Conference urges more peace church planting

Church Planting Conference
Kirk Hanger

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Mennonite Mission Network/Mennonite Church USA)—Helping Mennonites to focus more on planting peace churches domestically was the theme of a conference held in Alexandria, Va., recently.

“Power to witness in the shadows of power” aimed to equip and inspire budding church leaders, many of whom have planted churches. The gathering was hosted by New Hope Fellowship, a 7-year-old church plant of Franconia Mennonite Conference, on Sept. 20-21. New Hope meets at Bethany Lutheran Church, where the event was held. The third annual two-day gathering is sponsored and organized by the Atlantic Northeast Conferences (ANEC) and hosted by Virginia Mennonite Conference and Virginia Mennonite Missions. Mennonite Mission Network contributed funding. ANEC is comprised of eight mid-Atlantic and northeast area conferences of Mennonite Church USA.

The nearly 60 attendees engaged in small-group discussions on specific topics and shared church-planting stories. Discussion centered on the characteristics of a fruitful church planter, and the types of support and resources needed from coaches and Mennonite Church USA and Mennonite Church Canada conferences.

Skip Tobin, director of USA Ministries for Virginia Mennonite Missions, said organizers of this year’s conference pushed for it to be near the nation’s capital because of the dramatic demographic changes that have occurred there since the 1990s. Because of immigration, the Washington area is the nation’s fastest growing urban center with 8.4 million people who have ties to several different countries.

“It’s a multiethnic gateway,” Tobin said. “The church must respond to meet people’s needs.”

“We have a unique opportunity to plant peace churches and live out the gospel of peace,” said Mauricio Chenlo, denominational minister for church planting, which is a shared staff position for Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Church USA. “Where else will people learn to live in peace, but through the church?”

Presenters urged church planters to pursue a “post-modern” approach – that is, forming churches that emphasize filling the relationship voids of believers and nonbelievers through more intimate and interactive fellowship, rather than through church programs. Compared to “modern-era” churches rooted in the 16th century, post-modern churches focus more on using unconventional ways to go out and meet people where they are, rather than meeting in a church building primarily among believers. The concept of church is less focused on following one pastor and attending weekly program activities. Worship services might feature more group discussion and less preaching.

Leading one of the eight conference sessions, Chenlo shared his testimony to illustrate the needs that many people have now. As a teen growing up in Argentina, he was nearly turned off from God while attending the dominant traditional church. The leaders were strict and gloomy, and if he and his fellow teens didn’t do exactly what the leaders claimed the Bible said, they would endure severe punishments. However, Chenlo experienced the power of the Holy Spirit at age 18 through reading the Bible carefully with his friends. Also, leaders of a different Christian church showed genuine concern and mentored them. After graduating from college, Chenlo became an Anabaptist and a church planter in Argentina and other countries. He is now focused on recruiting, equipping, and providing resources to individuals, churches and conferences for church planting nationally.

Matt P., a recently licensed Alleghany Conference minister who works with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, is in the process of planting a church in Pittsburgh’s Oakland community, which is racially and ethnically diverse. He said churches must realize that institutions such as those that provide counseling or social services have gotten better at addressing people’s needs. Churches should partner with service agencies and focus on providing the sincere spiritual relationships and guidance people desire.

Jeff Wright, a missional consultant, and Valentina Satvedi, Operating Principles coordinator of Mennonite Central Committee U.S., talked about the power God granted all believers in Jesus Christ to go out and successfully plant effective churches.

According to Acts 1:8, Jesus told his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

“Power is simply the ability to act,” Wright said. “Church planters need to act along with others.”

This particularly resonated with Mariana Lorenzana, who attended the conference with her husband, Marvin, the Christian Service Racial/Ethnic church networker and recruiter for Mennonite Mission Network. Marvin is also the director of Mennonite Hispanic Initiative, which helped plant Iglesia Discipular Anabaptista (IDA, or Disciple Anabaptist Church) in Harrisonburg with help from Virginia Mennonite Missions.

“Church planting is transformation, changing the way we learn to do church,” she said. “Meeting the people’s needs, respecting their cultural context, and trying to bring God to the people where they are.”

Host Marilyn Hanger, who planted New Hope with her husband, Kirk, said it was a blessing for her to fellowship with several other church planters.

“A lot of times church planters feel kind of alone,” she said. “Having this workshop … it was just so good to see other people in the same shoes and situation as we are that have that same burden and calling. Church planting is kind of a niche where there are not many of us. There should be more. I heard from one person whose conference wants to start a church, but they don’t know where to begin.”

Chris Brnjas of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada, who attends The Gathering Church in the Kitchener/Waterloo area, was glad that he came to the conference at the last moment.

“I have felt a call from the Lord in the past year to start something … It’s still in the early stages,” said Brnjas, who is a newly-married recent college graduate. “The biggest thing for me is that I’ve had a lot of unorganized thoughts. I think what this conference is helping me to do is organize those thoughts … gathering all this information and turning it into a more coherent understanding of where God is leading next.”

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For immediate release.

Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact Andrew Clouse at andrewc@mmnworld.net, 574-523-3024 or 866-866-2872, ext. 23024.