Flowing with the Holy Spirit: Congregations partner to learn and support

Lora Steinerlsteiner@franconiaconference.orgWhen Mennonite churches have thought about mission, they’ve tended to think out of country and in terms of monetary support. But a number of Franconia Conference churches have begun partnerships with each other for missional efforts both near and far.Blooming Glen (Pa.) Mennonite Church and Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, a Partner-in-Mission congregation in Philadelphia, Pa., began working together nearly five years ago when Berdine Leinbach and her family attended Oxford Circle’s annual community festival. The following year, when Oxford Circle needed some help with the festival at the last minute, Blooming Glen’s Damascus Road anti-racism team went to lead children’s games.Leinbach and Leonard Dow, pastor at Oxford Circle, had known each other during their days as students at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School and decided to find ways for their congregations to work together. They looked for practical ways to make it a real partnership. “If you start a relationship, especially from a financial standpoint,” says Dow, “it tends to stay at that level.”Dow has preached at Blooming Glen. Oxford Circle has shared about its “kingdom-related work” in the city and the issues that come with life in an urban area. Members from Blooming Glen have shared their expertise in commercial real estate with Oxford Circle, which is trying to purchase a large facility next to its church. The churches pray for each other and support each other’s prayer ministries—and members from Blooming Glen continue to help at the community festival annually. Both Dow and Leinbach agree that it’s been rewarding. “There’s a lot of mutual respect,” says Leinbach, for the ministries of each group, but also in learning about the challenges each congregation faces.Nueva Vida Norristown New Life Mennonite Church and New Hope Fellowship, another Partner-in-Mission congregation located in Alexandria, Va., began working together in October, when their worship teams spent a weekend together. Both congregations are multicultural and bilingual, which presents unique challenges on Sunday morning.“My goal was for us to get to know them, for our worship teams to learn from each other,” says Marilyn Hanger, who is a part of the New Hope congregation, “and see how they do their worship services bilingually.”The worship teams spent Saturday learning songs, including, “We are one in Christ Jesus, all one body,” and the following day, the Norristown group served as a guest worship ensemble.“It’s a neat way to connect to a church that has some of the same struggles and issues as we do,” says Hanger, who hopes that New Hope’s worship team will eventually be able to spend a weekend at Norristown.“It makes you feel like the mission is not just out there, it’s part of us. And it should be that way. You’re more aware of other parts of the world.”One of the more informal relationships among Franconia churches began around a common interest: Chile. It began when Charles Ness, pastor at Perkiomenville Mennonite Church, had a “divine encounter meeting” in New York City with Alfredo Navea, who pastors Tabernacle of Christ Church in Viña del Mar, Chile.At Pastor Alfredo’s invitation, Ness traveled to Chile in 2004. He returned with work teams, who helped with the church’s building project.Nelson Shenk, pastor at Boyertown Mennonite Church, got involved a few years ago when a student in his congregation, Danielle Gehman, wanted to study Spanish in a place where she’d be connected with a church. Danielle went to Chile, lived with a family from Tabernacle of Christ Church and sent regular updates to her home congregation.When Pastor Alfredo came to the United States, Boyertown invited him to preach. When a member of the Viña del Mar congregation needed eye surgery, Boyertown helped arrange it. This past March, seven people from Boyertown went down to Chile to continue building work and to visit the church’s mission project.Charles Ness says that the relationship is moving beyond sending work teams and giving monetary support towards a life-giving mutual exchange.Pastor Alfredo and the Tabernacle of Christ Church “are a resource to us in opening our horizon and vision and perspective on what God is doing in other parts of the world,” he says.The interest has also built informal connections between congregations, with members visiting each other’s churches to hear Pastor Alfredo speak. Tabernacle of Christ Church has also become a conference-wide Partner-in-Mission.“It’s been helpful and a blessing to have other congregations catch the vision, to come alongside and help accomplish what needs to be accomplished,” says Ness, who notes that members of Whitehall Mennonite Church have gotten involved, and that Pastor Alfredo recently spoke at Frederick Mennonite Church.“We tend to do mission trips where you send a group of people somewhere to do some task,” says Ness, “and that may be the end of it, but I see a value in building a relationship—as God directs, you can’t force something, but you build a relationship with the people you’re ministering with.”A partnership between Philadelphia Praise Center and Nations Worship Center began as a way to reach out to a nearby congregation. Philadelphia Praise Center, says Aldo Siahaan, “is really open in working with other churches.”A few years ago, it began assisting Nations Worship Center, another Indonesian-speaking congregation. Philadelphia Praise Center started by sending musicians, then offered space in its building. Eventually, Philadelphia Praise Center committed to helping Nations Worship with its rent. When Beny Krisbianto, who is the pastor at Nations Worship, was having problems with his immigration process, Philadelphia Praise Center helped with the paperwork. Nations Worship eventually joined Franconia Conference, and Krisbianto was ordained as a Mennonite pastor.Krisbianto and the leaders at Philadelphia Praise Center work together both in outreach and in struggle. “Whatever our problems, we share with him,” says Siahaan, “whatever his problems and is happening in his church, he shares with us.”When asked if Philadelphia Praise Center is planning any other collaborations or projects, Siahaan says no, “We never plan it. We just flow with the Holy Spirit.”