One congregation "worth it,"
says New Life partner
NEW WINDSOR, Md. -- "Our partnership fee of $12,500 is worth it if only one congregation is engaged in the LIFE (Living in Faithful Evangelism) process," asserted Emanuel "Buzz" Sandberg, executive director of the Brethren Church and the smallest Anabaptist denomination engaging in a day-long future planning session for New Life Ministries (NLM), an inter-Anabaptist evangelism and outreach resource center.
Sandberg was referring to the primary funding source of NLM which is supported presently by four Anabaptist denominations, namely the newly merging Mennonite Church, the Church of the Brethren, the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, the Brethren Church of Ashland, Ohio and one para-church organization, Shalom Foundation, publishers of Together.
Though his denomination has only 117 congregations compared to the Mennonite Church’s 1573 congregations, Sandberg told the gathering of church leaders that the networking with other "Believers’ churches," the stimulation received, the new ideas circulated and the opportunity to contribute to the whole missional enterprise of the Anabaptist family of churches is, in his view, "a very good investment" in our future.
"For too many years we have looked at each other with unhealthy suspicion," he said, "but now it is time to come together and help each other revitalize our more traditional congregations and grow new ones." Currently there are 34 congregations involved in the LIFE process in the four NLM partner denominations.
Sandberg’s sentiments reflected the spirit of the meeting as some 12 representatives of the partner groups projected short-term and long term goals, worked at defining their role as a "resource to resourcers" in the various denominational groupings and to customize a strategy that recognizes the individuality of each denomination’s evangelism activity while at the same time finding points of similarity to progress around common goals.
In an historic overview, Robert Kettering, senior pastor of the Lititz (PA) Church of the Brethren and one of the original visionaries for NLM, spoke of the mission of NLM as the four "Ps":
•Promote the uniqueness of the Anabaptist/Believers’ church tradition as it relates to evangelism, church planting and congregational revitalization.
•Produce quality materials and resources which will empower congregations in their discipleship and outreach ministries.
•Provide consultations, networking and training for evangelism and congregational development.
•Propagate strategic alliances with institutions and para church groups within the Anabaptist/Believers’ church tradition.
Robert J. Suderman, submitting advanced comments in absentia as a representative of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, cautioned against NLM projecting itself as a growing centralized office with growing staff demands, office demands and centralized administration. "This would move us away from a "resource to resourcers" vision that we support."
Suderman called for expanding NLM’s liaisons to work with such groups as the Council of International Ministries (CIM) and the Gospel and Our Culture Network.
The 12 persons, comprising the board of directors and the management team for NLM, urged the team to continue developing LIFE modules for congregations to study and implement outreach plans, to sponsor hospitality workshops in conjunction with denominational mission leaders and to continue to bring together the theologians and practitioners in evangelism in an annual Anabaptism Evangelism Council. Next year’s two-day event will be held, by invitation, on the campus of the Associated Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, IN, Feb. 19-20, 2000. Paul Mundey and James Wenger will head up a research effort to determine what congregations want in the way of evangelism resources.
Mundey, senior pastor of the Frederick (MD) Church of the Brethren, chaired the meeting. Others on the board are: Thom Keller, a businessman from Newmanstown, PA; Karl McKinney, pastor of Reba Place Church of Rogers Park Mennonite, Chicago; Stafford Frederick, pastor of the Olathe (KS) Church of the Brethren, James Wenger, pastor of the North Baltimore (MD) Mennonite Church and Emanuel Sandberg, executive director of the Brethren Church, Ashland, OH.
Attending from the NLM management team were Joan Hershey of Mount Joy, PA, director; Ed Bontrager, Newport News, VA, representing the Mennonite Board of Congregational Ministries; Marilyn Miller, representing the Commission on Home Ministries of the General Conference Mennonite Church, Ronald W Waters, representing the national office of the Brethren Church and Dick Benner, director of Shalom Foundation. Beth Sollenberger-Morphew, representing the Church of the Brethren and Robert J. Suderman of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, were unable to attend the session.
by Dick Benner, 5/11/99
- New Life Ministries
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Contact: Dick Benner, 888-833-3333
