Mennonite Mission Network celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, a milestone made possible through a legacy of holistic ministry that stretches back more than 100 years across multiple predecessor agencies. Creating a timeline of just the last two decades has proven to be a wonderful problem — there are simply too many great things to include! This timeline is not an exhaustive account of the two decades of Mennonite Mission Network. Instead, it highlights a few of the exciting ways Mennonite Mission Network has been able to be a part of what God is doing in communities around the world: sharing all of Christ with all of creation. Thanks be to God!
February 2002
Mission Network, led by executive director Stanley Green, joins the mission agencies of Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church upon the merger of the two denominations.
2004
Three North American Mennonite mission agencies — Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission, Mennonite Church Canada Witness and Mission Network — begin collaboration to progressively move administration from North America to the African continent through Partnership Councils.
2005
Work in Progress Ensemble — a multiethnic, intergenerational, interdenominational, Mission Network ensemble — is formed to worship God, broaden the music that Mennonites sing and dismantle racial barriers in congregations.
2009
Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute (NARPI) develops a network of 200 organizations and individuals in Northeast Asia to collaborate in peacebuilding.
Mission Network publishes Shared Voices, a style guide for anti-racist communication (A second edition included anti-sexist communication guidelines).
2010
April: Mennonite Voluntary Service signs an agreement with the United States Selective Service System to become a member of the Alternative Service Employer Network for conscientious objectors.
November: Dhamtari Christian Hospital in Chhattisgarh, India, celebrates its centennial anniversary.
2011
Mission Network helped to create the first Hope for the Future, a biennial gathering that brings together BIPOC leaders in Mennonite Church USA to help the denomination thrive as its membership rapidly becomes more diverse.
2012
April: Mennonite Mission Network joins other Mennonite Church USA agencies in dedicating their current building in Elkhart, Indiana.
July: Communauté Mennonite au Congo (Mennonite Church of Congo) celebrates its centennial.
2013
Mongolia Mission Partnership, which launched Mission Network's signature partnership model, celebrates 20 years, the first of 116 partnerships.
2019
May: Sent/Enviados is launched, a program — offered in both English and Spanish — designed to equip peace-church planters.
September: Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Argentina (Argentina Mennonite Church) celebrated its centennial.
August 2020
Mike Sherrill succeeds retired Stanley W. Green as executive director and CEO. Sherrill initiates agency repositioning and with new executive leadership team, re-commits to making anti-racism a core value.
2022
Mission Network launches its new agency-wide strategic plan, positioning the agency to respond with agility and compassion to our changing world.