God’s love and justice come together in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, and we can’t be about one and not the other. They’re inextricably connected.”
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June 8, 2020
At a recent prayer time, several staff members gave voice to our collective confession for complicity in systemic injustice and racism. We share this prayer with you as a statement of our ongoing need for God’s mercy and transformation. We also commit to learning from our sisters and brothers of color in their suffering and in their strength, and to taking steps toward undoing racism in our church and in our culture.
moreMay 4, 2020
Jesus’ sacrificial death undoes the curse of sin and makes new life possible for those who trust in him and surrender their lives in service to his kingdom. Like a seed that dies to be reborn as a fruitful new plant, death is the path to life in God’s economy.
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April 6, 2020
With great sadness we share the news that our dear coworker and brother, Steve Leaman, passed away suddenly on April 5. Steve had served on staff since December 2015, most recently as Director of Advancement. He was known as a hard-working and caring colleague, a lifelong learner, a devoted family man, and a faithful follower of Jesus.
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February 27, 2020
Is mission a thing of the past? Contemporary attitudes toward mission are much different than the ones that gave rise to Virginia Mennonite Missions one hundred years ago. Today, the claim that Jesus is Lord offends our pluralistic sensibilities. But is sharing the gospel inherently oppressive? Not if we follow the example of our crucified Lord.
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January 9, 2020
VMMissions is delighted to report that we exceeded our year-end financial goal of $100,000 by almost $7,000. Thank you! We are grateful to God and to everyone who has prayed, given financially, and supported our work in many ways.
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December 20, 2019
“I do not believe that it is above what we could expect, if the Lord tarries, that we would have a native Mennonite Church in Sicily.” These were the words of Truman Brunk in his report to the executive committee of the mission board upon his return from a visit to Sicily in November 1950.
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November 21, 2019
In the early days, mission vision emerged at the district level of Virginia Mennonite Conference. Middle District was exemplary in mobilizing witness over the mountains into West Virginia. Though many declined the invitation to serve, a steady stream of workers labored over the years, eventually giving birth to over a dozen churches.
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September 26, 2019
We express a hearty THANK YOU for your generous gifts to our Mission Fund during our fiscal year end campaign! We ended the campaign on August 31 with $146,404 received of the $150,000 goal. As we walk with longtime ministries and chart new paths with Jesus, the prayers and financial support of our donors and friends makes it possible.
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July 26, 2019
On Thursday, July 18, 2019, a crowd of over 450 gathered at Lindale Mennonite Church to kick off a series of events celebrating the 100-year history of Virginia Mennonite Missions (VMMissions). The evening’s theme was “cultivating good soil,” based on Jesus’ parable in Mark 4:1-9.
moreMay 3, 2019
Discipleship is about the most important kind of learning possible, learning to follow after Jesus. Yet too often, we see it as an add-on rather than an essential part of Christian faith. Perhaps if discipleship were only a matter of acquiring information, we would be less inclined to neglect it. But it’s more than that.
moreFebruary 28, 2019
Like the disciples, we can get so preoccupied with our own needs that we can’t see the bounty in God’s global harvest. What if we allowed our hunger to drive us into the grain fields of the world? Can we trust that Jesus is already there, beckoning us to reap with joy what others have sown?
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October 31, 2017
It’s easy to look at the present landscape of the church in North America and get discouraged. Nearly all denominations are in decline. Where are the streams that God is causing to spring up in what feels like a spiritual wasteland? I see at least three streams of renewal.
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August 12, 2017
“People don’t go to church on Sundays to support their pastors in their ministry. The pastor goes to church on Sunday to support the people in their ministry. And their ministry, the ministry that really counts as mission, is outside the walls of the church, in the world, being salt and light in the marketplace.” […]
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August 7, 2017
Thank you for helping us extend the great chain of disciples who make disciples who make disciples. We slightly exceeded our fiscal-year-end goal of $110,000!
moreDecember 1, 2016
We live in an age when it’s popular to be spiritual but not religious. Many view the church with indifference or even suspicion, though they may still admire Jesus. So we at VMMissions know we are going against the grain when we say church is the primary instrument for God’s mission. Why make that claim? […]
moreApril 29, 2016
In the world of Christian mission, the term multiplication is often associated with the numerical growth of the church. The basics of biology teach us that healthy organisms multiply. If the church is healthy, we should see an increase both in the number of believers and the number of believing communities. That’s a constant refrain […]
moreJanuary 8, 2016
If you want to get a sense for how the gospel touches all areas of life in just over 100 verses, read the book of James. Most likely penned by the brother of Jesus himself, James gives practical advice on what it means to live out God’s kingdom before a watching world. Here’s a sampling […]
moreOctober 3, 2015
I grew up in a church that had altar calls. Not all the time, and not in manipulative ways, but from time to time, the leaders at Mountville Mennonite Church would invite us to respond to God by coming to the front of the sanctuary. The invitation would vary. Sometimes it would be for prayer, […]
moreJuly 2, 2015
Sometimes the Apostle Paul sounds absolutely crazy. For example, take these words from 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NRSV): “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the […]
moreMarch 14, 2015
Last spring, I bought a new (to our family) vehicle. The 15-year-old minivan we were using at the time kept having maintenance issues. The starter faltered. The transmission was unresponsive at times. But I was prompted to action when the fuel line sprung a leak right over the exhaust manifold. The mechanic told me it […]
moreMarch 3, 2015
For the past 25 years, Virginia Mennonite Conference (VMC) and Virginia Mennonite Missions (VMMissions) have shared the publication, Connections. In this editorial, Clyde Kratz, VMC Executive Conference Minister, and Aaron Kauffman, VMMissions President, discuss the challenges and the dreams that have emerged about this communication tool. Clyde: I value the joint effort by VMC and […]
moreFebruary 13, 2015
Over the past ten years, Virginia Mennonite Missions has more than tripled the number of adult mission workers in assignments of a year or more, from 16 to over 50. And that’s not including the children of those workers (27 and counting!), or the USA church planters and short-term teams we’ve supported. Meanwhile, our level […]
moreDecember 1, 2014
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” – Mark 8:35 (NIV) I recently read about a congregation in Texas that has routinely given away some of its best leaders, most committed members and significant financial resources in its […]
moreOctober 1, 2014
“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” – Galatians 5:25 On a warm January evening in Colombia, our church planting team gathered under a campground pavilion, with pastor Martín González leading us in worship and prayer as part of our retreat time. While we were praying for each […]
moreAugust 6, 2014
[The LORD] brought [Abram] outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:5-6 Outside of Europe and North America, the church […]
moreMay 27, 2014
A few months ago I had the opportunity to hear César García, General Secretary of Mennonite World Conference, speak about the role of North American mission agencies in the global church. García comes from the Mennonite Brethren Church of Colombia, a church birthed through the mission efforts of North Americans. When someone asked him whether […]
moreMarch 20, 2014
As a mission agency, what are we supposed to do? Evangelize? Plant churches? Train leaders? Provide education? Work at relief and development? Care for refugees? “Yes, but…” to all of the above. These activities do not define our core mission. Our mission is “to invite people to faithful living in Jesus Christ.” We seek to […]
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