AMBS receives grant for new initiative

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, has received a $1,249,830 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish a program, “Anabaptist Thriving Congregations,” to help congregations deepen their study of the Bible with the goal of connecting more authentically with their communities. The project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. The aim of the initiative is…

Seminary programs offer support for pastors

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, is offering programs which support pastors currently serving in the church. The Transition to Leadership program guides and nurtures new pastors during the crucial first years of ministry. This two-year program includes monthly one-on-one mentoring sessions, biannual Learning Events with other new pastors and their mentors, and optional consultations with consultants with…

AMBS gathering to focus on peacemaking

“Strategies for Peacemaking” will be the theme of the 2024 Pastors & Leaders Conference at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, Feb. 19-22, 2024. Betty Pries, PhD, will be the featured speaker. This conference will focus on tools for peacemaking — building our capacity to tend to our inner work; address conflicts within our churches; and lead people…

New training modules offered at AMBS

In August Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, launched a new Practical Leadership Training program to help pastors, lay leaders, community leaders, and leaders of nonprofit organizations increase their capacity to provide effective Anabaptist leadership in a variety of settings. A new set of training modules is available beginning in January. Topics include Intergenerational Faith Formation, Riding the Wave…

AMBS launches Forming Leaders Together campaign

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, has launched its Forming Leaders Together fundraising campaign. Funds raised through the campaign are supporting the seminary’s collaboration with Anabaptist-Mennonite organizations serving the church in Canada, the United States, and around the world. According to Paula Killough, MDiv, Director of Campaign, the seminary has reached 83 percent of its $12 million campaign…

Explore a call to ministry with Journey

When God calls someone to leadership, 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 lay leaders, pastors, church planters, and other emerging leaders who are called without specific training for ministry or…

Transition to Leadership is for new pastors

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is offering a Transition to Leadership program. This two-year program guides and nurtures new pastors during the crucial first years of ministry through one-on-one mentoring, biannual learning events, and specialized coaching sessions throughout the year. The Fall 2023 cohort starts Nov. 9; apply by Oct. 9. See https://www.ambs.edu/transition-to-leadership for details.

AMBS to offer Ministry Integrity Circles

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) is offering Ministry Integrity Circles. Pastors, do you need help with ministry transitions or significant challenges? The seminary’s Ministry Integrity Circles program provides the support of consultants within a community of peers. Two cohorts will begin this fall: one will be meeting once in person Sept. 25-26 and then three more times on Zoom. Another…

AMBS to launch Practical Leadership Training

In August, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) is launching a new Practical Leadership Training program to help pastors, lay leaders, community leaders and leaders of nonprofit organizations increase their capacity to provide effective Anabaptist leadership in a variety of settings. This program grew out of a listening process in which church leaders shared that they needed practical leadership skills to meet challenges resulting from the pandemic, polarization, shifting church…

New resources are available for leadership training and faith formation

By Ann Leaman Ohio Conference Resource Advocate In this column I would like to highlight two new sets of resources, one for leadership training and one for faith formation. Practical Leadership Training In August Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) is beginning a new program called Practical Leadership Training. This program is designed to equip not only pastors, but also lay…

AMBS offers Ministry Integrity Circles

Pastors, do you need help with ministry transitions or significant challenges? Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary’s (AMBS) Ministry Integrity Circles program provides the support of consultants within a community of peers. The Spring 2023 cohort begins June 26 and is free to participants. This program includes an initial in-person session at AMBS on June 26-27. Other sessions will take place over…

AMBS offers tuition matching grants

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary offers grants of up to $2,000 per academic year to match contributions that congregations, conferences and regional churches make toward a full-time graduate student’s tuition costs — whether they’re studying on campus or at a distance. Learn more at https://bit.ly/AMBSMatchingGrants.

AMBS conference to focus on ‘Reimagining Ministry’

“Reimagining Ministry” will be the theme of the 2023 Pastors & Leaders Conference at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana. This year’s conference is designed to give pastors and church leaders ideas and practices to help nurture resilience, compassion and hope in themselves and in their congregations by learning from Jesus’ ministry. Pastors & Leaders 2023 will begin…

Foundations for Justice webinar series planned

As part of Ohio Conference’s continuing education regarding anti-racism and intercultural competency, we are offering a three-part “Foundations for Justice Series,” to be held virtually from 7 to 8:15 p.m. on three Thursdays — Oct. 20, Nov. 3, and Nov. 17. This training series will be led by Nekeisha Alayna Alexis, Intercultural Competence and Undoing Racism Coordinator at Anabaptist Mennonite…

Women’s leadership conference planned

Mennonite Mission Network and Mennonite Women USA are planning a women’s leadership conference Sept. 29-Oct. 2, 2022, in Elkhart, Indiana. The theme of this gathering will be “Leaders Inspiring Leaders.” Conference events will take place at the Mennonite Church USA offices and on the campus of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. African American women will lead the conference through prophetic witness…

AMBS offers Transition to Leadership Program

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is offering a Transition to Leadership Program. This program guides new pastors during the crucial first years of ministry through one-on-one mentoring, regular gatherings with peers, and learning sessions. It is free to participants who begin in Fall 2022. The Fall 2022 cohort starts Nov. 10; apply by Oct. 10. Learn more at https://www.ambs.edu/transition-to-leadership.

AMBS to hold webinar about Christian nationalism

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) is hosting a free webinar about Christian nationalism on Wednesday, May 4, from 2 to 3 p.m. Drew Strait, Ph.D., assistant professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at AMBS, will provide an overview of the destructive force of White Christian nationalism. All registrants will receive access to a recording of the webinar. Learn more…

Seminary scholarships available

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) has several merit-based scholarships for new graduate students from the United States or Canada, whether they pursue studies at a distance or on the AMBS campus. Application deadline is March 15. For more information, please see https://bit.ly/AMBSScholarships.

Rooted and Grounded to return to AMBS

Registration is open for the fifth Rooted and Grounded Conference on Land and Christian Discipleship, which will be held Oct. 14–16 at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana. The theme of this conference will be “Land: Loss, Connection and Imagination.” The event will be offered in a hybrid format; some elements will be available only to in-person participants, and…

Leadership development opportunities available

Ohio Conference has two opportunities for leadership enrichment and development beginning in September. The first, a Thriving in Ministry cohort, is for pastors who are already serving in a congregation. It will run from September 2021 to April 2022 and will focus on the well-being of pastors, effective practices in ministry, and leadership development. Please see the description of the program and…

Journal articles focus on healing and health

From AMBS: A new issue of Vision focusing on the theme “Health, Healing and Hope” is available for free online. In the Spring 2021 issue of Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology, authors share about their personal struggles with illness, their experiences as caregivers and their encounters in pastoral or chaplaincy care. Other topics include health as it relates…

Where are you going next on your journey?

Are you paying attention to what the Spirit is saying to you and calling you to do for the next stage of your life? The special guest for this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast podcast, Jewel Gingerich Longenecker, would encourage everyone to consider that question. Jewel Gingerich Longenecker is dean of lifelong learning at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS)…

Explore a call to ministry with Journey

AMBS creates worship materials for congregations

Recognizing the toll that COVID-19 has had on pastors and worship planners over the last year, members of the community at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, have prepared worship materials for congregational use for two separate worship services. The first set of worship materials is designed for the Sunday after Easter (April 11). The resources, which are based…

Online seminary course deals with congregational conflict

Online Anabaptist Short Course: Transforming Congregational Conflict and Communication: April 14 – May 25. Join Betty Pries, Ph.D., to explore the possibilities and pitfalls of courageously engaging differences within congregational life in this six-week online noncredit course at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. No grades, no papers! CEUs available. Register by March 17 and save $50. See ambs.edu/shortcourses.

Scholarship fund supports seminary students

ELKHART, Indiana — For the past 30 years an endowed scholarship at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) has helped dozens of students pursue pastoral leadership education, and now AMBS has begun a campaign to celebrate the aid given and raise funds for continued student support. Since its inception in 1990, the Paul M. and Bertha M. Miller Pastoral Leadership Scholarship…

AMBS to offer two new scholarships

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana, is offering two new scholarships. The Multicultural Church Scholarship is for students who are currently serving in or preparing for ministry assignments in a multicultural context and/or who belong to historically underrepresented racial or ethnic groups within the Mennonite Church. Each year, this award will provide a limited number of 100-percent tuition grants to…

‘Thriving Together’ is conference theme

ELKHART, Indiana — Offering church leaders space to “be” while learning how to thrive as leaders and congregations in the midst of the unprecedented disruption of COVID-19 will be the focus of Pastors and Leaders 2021, an annual conference of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) in Elkhart, Indiana. The event, which will be held online for the first time, will…

AMBS offers worship materials to congregations

Recognizing the toll that COVID-19 has had on pastors and worship planners over the last eight months, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is offering several elements of a worship service for congregational use. Included are a call to worship and a prayer, as well as videos containing a scripture presentation, songs and a sermon featuring the story of Jesus in the…

Explore Anabaptist approaches to scripture

Online through AMBS: Understanding Anabaptist Approaches to Scripture (Feb. 10 – March 23). Join Loren Johns, Ph.D., to study ways in which 16th-century Anabaptists approached Scripture both similarly to and differently from Catholics and other Protestants. This six-week online short course from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary now includes weekly video conversations with Loren. Sign up by Jan. 13 and save…