Lynda Hollinger-Janzen’s 43-year journey with Mennonite mission agencies concludes with her retirement from Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) in October 2025. After 24 years as a writer and decades of global service, her legacy spans continents, roles, and a commitment to holistic ministry.
“Mennonite Mission Network has been blessed by Lynda’s passion and energy through her unwavering commitment to follow God’s call and to care for all of God’s creation.”
Marisa Smucker, executive director
From childhood, Lynda had a passion for mission, but that shifted during her college years as she learned how mission and colonization marched hand in hand, devastating peoples and their cultures. She fell in love with Haiti during her 1976 Study-Service Term, while a student at Goshen College, and wanted to return to help pay back a debt that she felt her culture owed the Haitian people and their land.
After graduating with double majors in French and physical education, Lynda was recruited by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to serve in Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of Congo – DRC), as no openings were available in Haiti.
Service in Zaïre
From 1978 to 1981, Lynda served in Zaïre. Her first year involved teaching English and physical education in a mission school in Mbandaka, a large city. In her second year, she taught English in Ntondo, a rural village, and helped develop a health education program for 200 schools.
People, especially women and children, at the British Baptist hospital in Ntondo were dying of preventable illnesses and conditions caused by severe parasite infestations, such as malaria and malnutrition. Lynda, along with medical staff at the hospital, developed a health education program that taught concepts like sleeping under a mosquito net reduces the chance of getting malaria and washing hands and food before eating reduces exposure to parasites and the sicknesses they cause.
In her third year serving with MCC, Lynda traveled with Zaïrois nurses to deliver health education lessons across the northwestern region of the country. Lynda said:
“Three Zaïrois nurses and I traveled hundreds of miles by bicycle, dug-out canoes, and on foot, as there were no roads leading to many of these communities. We presented lessons in schools during the day and held clinics in the afternoons and evenings. We once had to delay our travel because elephants were occupying the savannah we needed to cross! This is where I learned that I wanted to commit my life to community health, where small changes in life patterns can be the difference between life and death.”
While reflecting on her time in Zaïre during a 20-mile walk to catch a truck back to the city en route to the United States, Lynda said she realized Jesus was the most treasured part of her life and she didn’t feel she had shared enough of that part of herself during her service.
“The people in Zaïre shared everything they had with me, but I hadn’t shared the most important thing in my life.”
This epiphany led her to pray for a second chance to integrate faith-sharing into her service.
Back to the U.S. (and then England) 1981-1985
“I borrowed money from my grandpa for college. He was a huge mission supporter and told me if I was involved with mission work, he wouldn’t make me pay interest on my college loan.”
When Lynda returned from Zaïre in 1981, knowing she wanted to pursue a ministry in community health as a mission worker, she worked the night shift as a nursing aid at Greencroft Communities for 1.5 years until she paid her debt to her grandfather.
During this time, Lynda took mission courses at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary where she met Rod Janzen. They married in 1984 and worked together for Church Community Services as housekeepers in a home in Elkhart for women who had suffered domestic abuse.
Sharing a passion for cross-cultural ministry, Lynda and Rod began to prepare for mission work through Mennonite Board of Missions (MBM) in 1985. Since they were being sent to serve alongside African-Initiated Churches, MBM sent Lynda and Rod to Selly Oak Colleges in Birmingham, England, where they studied new religious movements. From there, they both started a year-long master’s program at London University where Lynda studied in the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine for a degree in community health in developing countries.
After completing their master’s programs in 1986, they left for the Ivory Coast where they were mentored by MBM workers, James and Jeanette Krabill. After four months in the Ivory Coast, Lynda and Rod went to Benin, in response to the request of the African-Initiated Churches there, who had been asking for Mennonite accompaniment for more than two decades.
Benin, West Africa
From 1987 to 2000, Lynda and Rod served in Benin under the Mennonite Board of Missions. Lynda worked at a church-based health clinic, focusing on community health. Her work strengthened ties with local churches, fostering holistic ministry through health care, evangelism, and community building.
“African Christians expanded my understanding of who God is and how God works among us,” Lynda said. “My faith deepened through experiencing their trust in Jesus. So much of who I am today comes from sharing life with my African brothers and sisters.”
Transition to U.S. (2000–Present)
Upon returning to the United States in 2000, the Hollinger-Janzen family settled in Goshen, Indiana. Lynda shifted roles from mission worker to MBM staff writer, which became Mennonite Mission Network in 2002.
As a writer, she compiled monthly prayer resources and covered ministries in Africa and Europe, helping global Anabaptist communities stay connected through storytelling and spiritual support.
In 2007, Lynda traveled to Latin America to report on ministries there. A highlight was participating in a Bolivia Mennonite Church youth camp held each year to occupy young people during Mardi Gras, a time of increased crime and promiscuous behavior. Another highlight was spending a week in the Toba-Qom communities in the Argentine Chaco. MBM workers there were some of the first to practice two-way mission, like the work Lynda and Rod helped develop in West Africa.
In 2013, Lynda received Goshen College’s Dr. Ruth Gunden Champion of Character Award, given to alumni athletes who live out the college’s core values through service.
She co-authored 3-D Gospel in Benin: Beninese churches invite Mennonites to holistic partnership. Lynda also co-hosted one season of the Missionwary? podcast, which explores mutual mission partnerships and mutual conversion among God’s people in different cultures.
In this phase of her career, spanning more than two decades, Lynda leveraged her cross-cultural experiences to inspire, educate and equip North American churches for global engagement through her writing.
Legacy and personal impact
“Lynda’s journey gifted her with an extraordinary depth of institutional knowledge. From service to storytelling, Lynda absorbed the nuances of global Anabaptist ministry — its history, values, and evolving mission. She applied her understanding of cross-cultural partnerships and knack for writing about the heart of our work to weave our legacy into today’s mission. That knowledge will endure beyond her retirement. Lynda will be deeply missed, and we send her into this next chapter with heartfelt gratitude and warmest wishes for all that lies ahead.”
Jennifer Hayes, director of marketing and communication
A long-time member of Waterford Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana, Lynda has balanced her professional life with faith and family alongside her husband Rod, their three adult children and their spouses, and four grandchildren — and personal pursuits, like biking.
Lynda’s journey — from frontline health worker in Zaïre to storyteller with Mission Network — mirrors the evolution of mission work itself. Building on the legacy of past missionaries, she embraced a model of accompaniment, adapting to today’s global needs with humility, cultural sensitivity and a focus on mutual partnership.
