Stories of Mission
Explore mission themes in our quarterly magazine as workers tell stories of making disciples in the way of Christ.
Stay informed of all the latest VMMissions news.
Formed by gratitude
I have great blood! My blood is type O Negative (universal donor), and CMV Negative (it does not contain cytomegalovirus.) The attendants at the blood donor room tell me my blood can be pulled off the shelf and used immediately for trauma patients, and it can be used in young children. I was quite pleased…
Read MoreDeep longings, deep hopes from younger adults
Where are all the young adults? Recent studies show that more than 50% of youth who were active in church during their high school years are not returning after graduation. Indeed, many VMC congregations are noticing this dramatic disappearance of younger participants and are wondering what is happening. Yet in the meta-crisis of a rapidly…
Read MoreBrazilian couple returns to Albania for second term
Rafael and Solange Tartari along with infant son, Paolino, recently returned to Lezhe, Albania, following a busy three-month “home assignment,” visiting family and churches in Brazil. They were commissioned by their sending agency, Junta Menonita de Missões Internacionais (JMMI), and seconded to work collaboratively with VMM missionary team in Albania for a second term. Their…
Read MoreExponential: accelerating multiplication
Exponential Conference has become a significant conference of leaders and practitioners engaged in God’s work of planting churches. Held annually in Orlando, Florida, this year’s conference included 5,000 people, with 24 persons attending through Virginia Mennonite Missions. It has become one tool that VMMissions has used to foster church planting vision, provide access to ideas…
Read MoreConference Assembly: ‘Formed by the Risen Christ’
We gather at Virginia Mennonite Conference’s annual Assembly for worship, fellowship, cooperative learning, sharing our experiences and insights, and group discernment. Delegate sessions, workshops, special events, and evening worship will fill our time together. Assembly participants will explore the theme “Formed by the Risen Christ,” which builds on the Mennonite Church USA Purposeful Plan priority…
Read MoreOne body, one faith
“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6 Arriving in Jamaica on March 1, I was immediately captivated by the…
Read MoreLove and boldness for Christ’s glory
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, love and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7 The word “learning” greatly sums up my past year in Germany. Coming to a new language, culture, land, people, and work has made each day full of unknowns, surprises, challenges and all together constant…
Read MoreIn Christ, the crooked made straight
“If you aren’t promoted at school this year, I’ll kill you!” As a child, I believed my father would actually carry out this threat since he punished me severely when I didn’t do my homework well or for other childish misdeeds! My Dad grew up in a family greatly influenced by the mafia mentality where…
Read Morenet·work·ing
net·work·ing noun 1. a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest Networking. This is the one word that can sum up what my role in the Czech Republic has been this past year. Being the first mission intern in Prague for EMM and VMM means my primary…
Read MoreWhen waiting for God’s Spirit, who knows what might result!
Several years ago, I was sitting in a seminary classroom listening to Lawrence Yoder tell a story of missionaries in Indonesia who spent years learning language and culture before beginning to tell the stories of the Bible. When they did, the Spirit of God moved powerfully, the Gospel was shared effectively, and a movement to…
Read MoreLove causes Roberto to do an about-face
When we first met Roberto*, he was a man with a bleak outlook on life and had no use for God. “How can God be good when bad things happen to good people?” “I am a good person and do good things, and if there is a God, he will let me into heaven.” This…
Read MoreReflections on the city of rubble: a view through a bullet hole
Words do not come easily when I think of how to describe this city. Contrasts abound. A quiet sorrow hovers, a faint memory of a city, once great, now reduced to rubble. As we traveled from the relative safety of a car with tinted windows, my host pointed at mounds of concrete, skeletons of the…
Read More