Radical Love and Radical Discipleship

By Dick Barrett Conference Minister 2023 marks 25 years since I joined the Mennonite Church. It has certainly been an interesting journey, first as a congregational member, then an associate pastor, lead pastor, and now as a conference minister. As I found myself on a one-month sabbatical during December, it caused me to reflect on why I joined the Mennonite…

Growing Disciples, Part 1 — The Explosion

Sometimes growth takes a while, but patience can pay off. That’s been the experience at Valley View Mennonite Church in Spartansburg, Pennsylvania. In the latest episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, Lucas Johnson and Robb Esh, pastoral team members at Valley View Mennonite, talk about the growth of Missional Discipleship Groups in their area of Pennsylvania. The groups now include…

Missional conference focuses on evangelism and discipleship

Just prior to Annual Conference Assembly, the Ohio Conference held the Gathered and Sent Missional Conference at Bluffton University March 8-9. One hundred eight people from across the Conference participated in this event. During four sessions, speakers Meghan Good and Marvin Lorenzana challenged common assumptions about evangelism and discipleship. Meghan Good, the teaching pastor at Trinity Mennonite Church in Glendale,…

Evangelism and discipleship – How are they related?

What’s the relationship between evangelism and discipleship? Ohio Conference Cast hosts Thomas Dunn and Bill Seymour discuss this question with Meghan Good and Marvin Lorenzana, the speakers at the Gathered and Sent Missional Conference at Bluffton University. https://ohiomennoniteconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/18_03_09_MissionalConf_Submitted.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS

A Vibrant, Disciple-making, Good News Conference

How do we translate the Gospel to our context? Jessica Schrock-Ringenberg, who is volunteering as Ohio Conference’s missional consultant, is working to help Ohio Conference consider this question. She has a vision for the Conference to become a vibrant, disciple-making good news conference. In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, Bill Seymour and his guest co-host, Jamie Rye, the pastor…

Make disciples. Seriously. Here’s one way how.

The Missional Discipleship Initiative is coming to the Ohio Conference! The Conference is partnering with Mennonite Mission Network to offer the Missional Discipleship Initiative (MDI) to congregations, starting this fall. In this episode of the Ohio Conference Cast, hosts Bill Seymour and Jacob Dodson talk about MDI with Mennonite Mission Network staff members Marvin Lorenzana and Karla Minter, as well…

MMN offers missional training for congregations

Is your congregation interested in learning more about what it means to be missional? Ohio Conference is partnering with Mennonite Mission Network (MMN) to offer the Missional Discipleship Initiative to Conference churches beginning this fall. Marvin Lorenzana, the director for discipleship initiatives at MMN, coordinates the Missional Discipleship Initiative (MDI). “Our goal is to help leaders engage the missional church…