Italy New Year's outreach event

Mission Is a Partnership

May 22, 2023

“Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection is often the focal point of his purpose on earth, and for good reason,” Shawn Green writes. “But we shouldn’t overlook or miss the countless bits of perfect knowledge that Jesus taught and shared as he walked among his followers, and with which we are invited to align our hearts and immerse our souls in God’s goodness and mercy.”

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God’s Mission Has a Church

February 27, 2023

Our church history is shaped by the legacy of Christendom: the church aligning with political power to protect and maintain our position in society. This is vastly different from understanding the church being shaped as a missionary church whose calling is to be embedded as “sent ones” in our own societies.

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David Gingerich

David Gingerich Named Director of Partner Development

February 27, 2023

David Gingerich has assumed a new leadership role as Director of Partner Development, focusing on fundraising, donor cultivation and church relations. “I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to nurture and grow relationships with our community of partners,” David writes.

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What Do Motorcycles Have to Do With Mission?

July 18, 2022

An idea that started at Powhatan Mennonite Church ten years ago has now raised nearly $115,000 to support the mission of VMMissions to “equip the church to share new life in Christ with neighbors near and far.” And this year’s tenth anniversary ride broke records, including the amount raised for missions!

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Andressa-Coutinho

Worker profile: Andressa Coutinho

April 26, 2022

Andressa’s assignment consists of cultural and linguistic learning as well as support of the church planting ministry of Albanian leaders and VMMissions workers Rafael and Solange Tartari, currently serving in northern Albania in the city of Shkodra. She is involved in the prayer and multimedia ministries of the church, and connects specifically with the women and youth.

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Call to Prayer: Reminding Ourselves of God’s Future

April 26, 2022

“It is good that we remind ourselves of God’s future…So often, our prayers reflect our present sorrows, weariness and broken hopes. Our God wants to hear those things, for he cares deeply about us. But, God also wants to speak to us about what he wants to do,” Ruthy writes.

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The Ultimate Adventure Story

April 26, 2022

“I want this next generation to embrace the challenge leveled at all of humanity in the life of Christ: the challenge that those who wish to be the greatest must be the servant of all,” Ken Wettig writes. “My hope is that SLAQ would be an invitation for young people to be apprenticed to the one person in human history whose Spirit is still present with us today: Jesus of Nazareth.”

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The Future That God Sees

April 21, 2022

See visions of “Imagining God’s Future” from VMMissions worker children serving internationally, as featured in the Spring 2022 issue of Transforming. Read artist statements and view the artwork close up.

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A Vision for Creating Community

April 19, 2022

People around us are longing for community, but they are not turning to the church for this community. This has been our challenge over the course of the past few years. It is hard to build community! But tucked away in a poor and immigrant-dense part of Mannheim is the Villa. This experiment of ours is unexpectedly bursting at the seams with life.

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What God Sees For Central Asia

April 19, 2022

“We sense that we are on the brink of a breakthrough that God wants to bring to this region,” Em says. “For me there is exhilaration edged with nervous anticipation. For Jay there is vigorous and contagious confidence, a beautiful sense of clarity as to what we are to be doing.”

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Steve and Vladimir

A Church That Stays Standing

April 19, 2022

Our hope has been to plant Christ as the seed so that a Montenegrin church could grow. Thankfully, the success of our work is measured in Kingdom terms; we have worked for the Lord, not for people. This has been both rewarding and intensely draining. We are not responsible for growing the kingdom, but only for pointing people to God.

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Ben and Risa Yutzy family

VMMissions Opens New Category for ‘Marketplace Workers’

April 19, 2022

The “marketplace worker” category supports and equips believers to “live out God’s kingdom in every sphere of life.” This category enables persons employed in trades or professions to receive coaching toward fruitful ministry in the workplace, and to network with other Christians who see their work as ministry.

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Douglas B. Senior

Douglas Senior, Beloved Leader in Jamaica Mennonite Church, Dies at 75

March 31, 2022

Pastor Senior’s experience as a successful businessman made a great contribution to the development and significant ministry of the Maranatha School for the Deaf in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. Galen and Gloria Lehman, former VMMissions workers in Jamaica and later staff members, began their friendship with Pastor Senior in 1981. “We cherished his warm personality, commitment to integrity, his deep prayer life, dignified commanding presence, and strong Christian faith, making him an excellent church leader,” they write.

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VMMissions Launches ‘A Church of Many Cultures’ Campaign

November 6, 2021

Watch the full video highlighting the ‘A Church of Many Cultures’ campaign. Consider joining this vision!

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Elio Milazzo: A Man Whose Voice Mattered

October 29, 2021

Within the Italian Mennonite world, there are few who would not recognize the powerful voice of Elio Milazzo, who for years was producer and voice of Parole di Vita, a radio broadcast sponsored by Italian Mennonites in partnership with Mennonites in North America, including VMMissions. The Italian Mennonite Church grieves his recent passing on August 29.

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VMMissions to Host Fall Cohort on Cultivating a Life of Prayer

July 21, 2021

Prayer continues to emerge as a priority as VMMissions looks ahead at the next decade. One concrete opportunity is available this fall: Michael and Ruth Hershey will be leading a three-month exploration and discovery called “Cultivating a Life of Prayer.”

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Aaron M. Kauffman

Kauffman Reappointed to Third Term as VMMissions President

July 20, 2021

The Board of Directors of Virginia Mennonite Missions announces the reappointment of Aaron M. Kauffman as President for a third four-year term, beginning January 1, 2022. “Under Aaron’s leadership, VMMissions has continued to thrive and increase in numbers of appointed workers and in financial assets,” noted Lavonne Lehman, Board Chair.

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Worker profile: Norma Teles

July 16, 2021

Norma is the director of the Joshua Center, which provides a safe place for Roma children and encourages the participation of the family, helping them to be involved in positive ways with their children’s development. She also connects regularly through a girls club with girls aged 9-19 and with a group of mothers.

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Call to Prayer: The Honor of Co-Laboring

July 15, 2021

“God really does want to teach us to pray,” Ruth writes. “Prayer has become much more than something that we ‘should’ do. It is something we desire and enjoy, something that feels like a great honor.”

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Our Family Rediscovers Sabbath

July 13, 2021

“In December 2019, [my wife] Theresa suggested that we begin a few faith rhythms as a family, mostly concerning Sabbath. We’ve job-shared and worked bi-vocationally these last several years and at times it has been difficult to stop and disengage and receive God’s rest,” Seth writes. Learn what difference these changes made in their family.

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Together for a Purpose

July 9, 2021

In both marriage and the church, God brings together people who have different gifts and ways of perceiving the world in order to build communities that provide a foretaste of the kingdom of heaven. Tyler and Kendra draw on varied gifts to strengthen their ministry together.

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Journeys Into Marriage and Mission

July 9, 2021

Married couples have the opportunity to experience the sometimes seamless, sometimes arduous path toward being of one heart. To learn more about how God has helped achieve this in the lives of two women serving in overseas ministry, Laura Campbell and Laura Green share ways God has used marriage and mission to reshape their priorities.

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Join the Harrisonburg Leadership Breakfast on August 25

July 9, 2021

Become the leader you’ve always wanted to be. The Center for Serving Leadership is hosted a Harrisonburg Leadership Breakfast on August 25, 7-8:00 a.m. at A Bowl of Good, sponsored by VMMissions. Learn from leadership trainers Nelson Okanya and Jon Byler, and take away a practical action step that you can implement immediately.

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VMMissions Blesses 130 Families through Relief Effort

May 27, 2021

In March 2020, VMMissions launched the Coronavirus Immigrant Care Fund as a domestic response to immigrants in need due to job loss and other hardships related to the coronavirus pandemic. Staff person Lizzette Hernandez led a distribution committee that fielded requests, verified needs, and made distributions. All told, VMMissions distributed $38,940 to 130 families in Virginia and North Carolina.

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VMMissions Announces Updated COVID-19 Policy

May 25, 2021

As of May 24, 2021, all office staff and tenants at VMMissions are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In accordance with updated guidance from the CDC and the Governor of Virginia, VMMissions is no longer requiring fully vaccinated staff or visitors to wear masks or maintain social distancing. We ask that all staff and visitors, even if vaccinated, make a point to accommodate requests to wear masks, socially distance, meet outside, or otherwise adjust office protocol for the sake of the comfort, health or safety of others.

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Worker Profile: Anna Renfro

May 4, 2021

Anna’s assignment in Mannheim, Germany, is to support the ministries of Dave and Rebekka Stutzman as well as to serve at a local refugee center called Friedenshaus. Most of her time is spent in the afterschool youth program Kinderreich in nearby Heidelberg.

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Call to Prayer: Life Lessons

May 4, 2021

“With our two-month-old fourth daughter in arms, we went through our training. It was all a blur, with the exception of one so very important word that God spoke to me while I was fetching something from our parked car. It stopped me in my tracks. ‘You think you are doing this for me. No, I am doing this for you,'” Carol writes.

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God Says, “You Are Adequate”

May 4, 2021

John David Thacker, VMMissions’ most recently appointed church planter, has heard God’s call to plant an Anabaptist peace church in Charleston, W.Va. A particular word of affirmation from the Lord has been a significant encouragement to him during this challenging season of relocation.

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Celebrating God’s Faithfulness

April 30, 2021

When civil war broke out in El Salvador, it brought years of suffering and fear for Alfonso and his family. They endured brutal violence and saw loved ones, friends and neighbors die or go missing. On three occasions, Alfonso felt bullets passing near him but his life was spared. “I cried out to God, praying Psalms 91 and 23 as I ran for my life. I knew that God was preserving my life for a purpose,” he writes.

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Called Out of the Fire

April 30, 2021

When Yosiah met Anita and Tina, two young women from the U.S. who were visiting his church, they shared how the Lord had called them to come live and serve in a slum community in the city of his birth. This testimony a turning point for Yosiah, and then a large fire broke out in the slum community. He skipped work for a week and helped with the fire response, and this ended up showing him the path that the Lord wanted for his life.

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An Invitation That Leads to Life

April 30, 2021

“Upon meeting an older worker in our early days in North Africa, I was proud to hear him say, ‘God called a lot of talented, intelligent people to do this work.’ I was then stunned as he finished, ‘…but they said no. So here we are.’ The real invitation does not often feel glamorous. The real invitation looks like faithfulness,” Opal writes.

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Worker profile: J. and M. W.

April 23, 2021

M. is teaching English Language Learning for elementary students and is mentoring a student teacher. J. is Business Developer for transformational educational businesses, mentors leadership teams to develop sustainable witness, and is helping to start a new preschool.

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Call to Prayer: The Posture of Persistent Hope

April 23, 2021

In his book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Eugene Peterson wrote, “The spiritual atmosphere in which we live erodes faith, dissipates hope and corrupts love.” In the face of the louder voices and the evening news, our job is to vigorously hold on to the hope that God will fulfill his purposes, not by might, not by strength, but by his Spirit!

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God At Work in Winston-Salem

April 23, 2021

We met Selenny and her son Cristian through Gladys, who is a member of our church. As his teacher assistant, Gladys sensed that Cristian needed extra support with his school work and reached out to us as a church for help. We began to build a relationship with them both. Soon, both Selenny and Cristian gave their lives to Jesus.

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God At Work in Bari, Italy

April 23, 2021

“We have had opportunities to meet people who are beginning to be attentive to the truth of the word of God. We can see a change in their thinking and habits because they have begun to read the word or listen to preaching. Serving our God allows us to experience an eternal purpose to our days. We are neither bored nor fruitless!” writes former tranSender Fabrizio Perfetti.

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The Hope to Create Community

March 30, 2021

Since her assignment began in the fall, Vicki Barnes has seen a deep yearning among students for friendship, especially after months of social distancing, periods of isolation, and not meeting new people. Her hope is that God will use her to help students on campus grow in their conviction of who God has called them to be and what God calls them to do.

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The Tragedy of Addiction

March 30, 2021

D.J. Mitchell has been in recovery for over 35 years. “I owe a debt of gratitude for the grace and mercy I’ve been given. As Paul tells us in Ephesians 2, we were saved by grace to do good works. Part of my recovery is committing to doing for others what was done for me,” he writes.

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A Glimpse of Hope in Germany

March 30, 2021

“If we gain hope from God’s nearness, then being near to others is a way we can incarnationally share that hope with others. Particularly in troubling times, when the world seems upside down, we have a chance to practice presence with people,” David Stutzman writes.

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VMMissions Joins Hurricane Relief Ministry in Honduras

March 9, 2021

In November 2020, Honduras and other Central American countries were devastated by two major back-to-back hurricanes, Eta and Iota. VMMissions started a Honduras Hurricane Relief Fund to participate with the Honduran effort by providing funds and supplies.

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Board and Staff Participate in Racial and Cultural Sensitivity Training

March 9, 2021

On October 24 and November 6, 2020, VMMissions board and staff members participated in a two-part training on racial and cultural sensitivity facilitated by Alicia Manning, an educator, consultant, and member of Calvary Community Church (C3) in Hampton, Va.

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VMMissions Now Hiring: Human Resources Manager

March 5, 2021

Virginia Mennonite Missions seeks a full-time Human Resources Manager (consideration will be given for a part-time position if preferred). This individual will be the primary human resources officer for VMMissions, handling employment applications, coordinating hire and termination events, administering payroll and benefits, and leading the work to review and improve HR systems. Responsibilities will include administrative and office management duties to support the work of VMMissions’ staff.

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Give Differently This Christmas with Alternative Christmas Gifts

December 7, 2020

Each year, VMMissions workers propose projects to meet some special or immediate need in their ministries for our Alternative Christmas Gifts program. These projects range in scope and are ideal for individuals, families, Sunday School classes, small groups or entire congregations to consider. See this year’s projects.

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VMMissions Joins Honduras Hurricane Relief Initiatives

December 4, 2020

After two major hurricanes only two weeks apart bore down on Honduras, VMMissions was invited to join several relief initiatives led by Honduran churches with whom we have relational links, and Manantial de Vida, a partner congregation within Virginia Mennonite Conference. A total of $22,000 is needed to respond to practical needs such as family sanitation kits, food packet distribution in isolated communities, and repairs to homes and church structures.

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#GivingTuesday Raises $4,800 for Mission

December 2, 2020

VMMissions thanks the 36 donors who contributed a total of $4,800 to this year’s #GivingTuesday campaign. This includes a matching gift of $800 from Everence. VMMissions will use these contributions to multiply disciples among neighbors near and far as we join the work that God is already doing at home and around the world.

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Worker Profile: Tyler and Kendra Yoder

November 2, 2020

We are planting Garden City Church, where we seek the wholeness of Southside Richmond, Va., by focusing on reconciliation, maturity, and multiplication. We see that lasting and effective discipleship happens in smaller groups, so our primary focus is on house churches, while we still desire to meet as a corporate body to celebrate God and his work in the city and in our lives.

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Call to Prayer: Seeing Beyond the Barriers

November 2, 2020

Jesus says, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12), and “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved” (John 10:9a). So when the enemy tries to tempt me to focus on the barriers, I pray for eyes to be opened to see the compelling beauty of Jesus shining into our world with arms wide open, causing all to run to him.

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Walls Come Down in Lezhë

November 2, 2020

Too often we find that the beliefs and rationalizations that our hearts have built have actually come to imprison and isolate us from God and others. These are walls we are to “demolish,” as the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 10:4-5. Indeed, some long-standing walls are falling in Lezhë, Albania.

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AJ Mosley

We Listen and Learn

November 2, 2020

It has been said that “the church is like the eye. It has a little black in it and a little white in it, and without both, we cannot see.” Because of our distinctive demographic, we are in place to help the church see the plight or privilege of their brothers and sisters more clearly. By doing so, we gain a more robust understanding of the gospel.

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Jason Showalter

Shaken Beyond the Walls

November 2, 2020

We’re faced with opportunities for repentance, generosity and bold witness as ambassadors of God’s reconciliation through Christ. May we be shaken by that indwelling presence beyond our walls and to new places of repentance, healing and bold witness.

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Eyes Open on a Ripening Harvest

November 2, 2020

Like many people during this time of COVID-19, I have found myself at a loss for what to do or say. But sharing the Bible stories with my coworkers after studying them through a Discovery Bible Study format has changed my way of relating. We, with the light of Christ, can transform obstacles into opportunities for the glory of God.

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