Paging back through our story archives from the last twelve months, I had a fresh reminder of the sheer breadth of ministries that Mennonite Mission Network supports. So many wonderful stories made it difficult to pick just a few!

Sometimes those of us on the writing staff struggle to ‘boil down’ exactly what Mission Network does, and with whom. That’s because Mission Network isn’t a business with goods or items to sell, or a nonprofit that focuses on just one specific thing to do. Instead, Mission Network exists to lead, mobilize and equip the church to holistic witness to Jesus Christ – and that can take a lot of different forms in communities around the world!

This story list is the first of three weekly compendiums meant to highlight some of the writing staffs’ favorite stories from different locations around the world. Below you’ll find stories from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North American long-term service programs (Mennonite Voluntary Service and Service Adventure).

Africa: seeking justice, building peace

West African peacemaker uses art and music to counter radicalization of youth

I grew up in Goro, a small, close-knit community in northern Benin, where my grandfather was the village chief. We are members of the Fulɓe tribe, one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa, numbering more than 45 million people. Because of my paternal lineage as nobility, I was expected to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps. But I wanted to become a musician.

Musicians are part of a different caste in the social hierarchy of the Fulɓe people. This caste includes goldsmiths, praise singers, musicians, cobblers and weavers, who serve the nobility. It was taboo for me to become a singer. But God gave me talent, and I loved music!

New global Anabaptist history series deepens understanding of God’s work in the world

In 1922, when Rebecca Sengu was about 14 years old, she defied her parents and enrolled herself in the Mennonite girls’ school at the Nyanga mission station in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). She mustered the courage for this act, because she had heard about a God who loves girls as much as boys, and she was willing to challenge societal norms to follow such a God. 

SADRA’s Women in Peacebuilding works to dismantle violence in South Africa

In August, Southern African Development and Reconstruction Agency (SADRA), a Mennonite Mission Network partner, celebrated women’s month by reflecting on the work done by SADRA’s Women in Peacebuilding, with focus on the impactful work of conflict mediators trained between 2024-2025.

Asia: fostering healing and restoration

Shepherding dreams at Menno Village, Japan

Menno Village is an agricultural initiative of Mennonite churches near Sapporo, Japan, that embodies a commitment to faith and sustainable living. There, Akiko Aratani and Raymond Epp, along with their family and church community, are building Hitsuji (“sheep” in the Japanese language) House to serve as an educational center and a place of spiritual reflection, centered on biblical teachings of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the sacrificial Lamb, and God’s people as tended sheep of God’s pasture.

An invitation to teach became a chance to witness to youths’ enthusiasm for the Gospel

“Mister Joe, would you pray for me? I want to be a missionary.”

I heard these words on my recent trip to Indonesia. I had been invited to teach at two Indonesian Mennonite seminaries, where the average age of students is 19 years old. As I reflected on my experience, the earnestness of these youth rose to the top of my mind.

Europe: Building leadership, sharing hospitality

Providing refuge to our neighbors in Calais, France

In this installment of Mennonite Mission Network’s Here With Purpose webinar series, moderator Lane Miller, regional director for Africa and Europe, joins panelists Joseph and Rachel Givens, Barbara West and Kathy Howell to share stories of accompaniment, hope and resilience walking alongside people on the move in Calais, France.

International worker’s commitment to peacebuilding forged through service experience

Ben and Laurel Woodward-Breckbill are the co-directors of the Paris (France) Mennonite Center (PMC). They are serving through Mennonite Mission Network to join in writing the newest chapter in the center’s storied half-century history as a missional, Anabaptist presence in secular Europe.

Their placement is built on a foundation of existing experience with Mission Network. The couple first served as Mission Network workers in 2016, when they were sent by the agency to Belfast, Northern Ireland, to work in mediation and peacebuilding for a year. During that time, Laurel was studying conflict resolution and reconciliation for her master’s degree — following a passion that she had kindled in college and then put into real-world practice through a year of Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) in Alamosa, Colorado, 2013-14. 

“I am still doing the type of work [today] that I was doing in MVS, so it did make a big impression on me, and it really motivated me to continue doing that work,” Laurel reflected.

Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) & Service Adventure: Joining in the neighborhood

MVS celebrates 50 years in San Francisco

When we celebrate our congregation’s first 50 years, we are also celebrating 50 years of Mennonite Voluntary Service (MVS) in San Francisco. 

The MVS unit’s central place in the congregation traces to the first few months after James and Leanna Rhodes arrived in San Francisco in November 1975 with their vision of living simply together in Christian community, bringing an Anabaptist presence to our city, and proclaiming a witness of peace.

From easy A’s to life lessons: How service led to aviation

At age five, Austin Troyer was fascinated by airplanes and rockets. As he grew older and his motivation for college waned, he started questioning his future. The cost of college and flight training was daunting, and he had to decide if it was truly what he wanted. 

The summer before his senior year, college was looming, but Troyer wasn’t mentally prepared to commit to a program.  He began looking for alternatives, hoping for something that would give him a reset—a way to gain some perspective before jumping into an expensive and demanding college career. He found that a Service Adventure gap year affirmed his faith and his career path.

Your gifts to the Mission Network Fund empower ministries that seek justice, build peace, nurture education, and inspire service worldwide.

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