WELLMAN, Iowa (Central Plains Mennonite Conference/Mennonite Mission Network) — An ecumenical group of church leaders led by a Mennonite, Erwin Mirabal, describe their educational mission through the metaphor of the gospel of Jesus as a healthy infection, “infecting the churches of Venezuela with a sana doctrina [literally ‘healthy doctrine’ in English]."
In several locations throughout Venezuela, a network of Mennonites and others inspired by the way of Jesus are sharing the Anabaptist theology that has strengthened their understanding of the gospel.
In February, Mirabal, together with a group of Christian leaders in Caracas, was able to find a suitable property with space for church services, seminary courses, and ministries, as well as an apartment, so that Mirabal and his family can move to the mainland. The partnership, which includes Mennonite Mission Network, Iglesia Cristiana Menonita de Colombia, and Central Plains Mennonite Conference, assisted financially for a two-year rental agreement in support of the new ministries on the mainland.
Mirabal, a businessman and church leader, together with his wife, Haydee, have devoted much time and effort to ministry in Venezuela. Mirabal was first introduced to Anabaptist theology as a young man in the 1980s when he attended a class taught by John Driver, a former Mennonite Mission Network worker and author. At first, Mirabal said, he didn’t understand much. But he kept the materials, pondered what he had heard, and continued to study and learn.
In recent years, he and an ecumenical group of leaders on Isla Margarita, the Venezuelan island where Mirabal and his family live, have offered educational workshops and seminary classes to others with help from the Colombia Mennonite Biblical Seminary. On the mainland, a network of Christians who were similarly nurtured by Mennonite missions has helped to expand the reach of the seminary classes. In 2014, 72 committed students participated in the seminary classes in Venezuela.
“God has given Erwin a gift to teach in a way that helps all of us, that we can understand God’s word much better, to help us to be more involved with the people around us,” said Marielis Barrios, a seminary student.
As a project for a Christology class, Marianela Verde painted a picture to illustrate Jesus’ call to serve, which now hangs in the seminary’s Isla Margarita office. She said that the class “permitted me to see who Jesus Christ is and how to convey him to other people.”
In conversation last November with a partnership delegation representing Central Plains Mennonite Conference (CPMC), the Colombia Mennonite Church (IMCOL), and Mennonite Mission Network, students described why they prize the seminary classes, whose recent subjects have included Christology and Church History.
Representatives from the three mission partners visited Isla Margarita as well as several other locations to learn about the ways brothers and sisters in Venezuela are ministering, “infecting” those around them with healthy biblical teaching on the way of Jesus.
“It’s common for biblical and theological education programs to welcome students from other churches, but much less common to offer to teach the courses in the other churches,” said Linda Shelly, Mission Network’s director for Latin America. “In Venezuela, Mennonites recognize the value of helping others, especially independent churches [churches not affiliated with a denomination], to develop a healthy, holistic theology. This naturally leads to being able to work well together in service to the community.”
By offering these classes, they strengthen the churches and believers. Independent churches generally are outside accountability structures, so people can be vulnerable to erroneous Bible teaching, or even abuse.
Maria Elena Rodriguez, a businesswoman who now serves as a church leader on Isla Margarita, said, “When I began to take these courses, I realized that I had had a lot of twisted formation … I told God that I felt like I was lacking something. I had looked for it in pastors.” Now, she and the reflection group she leads search for direction from Scripture, resulting in changed lives and relationships.
Community care
Another member of the Isla Margarita group, Omar Rodriguez, described how he has sought to live out Jesus’ call to service through ministry to drug addicts and alcoholics. He maintains a space next to his house where he has offered food and activities. He compared Christians who ignore suffering people to Pharisees, saying, “Many people have been converted, but it doesn’t make any difference in the way they treat the needy people on the streets. They just pass by.” Others, he said, provide food but do not invite the people on the streets to enter their churches. He added, “Where it says, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ it means everybody.”
The Isla Margarita group looks for practical ways to extend the peace of Christ to families in the community. They have organized workshops about “Confronting Family Violence” and “Extending a Hand to Your Neighbors.” They also implemented a campaign against war toys, and taught collaborative games. Plans are underway for a program serving children on school break, called “A Hug for Peace.”
Confident in the ability of the Isla Margarita group to carry on the work of the seminary on the island, and wanting to strengthen the group on the mainland, Mirabal and his family plan a move to Caracas in 2015. The Mirabals hope to plant a church in Caracas, which would also serve as headquarters for the seminary on the mainland. A natural next step for the partnership that began in Ecuador is to support the efforts in Venezuela.
Mirabal, quoted in a July 17 article published by Mission Network, placed the seminary’s impact within the context of the larger society. “In the Venezuelan context of polarization and violence, where every group tries to manipulate us with their slogans of ‘Revolution and Justice’ on one hand and ‘Democracy and Liberty’ on the other, the message of the cross, of reconciliation with enemies and following Jesus, should be proclaimed with all of our strength,” he said.
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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 news@mennonitemission.net.
