Publications
Missional festival is for people of all ages
You’ve probably heard the word “missional” many times before. But what does it really mean? And how can you live missionally? You can explore the answers to these questions at Engaging Mission 2020, an Ohio Conference missional festival planned for June 26-28 at Bluffton University. This will be a bilingual event in both English and Spanish. Engaging Mission 2020 is…
Seeking
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. — Matthew 6:33 (NIV) I recently spent a week alone with God. I try to do that a couple of times a year. I have learned to go into the week without my own expectations of how…
Pastors participate in leadership program
Four pastors of Ohio Conference congregations recently participated in the Values-Based Leadership Program at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. The program includes two four-day sessions, one in October and one in February. “This is an excellent program that we encourage other pastors to participate in,” said Paula Snyder Belousek, pastor of Salem Mennonite Church in Elida. The…
Delegates gather for business, worship
One hundred seventy-three people gathered at Sharon Mennonite Church in Plain City on March 7 for the 51st Annual Conference Assembly (ACA) of the Ohio Conference. Delegates from 36 congregations participated in the one-day meeting. Delegates worship In addition to business sessions, the one-day event included a time of worship, focusing on the theme “Hearts of Wisdom,” based on Psalm…
Volunteers accept Conference positions
Members of Ohio Conference congregations who volunteer their time play a vital role in Conference life. Without the help of numerous volunteers, many of the programs and functions of the Ohio Conference could not take place. Much of the work of Ohio Conference is done by the Leadership Team, the Ministry Development Team, the Credentialing Ministry, the Stewardship Ministry and…
Christians at the Border looks at immigration through the lens of scripture
By Greg Bowman Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible, 2nd Edition (2013) by M. Daniel Carroll R. This author makes a profoundly simple — but perversely challenging — request: Christians, please base your attitudes about immigration on the clear teaching in the Bible — in both testaments — before considering cultural, economic, and legal arguments. He…
Everence’s MyNeighbor program benefits Ohio Conference, other nonprofits
During January the Ohio Conference received a check for $1,077.66 from Everence Financial as part of Everence’s MyNeighbor credit card program. With the MyNeighbor program, individuals and businesses generate reward dollars for their favorite nonprofit every time they use their MyNeighbor credit cards from Everence. Everence donates 1.5 percent of each purchase to the card user’s chosen nonprofit agency. Then…
Credentialed leaders meet for discussion
On Feb. 11 credentialed ministers from across Ohio Conference gathered at the Upper Sandusky Public Library. Thirty-five pastors and other credentialed leaders worshipped in song, dwelled in God’s Word together, discussed the recently released Mennonite Church USA Membership Guidelines Report, ate together, and prayed for one another. The biannual meeting is part of Ohio Conference’s Gathered and Sent initiative, which…
Course offers congregations tools for engaging conflict
Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) — For six weeks each year, Betty Pries, Ph.D., a conflict management specialist based in Waterloo, Ontario, leads an online short course for AMBS as a sessional instructor. In the course, Transforming Congregational Conflict and Communication, Pries and her students draw on biblical, theological, practical and spiritual sources in examining difficult experiences that pastors and…
Engaging Mission 2020 is for all ages
Please note: Due to the uncertainty about when restrictions will be lifted for public gatherings, the Ohio Conference Leadership Team has decided to cancel this event. Over the past four years, Ohio Conference has held a missional conference immediately prior to Annual Conference Assembly. This year there will not be a missional conference in March. Instead, the Conference…
Bluffton University students explore faith through interactive program on Christianity
BLUFFTON, Ohio — For the second semester in a row, Bluffton University’s campus ministries team and student volunteers led Alpha, a multi-week video series and discussion group centered on the Christian faith. The international program, developed in London in 1977, creates spaces where participants come together for conversations about faith, life and God. “Alpha is specifically designed for people who…
A peace church?
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” — Luke 2:12-14 (ESV)…
Youth and young adults: the NOW and FUTURE church
Photo credit: “Bulletin Board” by chelmsfordpubliclibrary is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. By Alex Dye She was 8 years old, chin up with eyes squinting, scrutinizing the faces on the bulletin board. Her gaze glanced across the names under each face and fell upon accompanying titles like “Church Council Chair” and “Worship Committee Chair” and “Trustee” and “Elder,” all designations…
Pastor-Spouse Retreat offers rest, renewal
Twenty-eight couples participated in the Ohio Conference Pastor-Spouse Retreat Nov. 15-17 at the Mills Park Hotel in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The weekend was a time for pastors and their spouses to rest, rejuvenate, and reconnect. Retreat planners included Sue Short, Bill Seymour, Jamie Rye and Coordinator of Volunteers Alysa Short. Photos by Sue Short and Tony Doehrmann
Thankful for the incarnation!
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister We are entering into the special time of year when we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving was originally a religious holiday in which people paused to give thanks to God for the blessings of the harvest. Thanksgiving is followed by the beginning of Advent as Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately,…
Wind of the Spirit enlivens MDI
Small groups begin to multiply By Laurie Oswald Robinson Mennonite Mission Network NEWTON, Kansas (Mennonite Mission Network) — After coming up empty-handed on volunteers for disciple groups within his congregation last fall, Pastor Robert Esh at Valley View Mennonite Church in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, couldn’t help but feel downhearted about his vision-casting. No matter how hard he campaigned, no one wanted…
Local congregations pack 175 immigrant detainee care kits
By Jennifer Steiner MCC Great Lakes On Oct. 2, area congregations gathered at Orrville Mennonite Church to learn about the current situation for border detainees and to work together on a tangible response. In a little over an hour, volunteers had packed 175 immigration detainee care kits to provide much-needed supplies for those being released from border detention. Volunteers assembled…
Border learning tour highlights immigration struggles
By Paula Snyder Belousek Ohio Conference Assistant Moderator At our last Annual Conference Assembly, Ohio Conference delegates passed an Immigration Resolution, and one of the components challenges members of the Conference to become better informed about the issues surrounding immigration. In response, I took the opportunity to travel to Tucson, Arizona, with other Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) leaders following the…
Church planting conversation begins
On Oct. 15 interested persons gathered at the Ohio Conference office for a conversation about planting new Visible Kingdom Communities. This meeting was an initial conversation about what the process of starting new church communities may look like in Ohio. Several people who could not attend in person took part in the conversation via a video conference. The conversation included…
Ohio Conference leaders share at Constituency Leaders Council
By Paula Snyder Belousek Assistant Moderator Conference Minister Dick Barrett, Moderator Lynn Miller and Assistant Moderator Paula Snyder Belousek presented information about the Ohio Conference during the Oct. 17-18 meeting of Mennonite Church USA’s Constituency Leaders Council in Glendale, Arizona. Each conference and constituency group gave 10-minute presentations over the two days of the Constituency Leaders Council (CLC). Each group answered…
Churches come together for World Communion Sunday
Ohio Conference congregations from Wayne and Summit counties gathered at Central Christian School on the afternoon of Oct. 6 for a World Communion Sunday service. The worship service was a partnership of several local Mennonite churches and the Swahili Community Church of Akron, a Congolese Mennonite congregation. The worship service was held in English, Spanish and Swahili and included prayer,…
2019 Advent guide for families is now available
Anabaptist Faith Formation and Mennonite Church USA are offering a free, downloadable guide for family worship during Advent written by Elsie Rempel. This resource, titled Waiting and Wondering, is designed for parents to use at home with their children. With this free worship guide, families can create a space to notice important questions and bring them to God. For six weeks from…
Camp Luz to host spiritual direction event for pastors
Ohio Conference will be offering a day-long event to introduce the concept of spiritual direction to pastors on Feb. 4 at Camp Luz in Kidron. Led by Janice Hershberger, Randy Murray, and Christine Nafziger, attendees will learn about spiritual direction while also experiencing how spiritual direction functions. Registration cost is $25 and includes the event and lunch. Lodging and breakfast…
Explore a call to ministry with Journey
When God calls someone to ministry, a journey begins. Perhaps you are on that journey. Perhaps you are looking for mentors and companions along the way. Ohio Conference invites you to join Journey: A Missional Leadership Development Program. This program is for pastors and other congregational leaders who are called without specific training for ministry or who are exploring a…
Tony Doehrmann to serve as regional pastor
The Ohio Conference Leadership Team and the Ministry Development Team are pleased to announce the appointment of Tony Doehrmann as the new regional pastor covering the western half of Ohio Conference. He will begin his work with the Conference on Oct. 1. Tony served as pastor of Jubilee Mennonite Church in Bellefontaine from 2008 until the end of 2017. During…
Credentialed leaders meet in Upper Sandusky
Forty of Ohio Conference’s credentialed ministers gathered Sept. 12 at the Upper Sandusky Public Library as part of the Conference’s continued Gathered and Sent initiative. It was a day of dwelling in God’s Word (Ephesians 5:1-21), reflecting on the Conference’s Identity Statement released by the Leadership Team in April, fellowship and looking forward to what lies ahead for the Conference.…
Conference awards nine ministry grants
The Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team (MDT) has awarded nine grants totaling $24,750. The MDT approved these grants at its Aug. 19 meeting. Funding for these grants comes from surplus funds that had accumulated during years in which the Conference ended its fiscal year with a surplus. The MDT has awarded these grants each year since 2012. The grants will…
A biblical people?
By Dick Barrett Conference Minister Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. — Hebrews 13:8 (ESV) Each year I try to read through the entire Bible, both the New Testament and the Old Testament, following different Bible reading plans. I must confess that I have not always been successful. I also often find myself struggling with parts of…
Church planting discussion planned
By Ralph Reinford Regional Pastor Are you interested in church planting? The Ohio Conference Ministry Development Team wants to initiate a conversation about growing new Visible Kingdom Communities, formerly known as church planting. This article is an invitation to anyone interested in, passionate for, or feeling a call to be a part of supporting new endeavors. We are planning a…
Senior designs her own social work internship through Bluffton’s Summer Discovery Program
BLUFFTON, Ohio — Rowena Zuercher, a member of Sonnenberg Mennonite Church in Kidron, is making the most of her college experience. The social work and Spanish double major from Apple Creek, Ohio, is a student ambassador, active on campus and spent a semester in Guatemala. This summer, she created her own internship through the Summer Discovery Program, which provides a…