Stories of Mission

Learning to Walk After Jesus

I moved to the slums four years ago. My mind was full of big ideas of hope and the dream of seeing slum communities transformed by the love of Jesus. But in my time here, I have witnessed grueling poverty, a devastating fire, demolition and eviction of over 1,000 homes. What does discipleship mean in such a context?

Come to the Table

The idea of meeting around the table for a meal and talking, listening and telling stories is all a part of the Mediterranean culture and has been for centuries. During our time in Italy, we were able to experience fellowship at the table as opportunities to share with them the hope of Christ.

Know Them by Their Fruit

What motivates you? What underlying beliefs and values inform the decisions you make? These are hard questions for many people to answer. Our convictions and motivations often lie below the surface, beyond our full awareness. Yet they are at work all the time.

Gospel Openings But Few Workers in Hmong Villages

Jonah Yang was part of a team that took 730 pairs of glasses donated to the Lion’s Club to Thailand. These were distributed among seven villages. The majority of the people who received the glasses were non-Christians, and it gave him and the team a good opportunity to live and share the gospel.

Renewing our Connections

For the past 25 years, Virginia Mennonite Conference (VMC) and VMMissions have shared the publication, Connections. VMC Executive Conference Minister Clyde Kratz and Aaron Kauffman discuss challenges and dreams that have emerged about this communication tool.

Milk Plant Builds Trust in Kosovo

Whitney’s love of working with dairy cows and her desire to follow God led her to work in Kosovo. So far, she has been here for five months, and for four of those months she has worked at a local milk collection and processing center called Jeta e Re, which means “new life.”

New Wineskins, New Wine

“I have been trying to put the new wine into my old skin. And a few days ago, I thought I was ready to burst,” Jeanette Strode writes. “There was anger and pain and frustration. I was sitting in a dark room while Lucy napped. So, I picked up my Bible and began to read. There it was, two chapters in.”

Meaningful Work, God’s Provision

Even though her workload has been steadily increasing, the Lord has made Katrina’s work more meaningful and life-giving every day. “He has shown me that the more energy I put into building relationships, being merciful, generous and kind in the classroom, ” she writes.

More With Less?

Virginia Mennonite Missions has seen an exponential increase in adult mission workers in 1+ year assignments, but our level of staffing has remained nearly the same. More surprisingly, undesignated contributions have actually decreased. How can VMMissions do more with the same, or even a little less?

Building a Network of Mennonite Relationships in Germany

David hopes that the network he works with will be a place for people to find encouragement for starting new initiatives, for new and ongoing church plants, and for renewal efforts in existing churches; a place that practices the gathering and sending of disciples.

Thanksgiving Celebration in Italy Introduces New Traditions

At the beginning of November, we offered to prepare a traditional American Thanksgiving meal as an outreach. It was exciting to have the chance to share our culture, to use it as a tool for outreach, and to stay busy to ease the homesickness that comes with the holidays.

A Visit to Purok Pluto’s Coffee Fields

In order for the owner of a coffee field to bring in a harvest, he or she usually needs three additional harvesters. These extra hands receive their pay in coffee: one kilogram for every five that each harvests. As the women described their work, they are frustrated at the reality of hard work for small returns.

Learning to Receive

This poor woman’s gift to us was exorbitant. I insisted that she share my plate, which she refused. She took some bread added a piece of cheese and a few tomato slices, while the rest of us enjoyed the potatoes and chicken she had prepared. I could hardly take a bite for the lump in my throat.

Let’s Do This Together!

“Hagámoslo juntos!” or “Let’s do this together!” was the first-ever Mennonite Hispanic Initative (MHI) leaders retreat at Highland Retreat. Four Spanish-speaking churches from the Harrisonburg area were represented, with 26 church leaders and 28 teens and children participating.

Dianna Lehman Hired as Executive Assistant and Human Resources Manager

Dianna Lehman joins VMMissions as Executive Assistant and Human Resources Manager to provide administrative support to the President, handle logistics for the Board of Directors and manage HR for staff and mission workers.

Sister Care Seminar in Trinidad “Part of God’s Master Plan”

VMMissions, Virginia Mennonite Women, and Latin American Women Theologians partnered with Mennonite Women USA to offer a Sister Care Seminar. Event coordinator Marsha Ragoonath said, “As a leader, I was inspired by the level of energy emanating from our discussion.”

A Day in the Life of Nancy Marshall

Nancy Marshall lives and works in Orange Walk Town Belize She shares a window into a typical day for her as she juggles pastoring the Jesus’ Deaf Church, parenting, and tutoring.

Relationships Over Accomplishments

Each day brings a new challenge at Maranatha School for the Deaf. But it’s not Caleb’s usual work that is challenging, it’s the fact that he can never get done what he sets out to accomplish during the day. But God is showing him that relationships are more important to cultivate.

Celebrating 40 Years of God’s Faithfulness in Trinidad

MCTT celebrated its 40th anniversary in a blessed and uplifting weekend. The work that began in 1974 has led to five congregations. For this huge milestone in the life of the Trinidadian church, 26 fraternal guests from the United States and one from Jamaica joined in the occasion.

Giving Ourselves Away

In a season of uncertainty for our denomination, it’s easy to adopt a mentality of scarcity. The problem with this kind of thinking, according to Jesus, is that in keeping our lives to ourselves, we’ll actually end up losing them. Self-preservation may be a natural instinct, but it’s not a gospel mentality.

In Step With the Spirit

Are we attentive to the Holy Spirit? How do we tell what the Spirit of God is saying to us? Those are key questions, whether we’re discerning our personal vocation, making a major decision, or charting a course as a church. The early Anabaptists wrestled with this question, too.

Temples of the Holy Spirit

Bethany was walking down the road one day when a motorcycle taxi driver buzzed by, then turned around and came back. He asked, “What’s your religion?” “We believe in the Lord Jesus,” Bethany answered. He nodded and buzzed away, only to circle back, asking, “What temple do you worship in?”

Deaf Young People in Belize Enjoy VBS

Every summer our church has a Vacation Bible School (VBS) program primarily for Deaf people ages 10 and up, including hearing siblings in that age range who want to come. It included worship, memory verses, Bible stories and a drama to make it clear.

Prayer is the Greatest Role for MSTs

Ministry Support Teams are drawn into the dynamic of God at work, where community forms around God’s mission. They jointly shoulder the financial challenges, and are invited to focus on prayer and to experience joy when the “many wonders” begin to unfold.

Grace Mennonite’s Mission to the Philippines

Over thirty years ago, Larry Vitor, a young, hopeful Filipino pastor picked up an article written by Pastor Richard Early, and he decided to write a letter requesting that Richard be his prayer partner. Richard wrote him back, and this journey began.

Will Our Faith Have Children?

Numbers are only one measure of success, and maybe not the best one. Faithfulness—our primary aim—does not always yield impressive figures. The potency of God’s kingdom movement lies not in us, but in the message of Jesus we’ve been entrusted to share.

Ending on a High Note

It was so rewarding for us to have “our children” sing for and with the EMHS choir. At the end, the children came out to the choir circle and joined hands had special meaning, as their benediction words were directed to the children they had just played with.

Martin Rhodes presents gifts to the new tranSend class

New tranSend Interns Commissioned for Service

Members of the new tranSend class were commissioned in a meaningful time of worship at On Sunny Slope Farm, near Dayton, Va., on July 17, 2016. Peter Eberly, lead pastor of Eastside Church, spoke both challenge and encouragement based on Isaiah 42.

How We Make Disciples in the Way of Christ

Harold Miller surmises that Judas never intended to betray Jesus to death, but instead betray him into the hands of his enemies to press him to fight. Perhaps Judas believed Jesus would fight, eliminating the injustice and installing utopia by force. But Jesus responds in a surprising way.

Enriched by Exponential’s Exploration of Evangelism

VMMissions leaders took a team from Virginia Conference to Exponential East 2014. This annual church planters conference in Orlando, Florida, draws more than 5,000 mission-minded folks from across the country.

Partnership as Mission

When followers of Jesus engage in mutual, transparent and interdependent relationships across cultures, they become both an example of God’s upside-down kingdom and a means for its extension into the world. True partnership allows us all to see Jesus more clearly.

Nancy Marshall Ordained for Pastoral Ministry in Belize

Deaf believers and their families, the leaders of the Belize Evangelical Mennonite Church, and representatives of VMMissions gathered at Jesus’ Deaf Church to confirm God’s call on Nancy’s life by ordaining her as a minister of the gospel.

Building Outward-Oriented Networks of Discipleship

There is a desire for people to stay connected to their roots and to network with others in community. A vision began to emerge for how a network could encourage and support a new generation of leaders to form contextual missional initiatives.

Good Samaritan Opportunities

Recently I saw a man in his late 70s who was stranded along the side of our road with a flat tire. My husband Vince was on his way home when he happened upon this stranger. Noticing that he was unable to even loosen the lug nuts, Vince stepped in. Abram was very grateful.

Youth Show Deep Commitment, Longing to Know God

While there have been times where we have struggled to find adults who are yearning to dig deeper into God’s Word or commit to meeting regularly for a Bible study, we have been blessed by the youth in our youth group.

Testimony of Transformation

A powerful, challenging speaker shared his story of being delivered from a life of drugs and crime by the love and salvation of God to a gathering of 60 teenagers in Montenegro. We believe God orchestrated the event and answered our prayers.

Beyond the Limits of Law Into New Life

We obey God by following the sunnah of Jesus the Messiah (Isa al-Masih). This is the way that we describe ourselves to our Muslim neighbors. Sunnah is a term used to describe the way of life prescribed as normative for Muslims.

Discipling Others to Tell the Story

Joi and Brother Phonthawee were beginning to prepare what they would teach in a gathering of Isaan church leaders. Worker Mark Schoenhals was asked to teach teachers and give theological foundations for their teaching of other pastors and church leaders.

VMMissions Welcomes New Staff; Transitions Noted

Virginia Mennonite Missions has hired Sarah Schoenhals as Receptionist & Administrative Assistant, starting March 17. Janet Blosser’s role has been expanded to include the Balkans. Ken Horst has transitioned into the role of Development Associate.

Time to Work: Teaching a Biblical View of Work Without Dependence

Youth found a creative business opportunity in multimedia and earned a good sum of money. They kept none of the money for themselves, but after giving ten percent to the church, they invested the entire profit back into a newly-formed company called “Transformation Multimedia.”

People-fishing, Jesus-style

Our mission is “to invite people to faithful living in Jesus Christ.” We seek to be and call forth apprentices of Jesus, not simply start one more program or project. Last summer the Board of Virginia Mennonite Missions approved seven strategic priorities to guide our work over the next 3-5 years.

The Harvest is Plentiful, But…

It is always a joy to return to our Italian family, re-connecting with old friends and meeting new ones. At the Italian Mennonite Church Conference, held this year at Centro Agape in Palermo, Italy, participants engaged the theme, “The harvest is plentiful, but…” and shared their experiences over the past year.

Signs of Life Creates Space for Worship in Deaf Culture

Many of the people who attend Signs of Life don’t come from a church backgrounds. Chris and MaryBeth Moore discovered that the needs in the deaf community are great. “There are so many holes in their understanding of the Bible,” MaryBeth said. “They miss out on so many things.”

Mennonite Hispanic Initiative Becomes Ministry of VMMissions

MHI was established to respond to the need for educated, mission-minded, and VMC-connected Latino leaders. A core community of trained Latino church leaders has emerged, providing leadership for the churches associated with MHI.

Sharing the Light of Christ in Kosovo

As we continue on our drive through the country from the capital of Pristina to the rural town of Istog, I begin to notice that many of the bullet-pocked homes ravaged during the war are being rebuilt and reinhabited. Slowly, the scars of war are being healed.

Hernandez Named Local Coordinator of IBA

Lizzette Hernandez will serve as the new coordinator of the local Spanish-language Anabaptist Biblical Institute (IBA), a program under the auspices of Mennonite Education Agency that offers diplomas in Theological Studies to Latino church leaders.

Retreat Focuses on ‘Familiar Blessings, Blowing Spirit’

Women from across the Conference considered the spirituality of our parents and grandparents and how we focus on Jesus today during the annual VMC Women’s Retreat. Dawn Ruth Nelson, Mennonite pastor and spiritual director, led the group through the theme.

Making Disciples, Creating Communities—Not Just Churches

“Jesus did not call us to build churches but to make disciples.” These were the simple and true yet profound words from Skip Tobin as he began a session of a three-day church planting seminar with members of the Mennonite Church of Trinidad and Tobago (MCTT).

VMMissions Welcomes Two New Staff Members

Virginia Mennonite Missions is pleased to welcome Lynn Suter and Sherah-Leigh Gerber as new staff members. Lynn will serve as Director of Operations and International Ministries, and Sherah-Leigh joins VMMissions as Advancement Director.

Ending and Emerging

I come to the end of my presidency of VMMissions at the conclusion of 2013. I have spent my life in the church. As a young adult I ratified the choice my parents had previously made for me and I became a Mennonite. I have no regrets.

Contact us

Connect with us

Serve & Partner